Jackson Glacier Overlook

The Going to the Sun Road is a marvel of engineering which connects West Glacier to East Glacier by passing through the mountains in Glacier National Park. It was built so visitors can have easier access to the beautiful scenery that can be seen here in the park. Construction was completed in 1932 and it shortened travel times between the west and east entrances from a few days to a couple of hours, longer if you are sightseeing. There are numerous stops here at the Going to the Sun Road. They are usually clearly marked and a lot of times, easy to get to. The next stop I visited is the Jackson Glacier Overlook.

As the name implies, this is the place to see the Jackson Glacier. When it mentioned overlook, I thought that the viewpoint would be very close to the glacier itself. However, it is far from it. Jackson Glacier is set on the slopes of a mountain which is directly across the viewing area. In fact, it is rather difficult to see the glacier itself if you do not have binoculars or in my case, a telephoto lens. The Jackson Glacier is in a rather sorry state. While there is still significant amount of ice on the slopes, you can visibly see that the glacier isn’t as far as it is supposed to be. There is a photo of Jackson Glacier from decades back and you can compare how bad the retreat of the glacier actually is. At this rate, the glacier would disappear within the next decade.

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