Mountain Loop Highway closes for the winter

VERLOT — Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

The iconic Mountain Loop Highway closed for the winter Friday morning.

At 9 a.m., the 55-mile gateway to the hikes of the Glacier Peak Wilderness closed from Deer Creek to Bedal Campground, the U.S. Forest Service announced. Pilchuck Road was also closed at the Heather Lake Trailhead.

“Current and projected weather conditions have given us cause to close these roads for safety,” the Forest Service wrote on social media this week.

Snow covers the Mountain Loop Highway each winter, forcing its closure every year. County and federal workers often make repairs while the highway is closed, as well.

This year’s closure is coming a bit earlier. Last year, the highway was closed from Dec. 7 to June 10, though it partially reopened at Deer Creek in mid-April. The year before, the highway closed Nov. 9 and reopened in mid-July.

Up to 200 cars drive the Mountain Loop each day in the summer.

Pilchuck Road, the route to the iconic mountain of the same name, reopened in June after a year of repairs.

Highway 20 in the North Cascades closed for the season Monday.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; X: @GoldsteinStreet..