Winter is coming: Alpine Loop, Guardsman Pass set to close for season

SALT LAKE CITY — The gates are soon closing on a pair of beloved summer and fall routes, as a sign of the changing seasons.

Guardsman Pass, which links Big Cottonwood Canyon with the Wasatch Back, will officially close at 8 p.m. Friday, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.

Not to be outdone, UDOT plans to close Alpine Loop after the weekend. State Route 92 will be closed from Pine Hollow in American Fork Canyon to Aspen Grove above Sundance Resort, at 7 a.m. on Monday.

They mark the first seasonal road closures of the year.

The agency closes some routes with steep and narrow paths because it's too difficult to provide winter plowing operations, and winter storms can make travel on them hazardous. Guardsman Pass, Alpine Loop and all other seasonal routes typically reopen in the spring, once conditions allow for safe travel again.

There are still ways for people to access outdoor gems, like Sundance or Tibble Fork Reservoir, despite the closure, UDOT officials said. Sundance can be reached through Provo Canyon and Tibble Fork Reservoir can still be reached by traveling up American Fork Canyon, as long as road conditions permit.

The upcoming closures come as an incoming storm pattern has the potential to deliver upwards of a foot or more of snow in the Upper Cottonwood Canyons by Monday afternoon.

UDOT has not yet announced closure dates for six other seasonal roads across the state.