Harts Pass Road is closed for the winter, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday (Nov. 6). A rock fall the previous weekend prompted the early closure of the route, which is usually closed beginning Dec. 1 of each year.
After the rock fall at Dead Horse Point, a bulldozer was used to clear a path for vehicles that had been trapped, the Forest Service said. The gate is closed now, though once there is sufficient snow, the gate will be re-opened to allow for snowmobile traffic. Snowmobilers are cautioned that the road surface will be narrower where the rock fall occurred.
Harts Pass Road will re-open to wheeled vehicles in the spring when the road firms up, the Forest Service said.
