Yellowstone National Park — Bad news if you were planning on being one of the first motorists to enter on a hand full of roads opening today into Yellowstone National Park because you will be have to wait a few hours as the crews clean up a significant amount of snow that fell in the past 24 hours. Yellowstone entrances and roads scheduled to open at 8:00am Friday, April 17 will instead open at noon due to heavy snow, low temperatures and strong winds.
Yesterday Yellowstone received up to 12 inches of wet snow in certain areas, and more snow was forecast overnight with temperatures dropping to 10 F, creating hazardous driving conditions like deep snow, ice and poor visibility. Additionally Canyon Village and Old Faithful experienced weather-related power outages. NorthWestern Energy crews were on the ground addressing those issues.
The delayed opening does not affect the road from the North Entrance in Gardiner to the Northeast Entrance near Cooke City, Montana, which remains open. Drivers should expect winter driving conditions. Anticipate possible road closures due to inclement weather. Temporary travel restrictions or closures can occur at any time without notice. In short, have flexible travel plans.
Park crews were plowing roads overnight and will assess conditions in the morning. The noon opening time is subject to change so stay up to date here.
Road sections expected to open at noon April 17:
– West Entrance to Old Faithful
– West Entrance to Canyon
– Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris
