YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A resurgence of wintery weather has delayed the intended opening of certain Yellowstone National Park (YNP) roads and entrances, but only by a few hours.
At 8 a.m. on Friday, April 17, the park’s North Entrance (in Gardiner, Montana) and West Entrance (in West Yellowstone, Montana) were tentatively scheduled to open to visitors for the season. On Thursday afternoon, YNP announced that opening the West Entrance would have to be delayed to noon, due to a significant winter storm bringing heavy snow, low temperatures and strong winds. The delay does not affect the North Entrance or Northeast Entrances, YNP specified.
“The park received up to 12 inches of heavy, wet snow in certain areas, and more snow is forecast tonight with temperatures dropping to 10°F, creating hazardous driving conditions to include deep, wet snow, ice and poor visibility,” YNP’s Thursday statement reads. “Additionally, NorthWestern Energy crews are currently working to restore full power to Canyon Village and Old Faithful due to weather-related outages. Park crews will continue plowing roads through tonight and will assess conditions in the morning.”
The road sections that are expected to open at noon on Friday are West Entrance to Old Faithful, West Entrance to Canyon, and Mammoth to Norris. Note that weather could cause further road closures and travel restrictions. YNP encourages visitors to have flexible travel plans, and to stay up to date on road conditions using the park roads website, calling (307) 344-2117 for recorded information, or signing up for text alerts by texting “82190” to 888-777.
