YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — This week, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) shared that it has begun its snow plowing operations in anticipation of the upcoming tourist season.
Plowing began on Monday, March 3, according to YNP’s Facebook post, and is expected to take close to three months to prepare for spring visitors.
The first road expected to open to YNP visitors, according to YNP’s updated park roads website, will be the West Entrance road with access to Madison, Old Faithful, Norris, Mammoth Hot Springs and Canyon Village, scheduled to open on April 18. Up next will be East Entrance access to Lake Village (via Sylvan Pass) and Canyon Village to Lake Village on May 2.
Most pertinent to Jackson residents is the projected opening date of the South Entrance, which is slated for May 9. This will provide access from the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway (the protected space between Grand Teton National Park and YNP) to park attractions including Old Faithful, Grant, West Thumb, Bridge Bay and Lake Village.
Dunraven Pass, connecting Canyon Village to Tower Fall, is expected to open on May 23, and Beartooth Highway traditionally opens in time for Memorial Day weekend, too.
Park roads are scheduled to close for the season on Oct. 31, as usual, with the exception of the road connecting the North Entrance to the Northeast Entrance, which is open year-round.
See Yellowstone’s dedicated Park Roads website for further information. Sign up for road alerts by texting 82190 to 888-777. Learn about how Yellowstone’s roads used to be cleared by hand.
