Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
The summer season is winding down, which means the arrival of another seasonal presence in Yellowstone: road construction.
Two parts of the Grand Loop Road will close after Labor Day for road construction. These closures will necessitate both detours and elongated travel times.
The first road closure is situated between Old Faithful and West Thumb/Grant Village; crews will be replacing the Isa Lake Bridge, beginning at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 2. It will be closed for the rest of the season.
Visitors coming from the South Entrance who wish to go to Old Faithful will need to drive north through Fishing Bridge and wind their way past Canyon, Norris and Madison before reaching Old Faithful. This detour will add two hours travel time, traffic notwithstanding.
Access to both the Lone Star Geyser trail head (outside of Old Faithful) and the DeLacy Creek trail head (north of West Thumb) will be unaffected by this closure.
The second road construction closure will be between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris. This closure is more condensed than the Isa Lake Bridge closure; the road will be closed from 11 p.m. Sunday, September 14 to 7 a.m. Tuesday, September 30.
Visitors driving from the North Entrance wishing to drive to Norris will need to go east toward Tower/Roosevelt and then thread through Canyon before arriving in Norris. This drive is 90 minutes total.
Visitors will still be able to access Sheepeater Cliff and Norris Campground during this time.
Prior to and following the 16 day closure, road construction between Mammoth and Norris will cause up to 30 minute delays. And the road itself is closed between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. nightly. This pattern will resume after September 30.
In addition to these two closures inside Yellowstone National Park, visitors driving through Gardiner will encounter delays due to road construction beginning September 1.
For a summary of upcoming road construction in the Park, as well as a visual representation of what portions will be closed come Labor Day, please consult the Yellowstone Insider Road Conditions Map.
