Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
First, be aware that many roads inside the Park are already closed for the season. The stretch between Norris and Madison has been closed for several months because of road construction; it will open in the spring. The road between Tower and Canyon Junction over the Dunraven Pass is also closed for the season; it will open next spring, weather permitting. And the Beartooth Pass, which provides access to the Park and Cooke City from Red Lodge, is now closed for the season. On Nov. 2, at 8 a.m., all roads save the northern road between Gardiner and Cooke City via Mammoth will close for the season.
Within the Park, all hotels are now closed for the season, as are all the facilities at Lake Village, Grant Village and Tower. At Canyon Village, the Yellowstone Adventures store will remain open until Nov. 1, as will the Geyser Grill and Gift Shop facilities at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and the temporary Visitors Center at Old Faithful. if you’re adventurous, the Slough Creek Campground closes Oct. 31 and the Lewis Lake campground closes Nov. 1. And, of course, the General Store and the Albright Visitors Center at Mammoth Hot Springs remain open year-round.
The Park then shuts down until Dec. 15, when the Madison warming house opens for business. But the real opening comes on Dec. 18, when the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Geyser Grill open for the winter season. We’ll have more on that in coming days.
If you go, do some planning: snow is the forecast daily for the coming week save Thursday. And roads do close because of weather conditions: call 307.344.2117 for up-to-the-minute road reports.
Photo by Jim Peaco, courtesy of the National Park Service.
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