Yellowstone Road Conditions

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018

Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park & Region

The 2018 summer season is winding down, and with it comes Yellowstone National Park road closures.

The road between the North Entrance (outside Gardiner) and the Northeast Entrance (serving Silver Gate and Cooke City) remains open all year.

The Beartooth Highway, part of the connection between Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance and Red Lodge/Billings, Montana, is closed. Highway 212 between the Northeast Entrance and the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (US-296) remains open.

The Dunraven Pass between Tower and Canyon was scheduled to close Oct. 9, but Park officials decided to keep it open as long as possible because of construction season affecting Fishing Bridge traffic. That could mean closure because of heavy snow, or it could remain open until November 5 at 8 a.m.

Some construction to consider as you plan a visit to the Park:

  1. Construction between Roaring Mountain and Willow Park along the Norris-Mammoth route. Expect 30-minute delays and sections of unpaved road.
  2. The Virginia Cascades is closed for repairs through Oct. 16.
  3. The restoration of Canyon Overlooks and Trails continues. Uncle Tom’s Point and Parking Area, Uncle Tom’s Trail (the stairs), and the entire South Rim Trail are closed for reconstruction.
  4. As part of the rebuilding of Fishing Bridge over the Yellowstone River, the bridge will close on Oct. 15-Nov. 5. The East Entrance Road will remain open as far as Sedge Bay.

You can see a full list of 2018-19 opening and closing dates here.

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The Importance of Knowing Yellowstone Road Conditions

Navigating Yellowstone National Park is both simple and complicated. It’s simple in one sense in that the main road, the Grand Loop, provides access to all services inside the Park, and the simplicity of the road plan makes it highly unlike you’ll get lost. On the other hand, given the long stretches of road between services, you’ll want to plan ahead, as it takes some time to get around (the posted speed limit is 45 MPH, and that limit is certainly enforced by Park officials), which makes a knowledge of Yellowstone road conditions so important. At this time of year only part of the Park is open to road traffic, while plows groom the roads in the rest of the Park for snow coaches and snowmobiles in coming weeks.

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Yellowstone Insider editors bring you up-to-the-minute information about what's happening at Yellowstone National Park.

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