The month-long process of opening Yellowstone National Park for the 2019 summer season continues on Friday, as several road sections will welcome auto traffic and the Lake Yellowstone Hotel will opens its doors to the public.
The sections of road slated to open Friday, weather permitting, are:
- South Entrance to West Thumb
- Lake Village to West Thumb
- West Thumb to Old Faithful (Craig Pass)
- Tower Junction to Tower Fall
As you can see in these photos, there’s still a lot of snow in the Park, but Yellowstone openings shouldn’t be impacted by the snow depth. The general weather report, by the way, calls for a chilly Friday, a warmer Saturday (highs in the lower 50s) and a spring-like Sunday, with temps topping off at 57 degrees. Monday, by the way, is now forecast to be warmer.
Also opening on Friday: Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Cabin, the Lake Dining Room & Deli, Old Faithful Lodge, Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria and Old Faithful Lodge Gift Shop, Bake Shop. Opening next Tuesday: the Lake General Store.
With these Yellowstone openings, all five entrances will be open to Yellowstone National Park. One section of road will remain closed until the Memorial Day weekend–Tower Fall to Canyon Village (Dunraven Pass)–but otherwise you’ll be able to access the Park from all entrances. This week also saw an opening of note: Hwy. 212 was plowed between Cooke City and the Hwy. 296 intersection, opening alternative access to Billings and Cody. In addition, the Beartooth Highway between Red Lodge and the Hwy. 296 intersection will be closed until the Memorial Day weekend.
Photos of South Entrance road by Priscilla Zarate, NPS.
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