Tag Archives: East Entrance

After months of political pressure and a high level of local interest, the National Park Service is backing off plans to issue a permanent Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone National Park and will instead use the previous rules for 2011-2012.

Improving road conditions in the Sylvan Pass and the decreased chance of snow slides are causing Yellowstone National Park officials to open the East Entrance for travel 24 hours a day.

It was a rough Memorial Day weekend in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, as road closures both within and outside the Park appeared to dampen the number of visitors to the area. And things won't get better until the weekend at the earliest.

With several road closures -- including the road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction due to rockslide-- on the traditional start of the real summer season in Yellowstone National Park, some planning is in order to avoid closed roads and rough patches.

We've already told you about the delays related to snow on the Beartooth Pass, but there are more snow-related delays in Yellowstone National Park over the next two weeks, including a tardy opening of the Dunraven Pass and a temporary closure of the Craig Pass.

The Yellowstone National Park East Entrance will be open nights from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m., beginning Sunday (May 22), as weather conditions allow for the expanded hours overnight.

The Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance will be open for business at 6 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) morning on a limited basis, as snow has been cleared from the roads, but folks could experience delays when the road narrows to one lane thanks to a washout.

For those needing an alternate route from Cody to Yellowstone National Park: Highway 212 between Cooke City and the Chief Joseph Highway has been plowed and is now open.

The Sylvan Pass will remained closed indefinitely as Yellowstone National Park road crews work to clear four significant snow slides and more than 20 feet of snow; meanwhile, officials are also finding the heavy snowpack caused more damage in Park buildings as well.

Call it the Yellowstone National Park equivalent of demand-based planning: a draft Winter Use Plan from the National Park Service has variable daily-use limits based on demand and overall usage numbers.