Yellowstone National Park’s East Entrance will open to the public for the winter season as scheduled on Thursday, December 22.
Rubber-tracked snowcoaches and snowmobiles will be allowed to travel between the East Entrance through Sylvan Pass to Fishing Bridge and West Thumb. Currently, steel-tracked vehicles are not allowed on this route until more snow accumulates on the roads.
In the remainder of the park, winter travel routes are open with the following restrictions:
Mammoth Hot Springs-Norris-West Entrance-Old Faithful: Commercially guided wheeled vehicles and rubber-tracked snowcoaches only.
Norris-Canyon: Commercially guided rubber-tracked snowcoaches only.
South Entrance-West Thumb-Old Faithful: Commercially guided rubber and steel-tracked snowcoaches and snowmobiles.
Park staff members will continue to closely monitor conditions and weather forecasts. Additional sections of the park will be opened to commercially guided snowmobile and snowcoach travel as soon enough new snow falls to permit the roads to be packed and groomed for safe oversnow travel.
The road from the park’s North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana through Mammoth Hot Springs and on to Cooke City, Montana outside the park’s Northeast Entrance is open to automobile travel all year.
