by 
Situated within walking distance to the picturesque terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs and offering quick access out to the wildlife watching wonderland of Lamar Valley, the Mammoth Hotel has been a favorite place for park visitors to stay for decades. This winter, that will change. On November 8th, Xanterra, the behemoth company in charge of lodges and campgrounds in numerous National Parks, shared the bad news that the hotel and dining room will be closed for the winter of 2022-23. The gift shop, ski shop, barista and lobby will be open to serve guests. More good news is that regularly scheduled snowcoach service between Mammoth and Old Faithful, as well as our regular tours from Mammoth, will still be happening. It is important to note that this announcement will not impact the Old Faithful area or other locations in the park.
Quoted sections are taken directly from the Xanterra website announcing this news.
“As you’re likely aware, extreme flooding in June impacted certain roadways in the park. Those repairs have been made in impressive fashion and the roads have since reopened. As well, a new wastewater treatment system is being built to serve the Mammoth area and reopen the Mammoth Hotel. However, the new temporary system is not ready to support hotel operations on the timeline originally envisioned. The National Park Service is working diligently to make this system operational as soon as possible, but we have been advised by the National Park Service that we will be unable to open the Mammoth Hotel to overnight guests or provide food services in the Mammoth Hot Springs area for the winter season, December 2022 through March 2023. The gift shop, ski shop, barista and lobby will be open to serve guests. Regularly scheduled snowcoach service between Mammoth and Old Faithful, as well as our regular tours from Mammoth, will be available.”
Xanterra’s press release continues by sharing the following:
“If you wish to replace your Mammoth Hotel reservations with Gardiner lodging, dining, and more, you can find information on those options from the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce. For Mammoth guests who rebook in Gardiner, Montana, we’re working on a schedule that will provide the airport shuttles to Gardiner and transportation from Gardiner to Mammoth for access to our tours. While details are still being finalized, we ask that you check the website occasionally for the latest information. Silver Gate and Cooke City, Montana are located just east of the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone and also provide winter lodging, dining and other wonderful winter recreation experiences.”
While noteworthy, this news should have minimal impact on most visitors. Mammoth is a popular enough place to stay in the winter that this news could send another economic lull to the region. However, I do not anticipate it leading to a mass exodus or avoidance of the area. The lodging opportunities outside of the park in Cooke City, Silver Gate and Gardiner are often less expensive than Mammoth and rooms are typically available every night throughout the winter months.
Hopefully, those impacted by this closure will stay in one of the gateway communities instead and not cancel their trips. If they do, they will be missing out on a truly incredible experience.
