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It brings me great joy to finally type the following words: Yellowstone National Park’s North Entrance is finally reopening to the public.
On Nov. 1st at 8am, restrictions will be lifted and individuals can drive the newly paved road connecting the park with the town of Gardiner. For four long months, since the June 2022 flooding wiped out the road along the Gardner River, the communities of Gardiner, Cooke City, Silver Gate, Livingston and spots in Paradise Valley have been struggling economically with the North entrance closure. Now, there is relief in sight, even as winter quickly approaches. Access between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs has been limited since the historic flood event in June that resulted in significant damage to approximately five sections of the North Entrance Road. The park closed the North Entrance Road and immediately began to focus considerable time and funding to improve the Old Gardiner Road, the best and only option to quickly reconnect Yellowstone National Park to Gardiner.
- Turning the 1880’s single-lane dirt road into two lanes,
- Paving and striping the entire road (4 miles),
- Installing over 5,000 feet of guardrail for traffic safety,
- Expanding road widths,
- Creating new pullouts,
- Building a new ¼ -mile approach road into Mammoth Hot Springs to avoid a 12-15% steep grade on the original road. The new approach required additional engineering and design to provide a safe road base to handle the 2,000-3,000 vehicles per day that enter the park from the North Entrance.
- Yellowstone reminds the public of everyone’s responsibility to use the road carefully to avoid accidents.
- Steep grades and sharp curves exist and speed limits range between 15-25 mph.
- There are no length or weight restrictions on the road (see exceptions), however, oversized vehicles and vehicles with trailers must use caution in curves to maintain lanes.
- After opening to the public, the road will continue to be an active construction zone. Drivers will need to use caution and watch for crews and heavy equipment.
- During inclement winter weather, short-term (30 minute) closures may occur to allow for plowing.
- Clean-up efforts will continue beyond Nov. 1 for as long as weather permits.
- Visit Park Roads.
- Receive Yellowstone road alerts on your mobile phone by texting “82190” to 888-777 (an automatic text reply will confirm receipt and provide instructions).
- Call (307) 344-2117 for a recorded message.
To read the full press release from Yellowstone National Park for this news, follow this link.
