Yellowstone reopens April 17
Yellowstone National Park will begin seasonal openings on April 17, with two Montana entrances and several interior roads slated to reopen. (wyomingpublicmedia.org) The announcement lays out phased access after winter closures for the park’s higher‑elevation corridors. (wyomingpublicmedia.org)
Yellowstone will reopen key roads to cars at 8 a.m. on Friday, April 17, starting the park’s spring shift out of winter travel. (nps.gov) The first vehicle entrances to open are the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, and the West Entrance at West Yellowstone, Montana, both weather permitting. The Northeast Entrance at Silver Gate and Cooke City, Montana, will also be reachable once those roads open. (nps.gov) From those routes, drivers will be able to reach Mammoth Hot Springs, Lamar Valley, Norris Geyser Basin, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Old Faithful. The park said the April 17 opening is part of its annual spring rollout after winter closures on higher-elevation roads. (nps.gov) Yellowstone does not swing fully open in one day. Most park roads close to regular vehicles from early November to late April, and the only road generally open year-round is the route from Gardiner through Tower Junction to Cooke City. (nps.gov) The next phase comes May 1, when the East Entrance to Fishing Bridge and the road from Canyon Village to Bridge Bay are scheduled to open. More roads are projected to open May 8, including the South Entrance to West Thumb and West Thumb to Old Faithful. (nps.gov) The staggered schedule reflects Yellowstone’s elevation and snowpack. Park crews plow roads in spring, but the National Park Service said many trails and boardwalks are still snow covered and services remain limited in late April. (nps.gov) Visitors should also expect delays of up to 30 minutes from road improvement projects, according to the park. Yellowstone said temporary closures can happen without notice if weather or driving conditions worsen. (nps.gov) The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but lodging, stores, campgrounds and other services return on separate schedules. At Canyon Village, for example, the gas station is listed to reopen April 24, while Canyon Lodge lodging is scheduled for May 15. (nps.gov) Yellowstone covers 2.2 million acres across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and road openings shape when travelers can actually reach its geysers, wildlife valleys and lake country by car. On April 17, that spring map starts to widen again. (nps.gov)
