Yellowstone west entrance opens
Yellowstone National Park’s west entrance and two main west-side roads are scheduled to open to motor vehicles on Friday, April 17 at 8 a.m., marking the park’s start of the summer access season (sheridanmedia.com). The announcement specifies the opening time and implies increased motor access for visitors using that corridor starting tomorrow (sheridanmedia.com).
Yellowstone’s West Entrance is set to reopen to cars at 8 a.m. on Friday, April 17, starting the park’s 2026 spring road-opening cycle. (nps.gov) The National Park Service said the North Entrance at Gardiner and the West Entrance at West Yellowstone will open at the same time, weather permitting. From those gates, drivers can reach Mammoth Hot Springs, Lamar Valley, Norris Geyser Basin, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Old Faithful. (nps.gov) The park said additional interior roads are scheduled to open through May, depending on snow and driving conditions. Yellowstone’s operating calendar says seasonally open entrances are not gated at night once they open, but road status can change quickly. (nps.gov, nps.gov) Yellowstone closes most roads to regular vehicle traffic in winter and reopens them in stages each spring after plowing and safety checks. The road between the North Entrance and the Northeast Entrance is the main exception and stays open year-round to regular vehicles. (nps.gov) That makes the West Entrance one of the first practical routes for spring visitors heading to Old Faithful and the geyser basins from Montana. The April 17 opening also reconnects West Yellowstone, the park’s busiest gateway town, to early-season motor traffic. (nps.gov, wyomingpublicmedia.org) The National Park Service warned that many trails and boardwalks are still snow covered in mid-April, and some visitor services remain limited in spring. Officials also said temporary road closures can happen without notice if weather turns or driving becomes dangerous. (nps.gov) Drivers should also expect up to 30-minute delays from road improvement projects, according to the park. Yellowstone told visitors to check current conditions, buy passes online before arrival and watch for bison, elk, bears and other wildlife using roads as travel corridors. (nps.gov) If conditions hold on Friday morning, the West Entrance opening will mark Yellowstone’s first broad motor access of the 2026 season from the park’s western side. (nps.gov)
