Gateway Towns

Group seeks cooperation for winter access through Cooke City

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CODY, WYO. — Montana business owners and residents in Gardiner, Cooke City and Red Lodge joined with Wyoming colleagues in Cody on Monday to discuss how to ensure winter access to each other’s communities and to Yellowstone National Park after record rains last month washed out bridges and roads throughout the region. Floods left the park’s north and northeast entrances closed to tourist traffic. Citing June’s catastrophic floods and the the possibility of being cut off from automobile access to food, medical care and essential supplies this winter, members of the newly formed Park Access Recommendation Committee (PARC) said they plan to meet sometime in August with public officials in Montana and Wyoming to develop a plan to plow an 8-mile section of U.S. Highway 212 traditionally left unplowed for use by recreational snowmobilers. PARC members said during their online meeting that if repairs to heavily damaged sections of the Northeast Entrance Road between Cooke City and Gardiner are not completed by winter, U.S. Highway 212 would be the only option for residents to connect by auto to the outside world. Continue Reading →

Yellowstone

Yellowstone visitation drops in June after floods, closure

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MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WYO. – Yellowstone National Park hosted 536,601 recreation visits in June 2022. This is a 43% decrease from June 2021 (938,845 recreation visits), which was the most-visited June on record, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office. On June 13, all entrances to Yellowstone National Park closed due to historic flooding. All park visitors were evacuated over the next 24 hours. Continue Reading →

Gateway Towns

Yellowstone reopens North Loop to all traffic July 2

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CODY, WYO. — A bit more than two weeks after closing in the face of record flooding that washed out roads to two Montana gateway communities, Yellowstone National Park is reopening almost all its major roads to all visitors for the weekend. 
Park officials announced Thursday that Yellowstone’s North Loop will reopen and an even/odd license plate entry system meant to control traffic will be suspended. Those changes take effect July 2, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office. 
“We’re pleased to reopen the North Loop of Yellowstone to the visiting public less than three weeks after this major flood event,” said Superintendent Cam Sholly. “We have attempted to balance major recovery efforts while reopening as much of the park as possible,” he said. “We have greatly appreciated the tremendous support of the Department of the Interior; National Park Service; Federal Highway Administration; and our congressional, community, county and state partners.”
The North Entrance from Gardiner, Montana and Northeast Entrance from Cooke City, Montana remain closed. Continue Reading →

Much of Yellowstone to reopen Wednesday

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Candice Phipps, a worker at the East Gate to Yellowstone National Park, checks passes of visitors arriving from Cody in this 2012 file photo.

 
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WYO. — With most of Yellowstone National Park undamaged by record flooding earlier this month, officials plan to reopen some roads on Wednesday, using a 1970s-era gas rationing system to limit the number of vehicles in the park. As much as 80 percent of the park is likely to be open to vehicle access within a month. At 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, Yellowstone will begin allowing visitors to access the south loop of the park, including Madison, Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake Village, Canyon Village and Norris. Visitors will be able to enter from the East (Cody, Wyo.); West (West Yellowstone, Mont.); and South (Grand Teton National Park). The move is welcomed by gateway towns that had just begun a summer tourist season that was seen as a chance to gain back ground lost to two years of COVID-19 travel restriction. Continue Reading →

Gateway Towns

Yellowstone steps up repair, reopening plans

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old-gardiner-road-mammoth-view

After initially warning that much of Yellowstone National Park would be closed for the season, officials are now optimistic that as much as 80 percent of the park will be open to vehicles within a month. During a visit to Yellowstone National Park and Gardiner, Montana, on Sunday, National Park Service Director Chuck Sams with Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly announced $50 million in federal spending to kick-start recovery efforts from record floods. The initial $50 million will be used to restore temporary access to Gardiner and Cooke City, Montana and other additional sites, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office. Plans are being finalized for improving the Old Gardiner Road for temporary access between Yellowstone and Gardiner, Montana. 
In partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, road construction crews and materials that were already in the park for a previously scheduled road project to repair 22 miles of the Grand Loop Road between Old Faithful and West Thumb Geyser Basin will be diverted to the Old Gardiner Road project. The Park Service anticipates the Old Gardiner Road will be substantially improved over the upcoming months, ensuring that essential emergency services, food, supplies and other administrative needs will be available throughout the winter months. Continue Reading →

Yellowstone to reopen after floods

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Yellowstone National Park is likely to reopen the week of June 20, with visitors able to access the southern loop road entering from West Yellowstone, Mont., Jackson, Wyo. and Cody, Wyo. Park managers continue to assess damage following record flooding earlier this month. The National Park Service is analyzing the carrying capacity of the south loop and working with partners to develop appropriate visitor management actions to safely accommodate visitors within that portion of the park, the park’s public affairs office said in a statement. Park officials stressed that many popular attractions will be accessible, including Old Faithful Geyser, Grand Prismatic Springs, Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone Lake and numerous thermal features, along with abundant wildlife. Continue Reading →

Gateway Towns

Northern parts of flood-ravaged Yellowstone likely closed for summer

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CODY, Wyo — Emergency crews in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities scrambled on Tuesday to reopen roads and restore utility service in isolated areas cut off by historic floods that forced the first summertime disaster closure of the park in more than three decades. Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a press conference Tuesday that it is unlikely that the road from Gardiner, Mont. into the park and on to Cooke City, Mont. will reopen this year. That would put popular attractions like Mammoth Hot Springs and the unparalleled wildlife range of the Lamar Valley off limits. Continue Reading →

Yellowstone closed to entry following extensive flooding

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A footbridge crossing Rescue Creek in Yellowstone National Park was washed out by recent flooding. All entrances to the park are closed until further notice. 

All entrances to Yellowstone National Park were closed Monday morning as the park and surrounding region experience extensive flooding. Record high waters along the Yellowstone and Gallatin river drainages have caused slides, washouts, bridge failures and other problems. Some roads may remain closed for an extended period as crews assess and repair damaged infrastructure. No inbound visitor traffic will be allowed into the park until conditions stabilize and the park can assess damage to roads and bridges and other facilities, park officials said in a statement released by the park’s public affairs office. This includes visitors with lodging and camping reservations. Continue Reading →

Cody/Yellowstone ‘Gram Slam’ Offers Bounty for Beauty

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Shutterbugs across Park County, Wyoming have a chance to cash in on their most beautiful shots and clips as part of a Park County Travel Council initiative seeking outdoor recreation images to help bring visitors to the area. 
The Park County Gram Slam—seeking your best Instagram-worthy images—runs now through Oct. 29. It is an open call for submissions from area amateur and professional photographers and videographers. Travel Council members will pick their favorites and pay a “Park County Bounty” of $250-$500 for work that highlights outdoor recreation or lesser-known “hidden gem” destinations throughout the county. “We have tons of great photos and videos highlighting the major front-facing attractions throughout Park County,” said Travel Council Executive Director Ryan Hauck. 
“Now, as we are working to also make potential visitors more aware of our great outdoor recreation and backcountry opportunities, we’re looking to build a library of work we can use to showcase the best natural beauty our area has to offer,” Hauck said. Continue Reading →

Yellowstone logs first million-visitor month in July, Park Service requires masks

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CODY, WYO. — Yellowstone National Park logged its first million-visitor month in July, a milestone symbolic of the heavy tourist traffic across the country’s national parks, as visitors travel to wide-open spaces in response to—and in spite of—the surging delta variant of COVID-19. The National Park Service has yet to release final numbers, by Superintendent Cam Sholly told reporters last week that the park hosted approximately 1,080,000 recreational visitors in July, Yellowstone’s busiest month ever. Neighboring Grand Teton National Park also saw a record month in July, hosting an estimated 828,777 recreational visitors. Record numbers of tourists are seeking to escape to the outdoors, as COVID outbreaks are surging in hotspots around the country. Continue Reading →