The National Park Service is waiving entrance fees to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and all other national parks this weekend.
There will also be five additional free-entry periods in 2015 as a way to encourage people to get outdoors and enjoy the remarkable landscapes and historical and cultural sites national parks have to offer.
Other fee free dates for 2015 are:
• April 18 & 19: National Park Week’s opening weekend
• August 25: National Park Service’s 99th birthday
• September 26: National Public Lands Day
• November 11: Veterans Day
The road to Yellowstone National Park from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, through Mammoth Hot Springs on to Cooke City, Montana, outside the park’s Northeast Entrance, is open to wheeled vehicle travel all year. Access to the interior of Yellowstone and iconic locations like Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is restricted to guided snowmobile and snowcoach trips from the North, West, South, and East entrances during the winter months.
At Old Faithful, the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins and the dining room, the Geyser Grill, the Bear Den Gift Shop and the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center are all open for the winter season. At Mammoth Hot Springs, the hotel, dining room and gift shop are open for the winter season. The Yellowstone General Store, medical clinic, campground, post office, and the Visitor Center are open all year. Fuel is available from 24-hour gasoline pumps all year at both Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction.
Weekend visitors to Grand Teton National Park can engage in winter activities from auto-touring, wildlife viewing or photography to cross-country skiing, skate skiing and snowshoeing across the snow-covered landscape.
A popular winter trail—that spans 15 miles of the unplowed Teton Park Road from Taggart Lake parking area to Signal Mountain Lodge—is open, and machine groomed each Friday and most Mondays, when weather and park staffing allows.
In addition to skiing, photography and wildlife watching, ranger-led snowshoe hikes take place each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday day at 1:30 p.m. from the Taggart Lake parking area. The two-hour guided walks offer an opportunity to learn about snow science and winter ecology. Reservations are required and can be made at 307.739.3399. Previous experience is not necessary, and snowshoes are available for use during the hike for a suggested donation of $5/person. The Grand Teton Association collects these donations to help maintain the historic wooden snowshoes used for this ranger-led activity.
For complete information about winter activities in Grand Teton National Park or the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, go to http://www.nps.gov/grte/parknews/upload/Winter_Guide_15-web2.pdf.
Visitors can also obtain winter season information visiting online at www.nps.gov/grte, by stopping at the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center on North Cache Street in Jackson, or by calling the park’s information line at 307.739.3399, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday—Saturday.