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Grand Teton set to begin spring plowing

Grand Teton National Park will begin spring plowing operations March 22. (NPS Photo/A White)

MOOSE, WY— Spring plowing will begin in Grand Teton National Park on Monday, March 22. The plowing operations mark the end of over-snow access on the 14-mile section of the Teton Park Road between Taggart Lake Trailhead and the Signal Mountain area. For safety reasons, visitors may not access the Teton Park Road once plowing operations are underway, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office. Rotary snow removal equipment and plows may be working at any time, and the roadway will be closed to all users at all times until further notice. Skiers and those on snow shoes using areas adjacent to the roadway are cautioned to avoid the arc of snow blown from the rotary equipment because pieces of ice and gravel can be thrown great distances. The Teton Park Road is anticipated to be accessible to activities such as cycling, roller skating, skateboarding, roller skiing, walking, jogging and leashed pet walking within the next few weeks. The road will open to motor vehicles on May 1. Other park roads such as the Moose-Wilson Road, Signal Mountain Summit Road, Antelope Flats Road, East Boundary Road, Mormon Row Road, Two Ocean Road and Grassy Lake Road remain closed to vehicle traffic when posted or gated in the spring. These roads may close temporarily to accommodate snow removal operations. The opening dates of these roads vary from year to year and are dependent on weather, snow conditions, plowing progress, wildlife activity and road conditions. The paved multi-pathways in the park are open to use when they are predominantly free of snow and ice. Continue Reading →

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Spring snow plowing set to start in Grand Teton

Road plowing along Teton Park Road in Grand Teton National Park is set to begin April 1. (NPS photo - click to enlarge)

On Monday, March 23, 2015 Grand Teton National Park road crews will begin their annual spring plowing of the Teton Park Road from Taggart Lake parking area to Signal Mountain Lodge. As plowing operations get underway, recreation on this winter trail will cease for the season. Visitors may continue to use other winter trails, and/or areas adjacent to the Teton Park Road, for skate-skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing until conditions are no longer favorable. Snow removal will also begin on the Moose-Wilson Road, once work is concluded on the Teton Park Road Continue Reading →

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Teton Park Road open for spring access as plow crews continue work

Crews are clearing snow from roads and highways in Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton National Park road crews cut through the deep snowpack on the Teton Park Road between the Taggart Lake parking area and Signal Mountain Lodge—a distance of 15 miles— and completed this portion of the annual spring plowing on Friday, April 4. The Teton Park Road has now melted down to pavement and is currently open to non-motorized recreation such as walking, roller-blading, and biking. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone asks Wyoming to adopt ‘orphan’ Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway is a high-altitude scenic byway that snakes along the Montana-Wyoming border and tops out at nearly 11,000 feet.

Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk traveled to Cheyenne on Thursday to ask Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and state transportation officials to participate in a unique adopt-a-highway program. Wenk wasn't looking for volunteers to clean up roadside litter. Instead, he asked Wyoming to take ownership of an "orphan" stretch of the Beartooth Highway. The soaring, scenic byway connects the Montana towns of Cooke City and Red Lodge, but it also passes through nearly 35 miles of high country just inside Wyoming's northern boundary. Continue Reading →

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Early visit to Yellowstone a dream come true for recovered cancer patient

For a recovered cancer patient from Mississippi, local efforts to plow roads in Yellowstone National Park helped fulfill his dream vacation. But for many others visiting Yellowstone on Friday, the politics and economics of snow plowing took a back seat to the animals, including a grizzly sow and her cub spotted between Sedge Bay and Lake Butte Overlook. Continue Reading →

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Road crews finish clearing snow along East Entrance Road in Yellowstone Park

Workers look on as two rotary snowplows enter Yellowstone National Park on Monday to begin removing snow along the East Entrance Road. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

State and federal road crews plowing snow in Yellowstone National Park met Wednesday along the East Entrance Road, completing a job that was funded with help from Wyoming businesses and residents. Snow plows from the Wyoming Department of Transportation pushing into the park from the East Entrance met up before noon with National Park Service plows moving east from Fishing Bridge, according to WYDOT spokesman Cody Beers. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone to open roads from west and north to Old Faithful on April 19

The Roosevelt Arch greets visitors at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. (Flickr photo by Pete Zarria - click to enlarge)

Yellowstone National Park will open the roads from West Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful on Friday, April 19, as originally scheduled, according to a statement released Monday from the park's public affairs office. Despite a delayed start on snow plowing due to budget cuts mandated by Congress under the sequester, the roads from Mammoth and West Yellowstone are opening as originally scheduled before cuts were announced. Continue Reading →

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Locally funded Wyoming crew begins plowing Yellowstone East Entrance Road

Several tons of heavy equipment rumbled to life at the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park on Monday, as workers began what is expected to be a month-long effort to remove snow on the road between the park's eastern boundary and Fishing Bridge. Road workers rarely begin their day to a round of applause like that heard on Monday, but they also typically aren't driving rigs sporting promotional banners and flags positioned in easy view of a group of waiting reporters and local officials. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone Park launches online ‘plow-tracker’

With budget cuts affecting the road-plowing schedule in Yellowstone National Park, more attention than usual has been focused this year on which roads will be plowed and when. The National Park Service has set up a page on the Yellowstone website that allows the public to chart plowing progress, showing on a map the approximate daily location of the plows as they make their way along the park's roads. Continue Reading →

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