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Early crowds make for busy opening day at East Gate to Yellowstone Park

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A Buddhist monk from Thailand takes photographs at Sylvan Lake on Friday in Yellowstone National Park.

For the past decade, at 8 a.m. on the first Friday in May, Yellowstone National Park ranger Dennis Lenzendorf has pulled aside a locked barricade to open the park's East Entrance to the season's first visitors. But this year was a little different. Normally, a few dozen cars—mainly full of locals anxious to re-enter the park on opening day—are queued up and waiting. But typically, after the first hour, traffic is sparse. This past Friday, more than 50 vehicles were still lined up at 10 a.m. waiting to enter. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Wildlife, Yellowstone, east gate, safety, spring, visitation

Yellowstone roads begin opening to autos for season

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Spring is a great time to see Yellowstone National Park as the landscape begins to shed its winter garb of ice and snow. Animals are becoming more active with the change of season, and newborn wildlife begin moving through the park. Most importantly for local residents, it's a chance to visit Yellowstone before the summer crowds arrive, bringing traffic and congestion to the world's first national park. Road segments throughout the park will follow a staggered opening in the next few weeks, with the road from West Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone already open for the season, allowing visitors to travel by car to two of the park’s iconic locations. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, Yellowstone, spring, traffic

Spring bicycling begins on select Yellowstone roads

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A bicyclist rides past freshly plowed snow along the road between Norris and Canyon Village in this 2012 file photo.

Some roads in Yellowstone National Park are now open to bicyclists as plow crews work to clear ice and snow in preparation for the park opening to autos later this month. Bicycles are allowed now on 49 miles of park roads from the West Entrance at West Yellowstone, Montana, to Mammoth Hot Springs. But there is no bicycle access to Old Faithful or Canyon until the first interior park roads open to public motorized vehicle access on Friday, April 15. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, bicycles, cycling, spring

Savvy regulars, eager locals cherish Yellowstone spring

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Bison dot the landscape in the Lamar Valley as a lack of snow leaves much of Yellowstone National Park open for spring grazing.

For the faithful and fanatical few early visitors to Yellowstone National Park arriving from Cody last week, Friday seemed more like a breezy summer day than the first chance to enter the park by car after another long winter. But it appears there wasn't quite enough winter overall in the park this year, as snowpack was at just a fraction of its usual levels throughout the wide valleys and high mountains that are home to headwaters for much of the surrounding region. A mild and dry winter made for an easy time moving around the park, but could mean limited water for irrigation and the potential for a busy fire season in surrounding areas. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, Yellowstone, construction, east gate, spring, visitation

Yellowstone East Entrance sees faithful and lucky among park’s early visitors

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There are few things in life that seem to be all things to all people, but Yellowstone National Park took on that role Friday, as everyone from lucky accidental tourists, faithful photographers, middle school students and hardcore snowboarders flocked to the park on the first day the Yellowstone East Entance was open for the 2012 summer season. Local snowboarders Chay Donnelly and Brad Metzler were two of the early visitors spread among two dozen vehicles waiting for the Yellowstone East Entrance to open at 8 a.m. They joined wildlife photographers, nature lovers, office workers playing hooky and others anxious to get into Yellowstone at the earliest opportunity. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, artist point, bears, east gate, snowboarding, spring, wolves, yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park spring travel offers solitude, quiet as park wakes up from winter

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Spring visitors say they cherish the first few days when Yellowstone opens its roads each year. Not all dining, lodging and other services are open yet, and the weather is often chilly and wet. But the park is less crowded, offering a calm and peaceful alternative to the busiest days of summer. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, roads, snow, solitude, spring, weather, yellowstone, yellowstone spring travel

Yellowstone Park roads to Old Faithful and Canyon open to autos

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Just in time for National Park Week, roads into Yellowstone National Park from the north and west entrances will open for the summer season to automobile travel at 8:00 a.m., Friday, April 20. Visitors will be able to travel by car through the park’s north entrance at Gardiner, Mont., and west entrance at West Yellowstone, Mont., to Norris, Madison, Canyon and Old Faithful. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, national park week, opening day, plowing, roads, spring, yellowstone

Spring migration sees wildlife on roads around Yellowstone and Grand Teton

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A trio of bison make their way along a highway near Yellowstone National Park. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

Motorists across the greater Yellowstone area should expect to see more wildlife than usual on roads over the next few weeks, as warm weather and new grass have animals on the move as part of their annual spring migration patterns. Elk, bison and other large mammals are beginning their trek from winter range back to summer pastures, and it's not uncommon for them to cross highways in large numbers. Wildlife may even to use roads as travel corridors, particularly in places where deep snow drifts or plowed snow prevents easy use of alternate routes. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, Wildlife, migration, roads, safety, spring, wildlife

Bicyclists get Yellowstone Park roads to themselves for a month

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A bicyclist rides past freshly plowed snow along the road between Norris and Canyon Village in this 2012 file photo.

Bicycling through Yellowstone National Park can be both a grand adventure and a harrowing undertaking. With winter bicycle travel impossible on most roads and summer roads often clogged with buses and RVs, some hardy cyclists focus on the month before the park opens each spring as a time when they have roads largely to themselves. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, bicycle, bikes, plowing, spring, yellowstone, yellowstone national park

Grand Teton begins plowing roads in preparation for spring operations

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National Park Service road crews use rotary plows to clear heavy snows at the end of the winter season in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

The annual plowing of the Moose-Wilson Road and Teton Park Road in Grand Teton National Park will begin Monday, March 12. As plowing begins, recreation on the snow-packed trails will conclude for the 2011-12 winter season. Park visitors may continue to use other winter trails—or areas adjacent to these roads—for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and other activities as conditions allow. Visitors may not use the Teton Park Road while rotary snow removal equipment and plows are working. Safety precautions require that the road is closed to all users during that activity. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, grand teton, grizzly bears, plow, plowing, roads, spring