winter use

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Yellowstone snow coaches switching from tracks to tires

CODY, WYO. — Heavy spring snowfall this week caused Yellowstone National Park managers to temporarily close some entrances, and motorists in parts of the park were told snow tires were required for entry. But having the right tires for snow in Yellowstone isn’t just an unexpected issue for some spring travelers—it’s also shaping up to be one of the biggest changes to winter travel in the park in years. The 2016-17 winter season was the fourth year the National Park Service has allowed snow coaches to use large, low-pressure tires instead of tracks, and the first winter with enough heavy snow to truly test how the tires perform in the most challenging conditions. With a majority of Yellowstone snow coaches using tires instead of tracks this past winter, the tires are getting favorable reviews from visitors and tour operators, said Christina White, a concessions management specialist for Yellowstone. Continue Reading →

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Winter activities in full swing in Yellowstone, Grand Teton

A visitor to Yellowstone National Park stops to take in the snowy view.

A fresh layer of snow and colder temperatures have put winter activities in full swing in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, with a wide range of travel and recreation options available. Visitors to Yellowstone National Park can travel the park’s interior roads on commercially guided snowmobiles and snowcoaches from the North, West, and South Entrances. Visitors who have proper permits can also participate in the Non-commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program. Travel through the park’s East Entrance over Sylvan Pass is scheduled to begin December 22. Continue Reading →

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Reservation period begins for self-guided Yellowstone snowmobile trips

Two people share a snowmobile during a January 2012 trip into Yellowstone National Park.

The week before Labor Day hardly seems like the ideal time for contemplating a winter trek through Yellowstone National Park. But Tuesday, Sept. 1 is a key date for anyone planning to travel through Yellowstone by snowmobile as part of a self-guided group. That's the first day to submit applications online for the lottery system that allocates spots in the self-guided tour program. Under a newly implemented winter-use plan, last winter was the first season since 2003 that allowed sledders to tour Yellowstone without a commercial guide. Despite relatively warmer temperatures and sparse snow, winter recreational visits park-wide increased by 14 percent over the previous year. Continue Reading →

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Public meeting set for Yellowstone winter-use plan

Yellowstone National Park will hold a public meeting on Monday, August 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Visitor Information Center in West Yellowstone, Mont., to discuss the park’s draft Winter Use Adaptive Management Plan. The draft plan outlines a strategy to identify which affected resources should be most closely monitored and evaluated, how these resources should be monitored, and how the National Park Service will continually engage the public throughout the process. It was developed with input from working groups comprised of members of the public who contribute expertise across six impact topics, according to a statement released by the park's public affairs office. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone seeks comments on winter-use plan

A year after managing winter travel by snowmobiles and snow coaches under a newly adopted program, Yellowstone National Park is seeking public comments on proposed revisions to the plan. Park managers said discussion about the draft Winter Use Adaptive Management Plan is part of an effort to continually improve the management of winter use in the park using the best available science and public input. The draft plan will be available for public review and comment until August 21, 2015. Continue Reading →

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Departing Yellowstone spokesman reflects on decade tackling park’s tough issues

Al Nash has left the National Park Service after 9 years as the spokesman for Yellowstone National Park.

One of the first things Al Nash can remember about Yellowstone National Park is the smell. "I remember how stinky it was—that sulfur smell," Nash said, recalling a trip to Yellowstone with his parents when he was a young child, more than 50 years ago. "I remember my mom shooing my sister and I into the car while my dad was trying to get a photo of a black bear in a pull-out," he said. Those early Yellowstone memories came flooding back this month as Nash, the chief of public affairs for Yellowstone since 2006, reflected on nearly a decade in that role just before his last day on the job March 18. Continue Reading →

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Winter travel season winding down in Yellowstone

Two people share a snowmobile during a January 2012 trip into Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone National Park’s winter season is drawing to a close. Park roads that serve snowmobile and snow coach travel to iconic Yellowstone locations will be closed in stages beginning Sunday, March 1. The road from the park’s East Entrance over Sylvan Pass and oversnow travel south into the park from Mammoth Hot Springs will end at 9:00 p.m. Sunday. Closures on other road segments will occur during the next two weeks, with all oversnow travel scheduled to end for the season at 9:00 p.m. Sunday, March 15. Continue Reading →

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Melting snow means no snowmobiles from West Yellowstone

A long stretch of above-normal temperatures and limited snowfall in Yellowstone National Park have resulted in a dramatic reduction in the snowpack on road segments linking West Yellowstone and Old Faithful. That has left many areas along the road from West Yellowstone through Madison Junction to Old Faithful with large portions of exposed pavement visible, requiring the National Park Service to change how vehicles may access the park in that area. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone opens more routes to snow vehicles

Yellowstone National Park is opening additional groomed roads after seeing snowfall every day this week. Commercial and non-commercially guided snowmobiles and commercial snow coaches with rubber tracks or large tires may now travel all the way from Mammoth Hot Springs south through Norris to Madison, and from Norris east to Canyon Junction continuing south all the way to West Thumb. Snowmobiles and all types of snowcoaches may travel from the park’s South Entrance through West Thumb to Old Faithful. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone faces winter season without 3 key leaders

Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk has accepted a temporary position as interim president of the National Park Foundation in Washington, D.C.

With only a month until snowmobiles and snow coaches begin entering Yellowstone National Park, three of the park's top managers will be tending to new duties in other locations. Though the timing is coincidental, and two of the moves are temporary, the circumstances will mean a big change in Yellowstone's daily leadership for the 2014-15 winter season. Yellowstone's superintendent, a top management assistant in charge of winter use and the park's lead scientist have all recently taken assignments in other states. Continue Reading →

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