Monday Marks Start Of Yellowstone’s Winter Season

Yellowstone National Park will open to the public for motorized oversnow travel as scheduled on Monday morning, December 15. Recent warm weather and limited snowfall has resulted in very little snowpack on many of the park’s interior roads.

Until appreciable snowfall is received and conditions on the park’s packed, groomed roads improve:

Visitors will be able to take commercially and non-commercially guided snowmobile trips or travel by commercial snowcoach between the park’s South Entrance and Old Faithful.

Commercial snowcoaches with rubber tracks or large oversnow tires or other high clearance commercial wheeled vehicles will be permitted to transport visitors between West Yellowstone and Old Faithful.

Commercial snowcoaches with rubber tracks or large oversnow tires will be permitted to offer visitor travel on road segments linking Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris, Madison, Canyon, and the northern end of Hayden Valley.

The road from the northern end of Hayden Valley through Fishing Bridge Junction to West Thumb is not currently suitable for any type of guided visitor travel. Travel through the park’s East Entrance over Sylvan Pass to Fishing Bridge is scheduled to begin Sunday, December 22.

According to a news release, park staff members will continue to closely monitor conditions and weather forecasts.  Additional sections of the park will open to guided snowmobile and snowcoach travel as soon as enough new snow permits.