Park officials will be looking to make environmental gains and increase sustainability and do so in the least visually impacting way possible, he said. The public will then be able to participate through public comment periods. Once the communities are reconnected, they’ll do more extensive environmental compliance assessments for long-term solutions. Park officials have finished all compliance packages for the short-term temporary emergency repairs in both corridors, he said. What I don’t want to do is repair these sections and have another flood event in a year or five years or whatever, and have a whole other set of wash outs,” said Sholly. “It would be almost derelict if we didn’t evaluate sections of road that could potentially be flooded out in future events and not think about realigning some of those roads. Once the gateway communities of Cooke City/Silver Gate and Gardiner are reconnected, which is the top priority, work will begin on fixes to ensure future floods don’t wash away all the reconstruction. The repair work isn’t the final solution, he said. And I’m confident in our ability to adjust as necessary going into the fall,” Sholly said. “I’ve talked extensively with both governors about doing whatever we need to do to make sure we’ve got access. Greg Gianforte to shore up plans under both contingencies. If we don’t hit the targets on, then what we agreed to with both directors today, is (there will be) a plan to maintain the plug being open throughout the winter.” So if it does, we will work with Montana and Wyoming and keep the plug open. There are only six to eight weeks of construction time left before the snow usually starts flying in the park to fix the roads damaged by unprecedented floods in the second week of June. Hedging his bet, he met with the departments of transportation Tuesday morning. “We have very aggressive timelines to get these temporary repairs completed, both for the Northeast Entrance Road, and the North Entrance road,” said superintendent Cam Sholly during a Tuesday interview. Learn more about spotting winter wildlife in Wyoming.Yellowstone National Park announced an ambitious goal of finishing temporary repairs of the Northeast Entrance road by mid-October and has forged a deal with the Montana and Wyoming transportation departments to plow “the plug” this coming winter, if necessary. The intimacy a less-crowded park provides when observing wildlife face the elements of winter is something not to be missed. Wildlife Watchingīison, elk, river otters and other animals who call Yellowstone National Park home are even more magical to watch among snow-covered ground and steaming rivers. Several hundred snowmobilers are allowed each day, but since permit applications are due each year by the end of August, exploring the park in this way requires advanced planning.įind more places to snowmobile in Wyoming. SnowmobilingĪn extension of the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail, the trails of Yellowstone may be explored only with an authorized commercial guide or with a Non-Commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program permit. Yellowstone National Park provides more information on how to traverse the park by ski or snowshoe. There are several outfitters nearby who rent gear, and several companies specialize in guided trips if you’d rather not venture out alone. Miles of trails winding through the vast wilderness are open for exploration on foot. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are both great ways to experience Yellowstone’s backcountry in the winter. Find current road conditions, opening dates and closing dates. Roads close to oversnow travel in early March and begin to open for regular vehicle travel in late April, weather permitting. Permits are open to anyone 18 and older, with lottery applications accepted August 1-31 and permits awarded mid-September. Non-guided snowmobile trips into and around Yellowstone National Park are only available to those who acquire a permit through the park’s Non-commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program. From Yellowstone’s East Entrance, snowmobile tours are available through Gary Fales Outfitting. Snowcoaches can be booked through Teton Science Schools, Inc. Oversnow Travel Optionsįrom the South Entrance, snowmobile tours are available through Old Faithful Snowmobile Tours and Scenic Safaris. Imagine seeing Yellowstone’s paved (and often crowded) roads transformed into secluded, snow-covered passages to the park’s otherworldy thermal features. This means that visitors can enter the park via snowmobile, snowcoach, snowshoe and cross-country ski. In mid-December, roads closed to traffic open to oversnow travel. Vehicles are not allowed in Yellowstone National Park starting within the first week of November, except on a limited stretch of road to Mammoth Hot Springs through the North Entrance.
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