Author: By the National Park Service

14DEC

Yellowstone’s winter season starts Saturday

Winter is here! At 8 a.m. Saturday, select roads in Yellowstone National Park will open to the public for motorized oversnow travel.

Visitors will be able to travel the park’s interior roads on commercially guided snowmobiles and snowcoaches from the West and South entrances. Visitors who have proper permits can also participate in the non-commercially guided snowmobile trips.

Travel between the North Entrance and Swan Lake Flat will be limited to commercially guided snowcoaches. This section will remain closed to visitor snowmobile use until more snow accumulates on the road. Plan accordingly and stay informed.

Travel from the park’s East Entrance over Sylvan Pass is scheduled to begin Dec. 22, weather depending.

The road from the park’s North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, through Mammoth Hot Springs to Cooke City, Montana, is open to wheeled vehicle travel all year.

Are you planning a winter trip to the park? Weather is extremely unpredictable and road closures or delays can occur with little or no warning. Please come prepared. Carry personal emergency survival equipment and dress appropriately for outside activities in extremely cold weather.

Lodging and services are limited during winter. The following list highlights what winter visitor services are available and when they will open:

Old Faithful

  • Dec. 15: Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, Geyser Grill, and Bear Den Gift Shop and Ski Shop
  • Dec. 16: Old Faithful Snow Lodge and cabins and Obsidian Dining Room

Mammoth Hot Springs

  • Dec. 16: Mammoth Hotel Map Room barista/bar, Mammoth Hotel Buffet, Mammoth Gift Shop and Ski Shop
  • Open year-round: Albright Visitor Center, Mammoth General Store, medical clinic, campground, and post office

Service Stations

  • Open year-round: 24-hour gasoline pumps are available at Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Junction, Canyon Village, Fishing Bridge, Grant Village and Old Faithful

Additionally, warming huts at Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Indian Creek, Madison, Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful and West Thumb provide shelter. Some huts are staffed during business hours. Food, restrooms and water are available at some huts. All warming huts, except Mammoth Hot Springs, will open on Dec. 15. Mammoth Hot Springs will open on Dec. 16.

In addition to unique winter travel opportunities, Yellowstone also offers a variety of activities such as ranger-led programs, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

18SEP

Attend Yellowstone’s Hawk Watch on Saturday

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming — Celebrate the spectacle of raptor migration on Saturday in Yellowstone National Park’s Hayden Valley. Two programs will provide opportunities to learn about raptors and the role they play in Yellowstone and beyond:

  • 9 a.m.: Presentation on raptor ecology and identification in the lobby of the Lake Lodge.
  • 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Join park rangers to observe raptors at a road pullout located in Hayden Valley 9 miles north of Fishing Bridge Junction and 6.6 miles south of Canyon Junction. Look for signs, spotting scopes and uniformed rangers at the program location.

People should bring their own binoculars, water, snacks and a lawn chair for comfortable viewing.

Both programs are free to attend. For more information, call Katy Duffy at 307-699-2696.

13SEP

Archeology-focused Yellowstone Science magazine released

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming — A new issue of Yellowstone Science magazine invites readers to celebrate the achievements of recent archeological research in Yellowstone and traces the history of the park’s archeology program. The issue includes articles focusing on obsidian, the Nez Perce Trail and the historical archeology of Yellowstone.

A new feature called “Debunking the Myth” counters common misconceptions about use of the area in the past. Central to the issue is the important work done by Dr. Douglas H. MacDonald. MacDonald’s surveys of the shores of Yellowstone Lake provide invaluable insights into how this huge body of water served as a hub of activity for thousands of years.

Dr. Staffan Peterson’s “Archeology and Adaptation to Climate Change in Yellowstone” discusses the challenges faced by modern archeologists in the face of change.

“Ultimately, as much as archeology compels us to rethink how we define this landscape, it certainly makes the story of Yellowstone National Park deeper and richer, helping us understand that this place was important long before early European explorers came here,” guest editor and Chief of Cultural Resources Tobin Roop writes in the introduction.

Historical article topics include the Howard Eaton “Yellowstone Tour,” relief model maker Edwin E. Howell and the 1889 adventures of botanist Aven Helson. A piece discussing Gibbon River fisheries restoration work, book reviews and “Recovery of Soda butte Creek, Post-Reclamation” by Dr. Andrew Ray round out the issue.

Yellowstone Science shares information from scientists and researchers with the public to highlight in-depth, science-based knowledge about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The production of Yellowstone Science is made possible in part by a generous grant to Yellowstone Forever by Canon U.S.A.

The new issue, along with an index of past issues, is available online at www.nps.gov/yellowstonescience.

11SEP

August visitation declines in Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming — Yellowstone hosted 813,970 visits in August 2018. This is approximately an 11 percent decrease from August 2017, which was the busiest August on record with 916,166 visits.

So far in 2018, the park has hosted 3,136,250 visits, down 3 percent from the same period last year. The list below shows the trend over the last several years. Even with the decline in August, year-to-date visitation in 2018 is approximately 23 percent higher than it was in 2013.

Year-to-date recreation visits (through August):

  • 2018: 3,136,250
  • 2017: 3,232,708
  • 2016: 3,269,024
  • 2015: 3,133,965
  • 2014: 2,717,039
  • 2013: 2,554,000

The continued high level of visitation in the park underscores the importance of planning a Yellowstone adventure ahead of time. Visitors should anticipate delays or limited parking at popular destinations and check current conditions on the park’s website before they arrive.

More data on park visitation, including how we calculate these numbers, is available on the NPS Stats website, https://irma.nps.gov/Stats.