Check below to view the Yellowstone road schedule.  Even when the park is open, the road conditions can be harsh due to weather considerations.  Click on the links below for up-to-the-minute information on road conditions in the Yellowstone area.

Yellowstone National Park:

Spring Opening Schedule for the Year 2003

Spring weather is unpredictable; roads may be closed temporarily by snow or other weather conditions. Snow tires or chains may be required. Weather and snow conditions permitting, tentative road opening dates for automobiles are:

North Entrance to Cooke City open all year.

April 19, 2003
Mammoth to Norris to Old Faithful; West Entrance to Old Faithful, Norris, Mammoth

April 26, 2003
Norris to Canyon

May 3, 2003
Canyon to Lake to East Entrance; Tower Junction to Tower Fall

May 10, 2003
Lake to West Thumb; Old Faithful to South Entrance

May 24, 2003
Beartooth Pass (Outside the Northeast Entrance to the park)

The scheduled opening dates in May are the earliest possible dates; some routes may actually open later. Some roads will also open, as conditions allow, for bicycle travel only, beginning in the end of March.

Please refer to our Calendar Page and Road Construction Schedule for information regarding closures not related to the weather.

Autumn Closing Schedule for the Year 2003

The only park road that remains open to wheeled vehicles all winter is the road from Gardiner, Montana at the North Park Entrance to Silver Gate & Cooke City, Montana near the Northeast Park Entrance. Please Note, travel east of Cooke City, Montana is Not possible during the winter season.

September 2, 2003
The road between Tower Fall and Canyon Village (Dunraven Pass) closes for the season.

November 2, 2003
All other park roads close at 9:00 p.m. except the road between the North Entrance/Gardiner, Montana and the Northeast Entrance/Silver Gate & Cooke City, Montana. The first Sunday in November is the last full day of travel, so in 2004 it will be November 7.

The North Entrance road to Upper Mammoth Terrace and Mammoth, to Tower Junction, and to the Northeast Entrance remains open to wheeled vehicles year-round. Snow tires and/or chains may be required. Please Note: The section of the Beartooth Highway (Highway 212), between the junction of Highway 296 and Red Lodge, Montana, closes for the season on October 15, 2002. Travel between Red Lodge and the Northeast Entrance will not be possible on Highway 212 until it opens again in the spring.

*Information on this page provided by the NPS.