Spring road openings generally start in mid April and roads in the park start to close around mid October. The East, South and West entrances usually close the first Monday in November of each year. 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. Please note that in winter, US Highway 212 is closed just east of Cooke City, Montana. It is open to east west travel in spring, summer and fall.

Road construction is perennial in Yellowstone National Park. In general, park roads have either been recently repaired or reconstructed, or are scheduled for repair or reconstruction. Approximately 80% of main park roads (about 185 mi or 295 km) are in a structurally deficient state, with poor quality road bases failing under the weight, speed, and volume of modern traffic for which they were not designed. Harsh winter weather and short construction seasons provide additional challenges.

These needs are now being addressed under a 20-year, $300 million Federal Lands Highway Program for Yellowstone National Park. In addition to the major construction addressed below, park road repair crews will be working in other areas of the park throughout the 2001 season. Thank you for your patience with our road construction efforts.

Other road closures or delays are possible. For current road information, call: 307-344-7381.

Additional construction zones and schedules may be announced as construction contracts are awarded.