Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Yellowstone Park

This post not about elk hunting but is the result of a soon to be elk hunt. Wife and I will be headed to Montana later this month and want to make a one day trip thru Yellowstone. Does anyone know when the park closes the roads thru the park? Have tried calling but cannot talk to a real person, just recording. Any information would be appreciated!! Thanks Daniel

Try here: YELLOWSTONE DATES
At the bottom of the page is a link to road conditions.

Rock Chuck: Thanks for that link - I have saved it in my file.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Rock Chuck, thank you!!!!! We plan to be there on the 26th. We hope to drive thru it.

Winter might be coming early this year. The temps for the opening of deer season next week will be 30F below normal and we've already had a little snow at higher elevations. We're not all that far from Yellowstone.

Hard to say what the 26th will be. I was in the Park Sunday, with snow falling and 6" on the ground. We've gotten more snow since then. OTOH, we could get Indian Summer conditions any time... or not!

Rock Chuck and Brad, Both of you sound like east Texas weathermen! Maybe, Maybe Not!!!! LOL

Mountain weather. It does what it wants. Regardless of the forecast.

Call a couple businesses (gas stations are good) or motels in Cooke City, MT or Gardner, MT, They are at the gates and should know what roads are open from that end. The gas station in Cooke City usually knows the scoop, and if you can catch someone at the visitor center they can usually tell you also. At least the road from Cook City to Mammoth & Gardner will be open as that is kept open all year or the folks in Cooke City would get no supplies. The Lamar valley (between the two towns) is a nice place to wildlife watch, though there are more buffalo and less elk than there used to be. The high passes like Dunraven and possibly Sylvan at the east gate (Pahaska) west of Cody will close early. We have been getting snow on and off for about 10 days in high passes and highest peaks. It is warming between, but once they close those mountain passes they stay closed for the winter as a rule.

DLAllder
That late the only road to be open will probally be the road from Cooke City/Silvergate n/e gate to Gardiner North gate. The high elevation pass ( BearTooth Pass 10,947ft elev ) from Red Lodge to Cooke City could will be closed due to snows. In 2007 it was closed Oct 7th to us due to early snowfall If I remember well they close it around Oct 15th There is an alternate route to Cooke City from Red Lodge Rt 72 to Rt 120 to Rt 296 that runs through beautiful deer and elk country. Rt 72 from Red Lodge to Rt 120 was full of deer that day Oct 8th . The Cody entrance will be closed by then. See Rock Chuck's YNP page. You will pass through Lamar valley coming in the Cooke City Silvergate entrance traveling to Gardnier. You will find gas expensive in Cooke City, but you need to fill up there before entering the park. YNP is a beautiful national park. Hope this help you. HH

Most of the roads are scheduled to close on Nov. 6th. https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm Incidentally, it is still legal to use those roads during the transition season, on foot/bicycle/skis... But the facilities at Old Faithful are closed until the winter use season.

Maybe you should visit Kotzebue. Still raining here.... no snow in the forecast....