Yellowstone Has a Lot to Offer for the Winter Despite the Shutdown—Here’s How to Get the Best Out of It
Yellowstone National Park invited around 4.7 million visitors last year. However, most of the crowd arrived during the summer, so the winter tourism witnessed a sharp decline. Between the months of January and March in 2024, the number of people coming for recreational activities decreased to 30,000 to 50,000 each month, according to the National Park Service. Now, amid the federal shutdown, things have turned more tricky. Irrelevant of how long the shutdown goes on, the public has not been denied entry to national parks despite several notorious and illegal activities taking place. Hence, the roads of Yellowstone will be quieter this year with fewer activities and visits.
The government shutdown has got people confused about what services are open in which national parks. Here's a look at the services at Yellowstone that are accessible this winter. Although most roads will remain closed from mid-November through April, one will remain open all year long. Vehicles will be allowed on the road that starts from Gardiner, Montana, through the park to Cooke City via Tower Junction. Due to this limited access, visitors won't be able to enjoy oversnow travel by snowmobile, snowcoach, or on foot in the interiors of the park. Dan Wenk worked for the Park Service for more than 40 years and served as Yellowstone’s superintendent for a long time.
He knows well about the insides of the park and shared how people's expectations clash with the authorities. Speaking to Mountain Journal, Wenk revealed that the winter intensity has reduced drastically compared to the brutal cold of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yellowstone witnesses occasional big snowfall and winter, but it's becoming increasingly rare. “Most people agree there’s less snow and conditions are less harsh,” he added. However, the change in weather conditions didn't alter people's expectations of the park. They still anticipate groomed snow roads while traveling inside the park in the winter season. Maybe the lack of decorated snow influenced the reduced visitations in the winter.
However, Yellowstone still provides a chance to the public to have a glimpse at their winter wonderland. Once enough snow accumulates by mid-December, Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and other places in the vicinity will be made accessible to the public. But those areas can only be reached by snowmobile or snowcoach, or through the Non-Commercially Guided Snowmobile Access Program. Non commercially guided groups can also enter the area if they get permission. Only four of these groups can enter the Old Faithful area per day, and that is decided through a lottery system, as per the Montana Free Press.
The Northern area of the national park remains open through the winter, while the rest of the area and services are closed. If Yellowstone is your desired winter destination, then you can go for wildlife sighting at the Lamar Valley. Bisons and elk, among other animals, are easier to spot in the area. Visitors can also enjoy cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and view the stunning geothermal pools framed by frost and steam. Mammoth Hot Springs and its terraces remain open all year long and make up a great place to visit. “I enjoyed getting into the interior by snowmobile and seeing the park without as many visitors,” Doug Madsen, a retired Yellowstone ranger, told the outlet.
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