Tester, Daines, Rosendale Announce Reopening of Yellowstone National Park’s North Loop to All Visitors

93% of the park roads open, alternating license plate system suspended

Following continued efforts from Senators Tester and Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale, the National Park Service announced today that Yellowstone National Park’s north loop will reopen on Saturday, July 2, 2022, effectively opening 93% of roads in the park. The recently implemented Alternating License Plate System (ALPS), which limited traffic in the park, will also be suspended.

“With the reopening of the Yellowstone’s north loop, Montana’s gateway communities are open for business,” said the Montana delegation. “We appreciate the swift work of the Department of Interior and the National Park Service to reopen the park, and we look forward to continuing to work together to spur activity in gateway communities as we recover from recent flooding. This is a great step towards rebuilding, and will provide a needed boost to economies in southwest Montana.”

The Department of Interior announced that Yellowstone National Park’s north loop will officially reopen on Saturday, July 2, 2022, effectively opening 93% of roads in the park. In addition to roads in the south loop, visitors will now be able to access: Norris Junction to Mammoth Hot Springs; Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower-Roosevelt; and Tower-Roosevelt to Canyon Junction (Dunraven Pass). Visitors can access the south and north loops via the East Entrance (Cody, Wyoming), West Entrance (West Yellowstone, Montana), and South Entrance (Grand Teton/Jackson, Wyoming). Additionally, the park will also be suspending ALPS, opening the park to full visitor capacity.

The North Entrance Road (Gardiner, Montana to Mammoth Hot Springs) and Northeast Entrance Road (Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana to Tower-Roosevelt) remain closed to visitor vehicular traffic while temporary repairs are completed. Visitors may access the park on foot through these entrances in order to recreate (fish and hike) in areas not identified as closed, and the park will evaluate authorizing bicycle use through these entrances up to damaged road sections in the near future.

On June 20, 2022 the National Park Service announced expedited plans to re-open 80 percent of Yellowstone National Park, making use of $50 million in emergency Federal Highway Administration funding from the Biden Administration requested by U.S. Senators Tester and Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale. The initial $50 million will be used to restore temporary access to Gardiner and Cooke City, Montana and other additional sites. Plans are being finalized for improving the Old Gardiner Road for temporary access between Yellowstone and Gardiner, Montana. In partnership with the Federal Highways Administration, road construction crews and materials that were already in the park for a previously scheduled road project to repair 22 miles of the Grand Loop Road between Old Faithful and West Thumb Geyser Basin will be diverted to the Old Gardiner Road project.

Full information from NPS can be found HERE.