Yellowstone Park has been fully reopened after the June 2022 flood. Therefore, this article will no longer be updated.
Unfortunately, unexpected weather events that hit the Yellowstone area have created problems for access to the famous U.S. park. With this guide, which we will keep updated as the situation develops, we will try to answer the most common questions that can be asked by those who are planning an itinerary in these areas.
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What happened
In the middle week of June, the Yellowstone area was hit by a prolonged series of thunderstorm-like precipitation that, combined with melting ice in the mountains, caused severe flooding, damaging infrastructure and isolating some communities such as Gardiner in Montana.
With regard to the park, the road connecting the North Entrance (near Gardiner) to Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley was damaged, if not destroyed, in several places. You can see some of the considerable flood damage in the video below.
What part of Yellowstone is currently closed?
Given the importance of the park, restoration work has proceeded so quickly that at present 93% of paved roads and 94% of trails within the park are accessible.
However, the following roads currently remain closed to vehicular traffic:
- North Entrance Road (Gardiner, MT to Mammoth Hot Springs)
- Northeast Entrance Road (Cooke City, MT & Silver Gate, MT to Tower-Roosevelt)
Below you will find in detail the situation of the various entrances to Yellowstone.
- West Entrance: OPEN
- South Entrance: OPEN
- East Entrance: OPEN
- North-East Entrance: OPEN
- North Entrance: OPEN
When will the park be reopened to visitors?
93% of roadways are open. On June 22, the South Loop (where the main attractions are located) was reopened. The North Loop was reopened on July 2, also allowing access to Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Geyser Basin.
How Yellowstone access will be regulated?
Update July 2, 2022: The alternate plate access system (ALPS) has been suspended. You can access Yellowstone regularly through the entrances that have been reopened (see above). Here is the official NPS memo dated July 2:
ALPS will be suspended effective July 2. Visitor entrances from East, West, and South will return to normal entrance procedures. Park staff will continue monitoring visitor use data, traffic counts, and the condition of infrastructure over the upcoming months to ensure visitor usage is not overwhelming capacity. The ALPS may be reinstituted if this becomes the case.
Since Yellowstone is one of the most visited parks in the United States, in order to minimize the risk of congestion on the roads within the park, it was decided to adopt an Alternating License Plate System (ALPS).
In other words, during even-numbered days only cars whose license plates end in an even number (including zero) will be allowed to enter the park, while on odd-numbered days only cars with license plates ending in an odd number will be allowed to enter.
If you have personalized license plates consisting of letters only they will be considered an odd number. While if you have personalized license plates with letters and numbers the last number on the plate will be considered.
All cars that do not follow this criterion will be denied access to the park.
Will there be any exceptions?
There are exceptions to this system:
Everyone who has a reservation to sleep inside the park, or holds a backcountry reservation, will be able to enter Yellowstone regardless of the license plate number.All those who choose to visit Yellowstone through organized tours, or through private buses.Motorcycle groups will only be allowed access during even-numbered days.
What services within the park will be open?
From June 22, when the south loop is reopened, the following park services and areas will be open:
- Old Faithful
- West Thumb
- Grant Village
- Bridge Bay
- Fishing Bridge
- Lake Village
- Norris Visitor Services
- West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center
- Canyon Village Visitor Education Center
As of July 2, they have been reopened:
- Tower/Roosevelt Service Station
- Mammoth Hot Springs
You can check the status of individual facility openings by visiting this page on the official website.
Can people get a refund?
Everyone who had purchased a permit or campground through recreation.gov by logging into their personal area will find guidelines for requesting a refund since it is provided for in the terms and conditions in the event of an emergency closure.
In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within your Recreation.gov customer profile.
Regarding tours purchased from other sites, or hotel room reservations in or near the park, the encouragement is to contact these service providers directly and ask directly if refunds will be provided following these events.
Where to find all the up-to-date information?
The most important resource for getting all the latest updates is, of course, the park’s official website (especially the page dedicated to the opening status of the roads) and all related social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
