Visiting Yellowstone in Winter
Yes! You can (and should) visit Yellowstone in winter - IT'S A WINTERY WONDERLAND!
Yellowstone Park has announced the West entrance to Yellowstone National Park will open for over-the-snow visitors on December 15, 2010 and is scheduled to remain open through March 15, 2011.
It's as magical and magnificent as ever. It's an experience not to be missed whether for the first time or the fiftieth.
For over forty years, over-the-snow vehicles including snowcoaches and snowmobiles have left daily from West Yellowstone for tours of the park. These vehicles are specially constructed with the best available environmentally-friendly technology.
Muscle powered activities like cross-country skiing and snow shoeing are other options.
YELLOWSTONE PARK'S WEST ENTRANCE WINTER SEASON DATES
Scheduled closing for the summer season is November 7, 2010
Scheduled opening for over-the-snow traffic is December 15, 2010
Scheduled closing for over-the-snow traffic is March 15, 2011
Scheduled opening for vehicle travel is April 15, 2011
PARK ENTRANCE FEES
As always, all visitors pay an entrance fee to Yellowstone and there are several options:
$12.00 per person visiting by snow coach for one day or $20 for multiple days (up to 7 days), or a $20 family pass (spouses and children under 21 residing in the same household) good for 7 days. Annual or Lifetime Passes are possible alternatives to the above fees.
$15.00 per snowmobile for a single day or $20.00 per snowmobile for up to seven consecutive days. Annual or Lifetime Passes are possible alternatives to the above fees.
For complete details on all Park Entrance Passes contact Yellowstone National Park
at (307) 344-2107 or click here for Yellowstone's Web site.
There are two options. You can travel with one of our fine snow coach tour operators who provide skier and snowshoe "drops." (This means they drop you for a portion of the tour and re-connect with you later in the tour).
You can also go "back country." Check with the National Park service for details by going to their web site at nps.gov/yell or call 307-344-2107.
TO VISIT BY SNOWCOACH
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are set to open for the 2010-2011 winter season as scheduled on Wednesday, December 15. A temporary plan to provide for snowcoach access has been approved allowing up to 78 commercially guided snowcoaches in a day in Yellowstone for the 2010-2011 winter seasons. Snow coaches are over-the-snow vehicles that accommodate approximately 10-20 passengers. Or, you can reserve a private snow coach for your family or group. Simply make your reservations with any one of our fine Snow coach Operators click here
TO VISIT BY SNOWMOBILE
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are set to open for the 2010-2011 winter season as scheduled on Wednesday, December 15. A temporary plan to provide for limited, regulated snowmobile access in Yellowstone National Park for this winter has been approved. The plan allows up to 318 commercially guided, Best Available Technology (BAT) snowmobiles for the 2010-2011 winter season. It also continues to provide for motorized oversnow travel over Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance road. Click here for Yellowstone Snowmobile Operators.
As of this Moment in Yellowstone Park
The West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park closed to oversnow vehicle travel on March 15th, 2011. Yellowstone's west entrance will re-open for oversnow travel on December 15, 2011 which will mean you can travel by snowmobile, snow coach, cross country ski or snowshoe into Yellowstone. Yellowstone's west entrance will remain open until March 15, 2012, for over-the-snow travel. It will then close to prepare for wheeled vehicle travel re-opening again in April 2012.
STAY INFORMED:
YELLOWSTONE RELEASES WINTER USE PLAN DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The National Park Service has released a new long-term plan designed to manage winter use and determine the type and extent of future snowmobile and snowcoach use in Yellowstone National Park. (The full press release follows.) The draft is now open for public review and comment. The full Draft EIS can be found at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=111&projectID=29281&documentID=40801 & then scroll to the bottom of the page & select the pdf. Deadline for Comments: July 5th, 2011
Some important things to note:
Yellowstone Park WILL be open next winter from December 15th, 2011 through March 15th, 2012.
There is an interim plan in place for next winter and it replicates this past year when 72 snowcoaches and 318 snowmobiles were allowed to enter Yellowstone - including 160 snowmobiles a day and 38 snowcoaches just from West Yellowstone.
The new ruling will not go into effect until the winter of 2012-13 • The draft EIS would continue the over-the-snow travel much as it will be next year although there is some flexibility in numbers each day.
There would be three different "ceilings" for snowmobiles and snowcoaches each day. There is a schedule in the drat EIS that shows the limits per day (can vary by day). • A 60-day comment period is now underway -continuing to midnight on July 5, 2011.
Yellowstone will always be premier (“bucket list”) destination because of its absolute unique array of thermal and wildlife activity when experienced against the background of winter.
The hundreds of miles of trail and backcountry riding available in the National Forests that are around West Yellowstone are unaffected by this proposed EIS or any previous ones. West Yellowstone remains a Mecca for incredible snowmobile experiences.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE: (5/5/11):
A new long-term plan designed to manage winter use and determine the type and extent of future snowmobile and snowcoach use in Yellowstone National Park has been released for public review and comment.
The Winter Use Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) analyzes a wide range of alternatives that present different ways visitors could experience the park in winter while protecting the park’s natural resources and values. The alternative preferred by the park and the National Park Service (NPS) takes a new approach by varying the maximum number of oversnow vehicles (OSV) allowed in the park for certain days and periods during the winter season.
This “preferred alternative” would allow varying days of higher and lower numbers of snowmobiles and snowcoaches in the park so that visitors would have a greater variety of motorized and non-motorized experiences.throughout the season. Some days could have as many as 330 snowmobiles and 0 snowcoaches in the park, while others could have as few as 110 snowmobiles and 30 snowcoaches. Under this alternative, if each day’s allocation were fully used, a daily average of 254 snowmobiles and 63 snowcoaches would be allowed during the 90-day winter season.
As in recent years, this alternative would continue to require that snowmobiles and snowcoaches be accompanied by commercial guides and on existing park roads groomed for oversnow use. Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance to the park would be managed with a combination of avalanche mitigation techniques to provide winter access in accordance with an agreement reached in 2008. A new OSV scheduling plan would require that all vehicles entering the park do so by 10:30 a.m. each day.
Use of “best available technology” (BAT) snowmobiles would continue. A new limit on nitrogen oxide emissions would be implemented. By the winter of 2014-2015, snowcoaches would be required to meet or exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2010 emission standards for new wheeled vehicles. Snowcoaches also would be required to meet a new ground-surface weight limit of 4.5 pounds per square inch to limit potential damage to park roads.
The National Park Service intends to have a final EIS, a Record of Decision, and a final rule guiding winter use in place before the start of the 2011-2012 winter season.
OUT OF YELLOWSTONE SNOW ACTIVITIES
Yes! You can (and should) use the recreational opportunities that the Gallatin and Targhee National Forest lands have to offer. Cross-country ski, snowmobile and snowshoe activities are all available outside of Yellowstone on groomed trails or via back country access.
West Yellowstone connects with more than 400 miles of snowmobile trails in the Gallatin and Targhee National Forests. Check out world class cross-country skiing on the renown Rendezvous Trail System at 35K located at the edge of West Yellowstone. Or, try a snowshoe trail in our neighboring national forests.
Out of state snowmobilers are required to register their sleds for forest service trail riding. The states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming each require non-resident snowmobiles to be registered. These are annual registrations.
The groomed snowmobile trail system, leaving from West Yellowstone, covers trails in both Montana and Idaho. Registering for both states is recommended. Opportunity to sled in Wyoming is limited as access is through Idaho. If you plan on traveling the southern extent of the trail system, a Wyoming registration is also recommended.
Montana non-resident registrations are $25.00 per snowmobile and can be purchased in advance at fwp.mt.gov (available in season only)
Idaho non-resident registration is $32.50 per snowmobile. They can be purchased in advanced by calling: 800-247-6332
Both registrations are available for "in person" purchase at locations in West Yellowstone including the Visitors Center at 30 Yellowstone Avenue.
Click on the following for more information on lodging, snowmobile tours, restaurants, attractions, shopping or call the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce at 406-646-7701
