It’s official! The Montana governor announced: Yellowstone opens Monday at 10:00 am!
“Yellowstone National Park announced it will open its Montana entrances on Monday, June 1 at 10 a.m. “ “The entire Grand Loop Road will be accessible for day use, excluding the segment between Canyon and Tower, which is closed for road construction (see attached map). On June 1, in line with the park’s three-phased reopening plan, visitors will be able to access Phase 1 services/facilities (including restrooms, self-service gas stations, trails/boardwalks, limited stores, entrance stations, medical clinics, approved tours) and a few services/facilities as outlined in Phase 2 (including takeout food service, boating, and fishing). The park will remain day-use only. Limited overnight accommodations will begin reopening later in June. Campgrounds, visitor centers, and other facilities are still closed until health conditions allow for reopening. The park has implemented significant mitigation efforts including: providing additional protective barriers where needed, encouraging the use of masks or facial coverings in high density areas, metering visitor access in certain locations, increasing cleaning frequency of facilities, adding signage on boardwalks and other public spaces, and messaging to visitors through a variety of methods. Substantial investments have been made in mitigation measures by the park’s business partners including Xanterra, Delaware North, Yellowstone Park Service Stations, Medcor, and Yellowstone Forever. To date, the park has also approved 126 commercial use authorizations (CUAs) for local businesses to operate inside the park after reviewing individual COVID-19 mitigation plans submitted by each company. Additional Information Visitors should come prepared and follow all CDC and local health guidance by practicing good hygiene and social distancing. Face coverings are recommended where social distancing is not possible. People who are sick should stay home and not visit the park. The CDC has provided specific guidance on visiting parks and recreational facilities. The National Park Service encourages visitors to #RecreateResponsibly. Photos and posters showing responsible recreation and mitigation measures are available on the park’s Flickr page. Previously-scheduled road construction projects will continue this summer. Normal annual bear management area closures are in effect. Winter conditions are still possible at this time of year. The park will provide details and updates for operations as they change on www.nps.gov/yell and on the park’s social media channels. Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus.”