Back to : All Articles
Visiting Yellowstone from Red Lodge
By Tina from ALLTrips.com
Be advised that construction-based, erosion control, and seasonal preparation road closures are a necessary fact of life between Red Lodge and Yellowstone National Park. Many YNP roads are only open to authorized, guided snowmobile or snowcoach tours from mid-December to mid-March.
Hearty skiers, snowmobilers, and snowshoers can access YNP and enjoy extra steamy geysers and the Park’s unique winter atmosphere, but lots of snow and other unpredictable weather conditions can render travel impossible to others. Sections of the Beartooth Highway (US 212) between Highway 296 and Red Lodge close at the whim of heavy snowfall to wheeled traffic, starting usually in November. Even when passage is available to wheeled vehicles, chains and snow tires may be required. One section that usually closes early each Winter is the route between Clay Butte Lookout to Long Lake (just past Beartooth Pass going West) on US 212 toward the US 296 junction.
Once snow begins falling consistently, the Northeast Entrance is not accessible via US 212 until spring. If you want to get into YNP from the North, the only road plowed and open to 24-hour-a-day traffic year-round, barring severe winter storms, is via US 89/Gardiner, South of Bozeman and Livingston, Montana as well as Mammoth Hot Springs, Montana to the Silvergate/Cooke City Northeast YNP Entrance.
Passing through Mammoth Hot Springs to YNP, be sure and keep your towel nearby (a plastic sack will keep it dry) while you pause to enjoy a dip in the jacuzzi-like Boiling River. Don’t worry, it’s not literally boiling, and you probably won’t be alone as you scoot around looking for the perfect spot. It’s up to you whether or not you announce you’ve found it! My friend Gary would always tell all of us he was freezing until we’d come closer and discover he was hoarding the warmest spot!
My Dad always told me it’s a good idea (and he’s right) to keep your gas tank at least half-full while traveling in the Winter and have the following items on hand just in case:
- Extra food and water
- Gloves
- Ice Scraper
- Fire lighter
- Flashlight with extra batteries
- Whistle
- Pocket knife
- Wool blankets
- Winter clothing for effective heat layering and moisture wicking
- Boots
Summer is usually much less stressful, in weather terms, to visit YNP from Red Lodge. Sure, you’ll have to be patient with summer traffic rubbernecking along the hairpin, alpine turns through Bearthooth Pass, sharing the road with bicyclists and hikers, but at least you aren’t driving on black ice or sitting all bundled up like a mummy on an open canopy Red Bus Tour.
For added comfort and safety, summer travelers should consider bringing:
- Sunscreen
- Hats
- Whistles and bells to make noise while hiking to avoid wildlife confrontations
- Extra food and water
- Extra socks or other appropriate equipment, like a bicycle flat tire kit or rain jacket
- Extra pocket money for Huckleberry Ice Cream at the Top of the World along Beartooth Pass
Of course, no matter what season you visit, always bring your camera. You never know when you’ll round a corner and see a magnificent glacier, like Jackson, or an alpine lake, a lush mountain of meadow wildflowers, or even a mountain goat or black bear crossing the Highway.
For more information, contact the Beartooth Ranger District Station, located south of Ski Run Road in Red Lodge, off Highway 212 at (406) 446-2103, or the Montana and Wyoming Departments of Transportation. Yellowstone National Park also offers online updates and lists commercial service providers authorized to do business in YNP during the winter.
Plan your trip to Red Lodge:
Back to: All Articles
Comments? .