There’s A Good Chance North Yellowstone Won’t Reopen For The Season
Due to substantial flooding and mudslides, there is a very good chance that north Yellowstone will not reopen for the remainder of the season. We still haven't heard about the rest of Yellowstone, but we will let you know when more information becomes available.
The National Park Service stated that the northern portion of Yellowstone will likely remain closed for a substantial length of time. That indicates that the damage done is severe enough that part of the park will remain closed for the rest of the season, potentially longer. They don't have a definitive timeline just yet.
If you haven't seen photos or videos of the damage done, you can see some here. It is also important to note that more rain is in the forecast for early next week, so it does not appear the national park will get much relief over the next week.
Much of the major damage is between the north entrance of Gardiner, Montana, Mammoth Hot Springs, Lamar Valley, and Cook City, Montana near the Northeast Entrance. All visitors at the park who had overnight plans have been evacuated so there is no chance that they would get stranded without help.
As of right now, all entrances to the park are still closed, if you had plans to visit over the weekend I feel terrible for you. There is a little bit of good news though, it appears that the southern loop of Yellowstone is not nearly as damaged as the northern portion. There is a chance that the southern loop will open sooner than the rest. They are still assessing damages.
Yellowstone backcountry is also temporarily closed while all the damage is being assessed. Much of it has to be done by helicopter. There is also good news that there has been no reported news of death or injury.
There is also a chance that there will be a reduced amount of people allowed into the park once the southern portion of the park reopens to try and prevent gridlock. I really hope that there is some relief soon for the park. The damage is pretty crazy. And for those who had to cancel trips, or had to be evacuated, or lost everything, my heart goes out to you.