Pahaska to East Gate Open

A small step has been taken towards the opening of the East Gate to Yellowstone National Park.

Annual spring opening road work on Highway 14/16/20 between Pahaska and the East Gate is complete, and that portion of the highway opened for the spring and summer on Wednesday morning, May 1st.

This two-mile stretch of highway is closed annually west of Pahaska due to the limited amount of traffic, and has traditionally been a popular winter recreation area for cross-country skiers and people with snowmobiles.

The opening of this two miles of the highway is always dependent upon favorable weather. WYDOT maintenance foreman Jim Berry of Cody says this is the normal time of the year for the road-opening operations to take place.

The East Gate is scheduled to open into the Park tomorrow.

Following the annual opening of that section of road, WYDOT maintenance workers will shift their focus to road-opening operations of U.S. 14A east of Lovell in the Bighorn Mountains. Highway 14A usually opens for the spring and summer by Memorial Day weekend.