Yellowstone National Park’s 2022 Road Closure Calendar (Weather Permitting)
Written by Andrew-Rossi on October 7, 2022
Beginning next week, Yellowstone National Park will begin closing down major roads within and leading to the park, ending the park’s 150th anniversary and the most challenging summer season ever.
Perhaps the most challenging summer season in Yellowstone National Park’s 150-year history is coming to a close. Beginning Oct. 11, Summer 2022 will officially end as the park starts closing major road corridors for the season.
What began as a celebration of the world’s first national park became months of chaos, construction, and perseverance. Despite record-breaking floods destroying major road corridors and cutting off two gateway communities, the park only closed for two weeks. Furthermore, vehicle access to all five entrances will be restored by the end of October.
The following roads in Yellowstone National Park will be closed to public vehicle traffic beginning on the following dates:
Beartooth Highway (US-212)
- Oct. 11: Beartooth Highway (US-212) between Red Lodge, Montana, and Cooke City, Montana.
This year has been tumultuous on the Beartooth Highway. At the beginning of the Summer 2022 season, the highway closed and reopened three times after a late-season blizzard and the devastating floods of mid-June.
The Beartooth Highway closed temporarily on Friday, Sept. 30, due to an anticipated snowstorm. It reopened the following Monday, Oct. 3.
Historically, the Beartooth Highway closes within the first two weeks of October. In 2020 and 2021, winter weather closed the highway for the season on Oct. 10 and Oct. 8, respectively.
Tower Fall to Canyon Junction (Dunraven Pass)
- Weather Dependent: Tower Fall to Canyon Junction (Dunraven Pass) will remain open through Oct. 31. However, snow often accumulates on the roadway and causes it to close sooner.
After two years of closure, the Dunraven Pass reopened to the public on May 27. However, the road temporarily closed less than two weeks later in the chaos of the historic mid-June floods.
Courtesy National Park Service & Jacob W. Frank
Most Park Roads – including the routes to the East, West, and South Entrances – will close on Nov. 1
- Nov. 1: Roads include:
- West Entrance to Madison Junction
- Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful
- Norris to Canyon Village
- East Entrance to Lake Village (Sylvan Pass)
- Canyon Village to Lake Village
- South Entrance to West Thumb
- Lake Village to West Thumb
- West Thumb to Old Faithful (Craig Pass)
The road between the North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, and the Northeast Entrance at Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana (via Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Junction, and Lamar Valley), is open year-round. However, in June of this year, sections of the road were significantly damaged by floods and closed temporarily.
The road between Tower Junction and the Northeast Entrance in Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana, is expected to open on Oct. 15, 2022, to regular traffic.
Courtesy National Park Service & Jacob W. Frank
The road between the North Entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs will open to regular traffic no later than Nov. 1, 2022.
For details – including up-to-date photos – about the June floods in the park and ongoing recovery, visit go.nps.gov/YELLflood.
Stay Informed
Road condition updates:
- Visit Park Roads.
- Call (307) 344-2117 for recorded information.
- Receive Yellowstone road alerts on your mobile phone by texting “82190” to 888-777 (an automatic text reply will confirm receipt and provide instructions).
