[seventysixersfan]

The flooding in Yellowstone this week is such terrible news and makes my heart ache for visitors who were planning trips there this summer, or had to be evacuated, as well as for small business owners in Gardiner, Montana, who rely on tourist income. We're so happy with the trip we took last summer and it's hard to look at the news coverage this week and think that we were traveling on the very same roads and in the same areas that have been hardest hit.

Photos of the devastation here on the National Park Service's flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowstonenps/albums/72157668680150793

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Last edited by seventysixersfan; 06-15-2022 at 01:28 PM.

[JimJohnson]

The flooding in Yellowstone this week is such terrible news and makes my heart ache for visitors who were planning trips there this summer, or had to be evacuated, as well as for small business owners in Gardiner, Montana, who rely on tourist income. We're so happy with the trip we took last summer and it's hard to look at the news coverage this week and think that we were traveling on the very same roads and in the same areas that have been hardest hit.

Photos of the devastation here on the National Park Service's flickr page:
News Media | Flickr

We toured, and camped in Yellowstone both B.C (before children) and W.C. (with children). A major fire dramatically altered the park's look in between those visits. Only my photos show me the huge changes made by the fire and the Park Service. And yet, Yellowstone is still there; first and still most popular National Park. Until that super volcano under the park erupts, it will continue to be there and continue to change.

While I lament the same people as you do, I am confident this treasure of earth will continue to be one of the greatest places in the world to visit.

[aslyfox]

the folks who may be in the worst shape are the residents of the small communities outside the northeast entrance of YNP:

Northeast Entrance Puts You at Doorstep of Park’s Wildlife

Closest to Cooke City, Mont., and its sister village Silver Gate, this entrance gives you the best access to Yellowstone’s legendary Lamar Valley where grizzlies, black bears, bison and wolves roam. The tiny outpost of Cooke City (year-round population is 100) has a downtown that spans only a few blocks but offers good dining and lodging options

Closed in the winter time, the Northeast Entrance makes sense to enter if you are coming from the northeast side of Montana like Billings or Red Lodge, Mont. From Billings, you can take I-90 west to US 212 west and from Red Lodge, Mont., take US 212 west. Driving US 212 west is arguably the most dramatic route to enter the park.. . .

Cooke City itself is a tiny town but offers a number of services from lodging to restaurants and gas. From it, you can drive to the Northeast Entrance is a matter of minutes. Once you go through the entrance gate, the Lamar Valley unfolds before your eyes. Home to bison, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves and elk, plan to spend some time along the roadside pull-offs, viewing the animals from a safe distance. You’ll find the Lamar Valley will give you an overwhelming sense of what the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem looked like before white pioneers settled there more than 150 years ago. . . .

https://www.yellowstonepark.com/road-trips/gateway-towns/yellowstone-park-en...0wolves%20roam.

the road in YNP which runs along the Lamar valley is their only link to the outside world once the mountains to the east are snowed in

The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road on a section of U.S. Route 212 in Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, passing over the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10,947 feet (3,337 m) above sea level. It has been called "the most beautiful drive in America," by late CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt.[2] Because of heavy snowfall at the top, the pass is usually open each year only from mid May through mid October, weather conditions permitting. . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beartooth_Highway

this is why YNP keeps the road from Gardiner Mt to the northeast entrance plowed all winter long

if that road is not repaired before the snows - - -

[aslyfox]

the official word as of June 14

. . . UPDATE: June 14 at 6:38 p.m.

Northern portion of Yellowstone National Park likely to remain closed for a substantial length of time due to severely damaged, impacted infrastructure; . . .

Aerial assessments conducted Monday, June 13, by Yellowstone National Park show major damage to multiple sections of road between the North Entrance (Gardiner, Montana), . . . ,Lamar Valley and Cooke City, Montana, near the Northeast Entrance.
Many sections of road in these areas are completely gone and will require substantial time and effort to reconstruct.

The National Park Service will make every effort to repair these roads as soon as possible; however, it is probable that road sections in northern Yellowstone will not reopen this season due to the time required for repairs. . . .

UPDATE: Northern portion of Yellowstone National Park likely to remain closed for a substantial length of time due to severely damaged, impacted infrastructure - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

[aslyfox]

for those interested in the news about YNP and the effect of the flooding caused by the Yellowstone River:

estimated 2 years to repair the road from Gardner MT to Mammoth

On Monday, everything came to a screeching halt as unprecedented flooding of the park’s namesake river destroyed roads and bridges, swallowed homes, and led to a full-scale evacuation of the park. Without a roadway, the north entrance to Yellowstone is now closed indefinitely.

According to park officials, it could take years to build a new road from Gardiner to Mammoth suitable to sustain the thousands of vehicles that traverse that entrance daily during the peak season. . . .

In addition to folks from Gardiner, business owners and residents from Cooke City and Silver Gate were also on the call. Some wanted to know what will happen this winter if the road to Mammoth isn’t repaired. The road from Gardiner has been the only way in and out during the winter season. Roads to Red Lodge and Cody, Wyoming don’t get plowed in the winter.

Snowplowing in that portion of the park has been a contentious issue between states of Montana and Wyoming and the National Park Service for years. Sholly said longstanding discussions about year-round plowing of “the Plug” — a 10-mile section of U.S. 212 from Pilot Creek at the bottom of the Beartooth Highway across Cooke Pass into Cooke City — have resumed. . . .

https://montanafreepress.org/2022/06/17/can-gardiner-montana-survive-as-a-co...e-of-disaster/


don't know the details but I believe the road from the Northeast Entrance near Cook City through the Lamar Valley to Roosevelt Lodge has also been damaged by flooding

[seventysixersfan]

estimated 2 years to repair the road from Gardner MT to Mammoth

wow. thanks for the news. How terrible for the townspeople. It was a nice little town and we ate dinner there twice, including at the Wonderland Cafe. Terrific place with good food and excellent service. Tourism is the only lifeline for these small towns in the area. I can't imagine what will happen to them now.

[aslyfox]

wow. thanks for the news. How terrible for the townspeople. It was a nice little town and we ate dinner there twice, including at the Wonderland Cafe. Terrific place with good food and excellent service. Tourism is the only lifeline for these small towns in the area. I can't imagine what will happen to them now.

and I think there is another aspect to consider

in the future, for folks going to YNP for wildlife sighting, I would expect a lot of wildlife to relocate from Haden Valley to the areas of the park such as Lamar Valley where people will not be able to go by road

. . . the following roads are closed:

North Entrance (Gardiner, Montana) to Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower-Roosevelt
Tower-Roosevelt to the Northeast Entrance
Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris Junction
Canyon Junction to Tower-Roosevelt . . .

Preliminary assessments show multiple sections of road in the park have been washed out between Gardiner and Cooke City, Montana, and multiple bridges may be affected. . . .

Flooding closes some roads in Yellowstone National Park

[UncleVanya]

This really makes me wish I’d been able to go last year.

[aslyfox]

This really makes me wish I’d been able to go last year.

Have been to YNP twice with my wife, Judy - late may - early June 2017, mid Sept 2021 and once on my own mid may 2018

met up with forum member @gaweidert in 2018, learned a lot and had fun

Stayed in a hotel in Gardiner twice

been to the communities at the Northeast Entrance each trip

I am afraid the section of YNP south of Gardiner and east of Roosevelt lodge to the Northeast Entrance to YNP will take years to repair and may never be the same

For those who love wildlife sighting opportunities not being able to access the Lamar Valley is a real loss

Not sure I will make it back to YNP

[RJDavis-OK]

We (wife and I) arrived in the West Yellowstone area last Sunday after 3 days travel with our RV. They shut down Yellowstone park the following day (great timing). This is my first visit to Yellowstone. It’s been frustrating not having access to Yellowstone, but we have found many other nearby areas with great photography opportunities and other activities that I was not originally considering. Grand Teton National Park is beautiful. The Park Service is planning to re-open the south loop of Yellowstone on Wednesday with an odd / even license plate number corresponding to an odd / even calendar date to minimize congestion in the open areas of the park. I’ll have one day in Yellowstone before we leave.

[aslyfox]

looking ahead, I foresee problems with visiting YNP in the winter as well

one of the ways to enjoy YNP in the winter was to travel to Gardner MT to take the plowed road south to Mammoth Lodge and then take a " snow bus " to Old Faithful's Snow Lodge.

that road will most likely not be repaired in time for the upcoming winter season

[aslyfox]

interesting it appears they will be trying to open the route from Gardiner MT south to Mammoth via what is known as the Old Gardiner Road

Date: June 20, 2022
Contact: YELL_Public_Affairs@nps.gov
Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — . . . The NPS currently anticipates the Old Gardiner Road will be substantially improved over the upcoming months, ensuring that essential emergency services, food, supplies and other administrative needs will be available throughout the winter months. As work proceeds through the summer, the NPS will look for opportunities to restore limited visitor access at the park’s North Entrance. Emergency environmental and historic preservation compliance is underway in accordance with the National Historic Preservation and Environmental Policy Acts. Permanent reconstruction options are being developed and alternatives will be completed in the upcoming months. . . .

National Park Service announces $50 million in emergency funding; expedited plans to reopen 80 percent of Yellowstone - Office of Communications (U.S. National Park Service)

we took that route last Sept at that time it was a one way road northbound from Mammoth if you were driving, gravel hilly and windy if I recall correctly:

The Old Gardiner Road is a 5-mile stretch of dirt road that roughly parallels the paved road from Mammoth to Gardiner, but travels through the hills to the west of the main road, rather than along the Gardner River as it flows out of Yellowstone.

Open May through October, the Old Gardiner road doesn’t require a four-wheel drive, and it offers a different perspective on the communities of Mammoth and Gardiner, affording hilltop views of both that you won’t get from the main road.

The Old Gardiner Road is one-way only for autos, heading north out of Mammoth, although bicycling and foot traffic are allowed in both directions. Park managers typically close the non-essential road to autos during and just after wet weather, and trailers and RVs are never allowed on the Old Gardiner Road.

Old Gardiner Road follows historic stagecoach trail out of Yellowstone Park | Yellowstone Gate

it was in no shape for a lot of traffic

You Tube

You Tube

[aslyfox]

Apparently 93 % of YNP's roadways will be reopening this weekend

both north and south " loops " open

North and Northeastern Gates and the road from Gardiner south to Mammoth as well as the road through Lamar Valley will be remain closed

So no access to YNP through Gardiner or Cooke City


BE WARNED ⚠️

" could be years before roads fully repaired "

This info per article in USA TODAY by CelinaTebor

[aslyfox]

video of flood and damage

Flood Recovery and Operations - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

[seventysixersfan]

video of flood and damage

Flood Recovery and Operations - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Wow. incredible footage. and incredibly sad to see.