Through a joint effort conducted each spring, snow plowing crews from both Yellowstone National Park and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) cleared the famous 67-mile passage that links the park’s northeast entrance with the community of Red Lodge, Montana.
This year a majority of the road spent well past its traditional opening date of May 30 buried under more than 25 feet of snow and ice.
Each year the National Park Service clears the road from the park’s Northeast Entrance at Milepost 0.0 through Wyoming to the Montana state line at Milepost 43.1., meeting up with MDT crews that have plowed the road from Red Lodge. MDT and NPS then coordinate closely to keep the road open throughout the summer.
Cutting through the Absoroka-Bearthtooth Wilderness, the Beartooth Highway is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet), and is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies, passing through one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, with 20 peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation. Because of the road’s altitude, extreme weather conditions including snow, ice, rain and high winds can force road closures at a moment’s notice. In 2008 the road was closed for nearly the entire season when a rock slide caused by heavy rains buried the road.
Because of rapidly-changing conditions, motorists are encouraged to check the status of the road in advance by contacting the proper state transportation departments.
Travelers in Montana may dial 511; those outside Montana may call 800-226-7623, or visit the Montana Department of Transportation website at http://mdt511.com/. Travelers in Wyoming may dial 511; those outside of Wyoming may call 888-996-7623, or visit the Wyoming Department of Transportation website at http://www.wyoroad.info.
For road conditions inside Yellowstone National Park, visitors can call the parks’ 24-hour road hotline at (307) 344-2117 or visit http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit.
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