The North Entrance Road in Yellowstone National Park was damaged beyond repair during historic floods that swept through the park in June 2022. Later that year, a new north entrance to the park between Gardiner, Montana, and Mammoth Hot Springs was paved, painted and opened to regular tourist traffic.
However, despite the intense multimillion-dollar effort, that North Entrance Road was never intended to be permanent. Now that a viable corridor is open and accessible, the National Park Service (NPS) and Federal Highway Administration are ready to pursue a permanent way forward to access Yellowstone from the north.
The NPS announced two virtual public input sessions and a 30-day public comment period to gather public input on the “construction of a new permanent North Entrance Road in Yellowstone National Park.”
Loss And Recovery
A 500-year flood event June 13, 2022, destroyed significant sections of the North Entrance Road, which ran along the Gardiner River to the Roosevelt Arch. Yellowstone was closed to all visitors for a few weeks before reopening for the rest of the summer season despite a massive drop in attendance.
Jeannette Mikos, owner of the Yellowstone Basin Inn in Gardiner, said she lost around $480,000 worth of reservations once the park closed. Gardiner was stranded at the end of a long highway with no way to access Yellowstone.
“We were a dead-end road,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “And nobody wanted to come.”
Michael Skelton had a similar experience. He owns Yellowstone Wonders, one of the many tour companies based in Gardiner.
“Business pretty much came to a screeching halt here in Gardiner,” he said.
Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly wasted no time trying to find a new road to restore access to Gardiner. The Old Gardiner Road, barely more than a dirt two-track road last used for stagecoaches, was selected, and feverish work ensued.
The new North Entrance Road officially opened Oct. 15, 2022. It was too late to save the summer season, but the fully paved road made a world of difference for the small community of Gardiner.
“From where we were on June 14, 2022, it was a lifesaver for the guides around here and the town of Gardiner,” Skelton said. “For what it was after the flood, they did an absolutely amazing job.”
Even then, that road was not the permanent solution. The NPS says the new road has a "design life" of up to 10 years.
Sholly and others have repeatedly said that while getting that old stagecoach route passable was an engineering marvel, it would not necessarily be the permanent North Entrance Road. To ensure there's year-round access between Gardiner and Mammoth, more investment and infrastructure is needed.
A Better Experience?
Skelton isn’t partial about which roads he uses, so long as he and his tours have a way into Yellowstone. However, he believes the new road enhances the visitor experience.
“The old road down to the Gardiner Canyon was gorgeous,” he said. People could see “osprey, eagles, bighorn sheep, occasionally a bear and some elk. Going up the new road in the last year and a half, we've seen every major mammal on that road, from wolves to bears, elk, bison, pronghorns, and mule deer. From a visitor standpoint, I think it's a better experience.”
From the perspective of a cruising spectator, that’s good enough. Mikos, however, hasn’t heard as much positive feedback from the people who’ve had to drive the new road.
“We're hearing more complaints about the new road. That it twists and turns too much,” she said. “Many people that come into Yellowstone are not from (familiar with) driving conditions in the mountains. They’re used to a lot of flat driving, especially in the southern states. So, we have heard a lot of complaints about the road.”
Mikos pointed out that even small accidents on the new road can cause long delays in both directions. A small mudslide could close the road for half a day, if not longer.
Skelton has heard similar complaints from visitors and locals.
“Some locals think it's a little treacherous,” he said. “It is kind of sharp, uphill, and windy with tight curves. There's no passing on that road anywhere. You need to go slow, and you need to pay attention.”
The Perfect Road
The 30-day public comment period opens Feb. 12 with a virtual meeting from 3:30-5 p.m. that day and another from 6-7:30 Feb. 14.
Even though the discussion will revolve around a permanent North Entrance Road, the NPS and the Federal Highway Administration haven’t put forth their ideas. Skelton said he’d need some idea of what is being planned before commenting on it.
“I have to see what the alternatives are,” he said. “The park and the highway department have been going back and forth for the last year and a half on different alternatives. I'm sure it will depend on the analysis and cost. But until I see the alternatives, I really couldn't offer an opinion.”
The alternatives floating in the past include improving the infrastructure of the new North Entrance Road or finding an entirely new route for an altogether new road.
One alternative that probably won’t be proposed is restoring the original North Entrance Road. While that route served as “the” main corridor between Gardiner and Mammoth from 1883 to 2022, reconstructing it would be prohibitively expensive and inherently risky, as a future flood could destroy it again.
Mikos suggested redesigning the new road to remove tight curves as the best option.
“A lot of those corners could have been taken out, and it could have been more of a gradual climb for that road,” she said.
One of the biggest takeaways is that a safe, structurally sound North Entrance Road is vital to the success of Gardiner. Much as they did in 2022 when their lifeline into Yellowstone was wholly severed, Skelton said Gardiner residents will adapt and overcome.
“The park is going to have the final decision,” he said. “But whatever they decide to do, we will deal with it.”
During each virtual meeting, three preliminary road alignment alternatives will be presented along with two video flyovers to explain the damage, environmental challenges, constraints, and opportunities of each alignment.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
