Memorial Day is almost a month away, which means the Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the National Park Service (NPS) have begun the monumental task of clearing snow off the Beartooth Highway.
MDOT started plowing from the Montana side of U.S. Highway 212 on April 18. The NPS will push from the Wyoming side until the Beartooth Highway is clear and ready to open before the end of May.
“So far, so good,” MDOT spokesperson Charity Burns told Cowboy State Daily. “We expect to reach Vista Point by Friday, and we’re on track for the traditional Memorial Day weekend opening.”
Attack From Both Ends
MDOT and the NPS jointly manage the Beartooth Highway, which stretches along most of the 69 miles along the Montana - Wyoming state line between the Montana communities of Cooke City and Red Lodge. U.S. 212 is an important corridor to the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, but intense winter snowfall makes it impassable for most of the year.
Burns said MDOT should clear the 19 miles between Red Lodge and Vista Point by Friday. Its crews will continue until they reach the state line, 34 miles from Red Lodge.
“There seems to be less snow up there this year, but the depth varies depending on where you are,” Burns said. “Our crews have been working up there for many years, and although they’re quite experienced, they continue to be surprised.”
MDOT’s snow-clearing process is similar to the one the NPS uses to clear snow from the Grand Loop Road inside Yellowstone. Their plow crews have been inching along since March 3 and won’t turn their attention to the Beartooth Highway until the first week of May.
“Our blowers and plow trucks push through the drifts and shove off the snow over the side of the road,” Burns said. “After the snow is cleared, our crews will go back to clean up, address any rockslides, and fix damaged guardrails.”
There’s no consistency on the Beartooth Highway, so MDOT’s crews don’t set targets as they move along. Their goal is to do as much snow removal as they can, but the speed and efficiency of their efforts are largely beyond their control.
“You can never tell what you’re going to get up there,” Burns said. “It might seem like there's not much snow, but then you get around the corner and find out there's a lot more than you expected.”
Weather-Permitting
Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day’s oft-stated mantra is that Wyoming isn’t done with winter weather until Mother’s Day has come and gone. That may be true for the rest of the state, but the Beartooth Highway’s on its own schedule.
Last year, the Memorial Day weekend opening of the Beartooth Highway was delayed after a May 24 blizzard covered sections of U.S. 212 with deep, drifting snow. MDOT quickly responded and the highway still opened before the end of the month.
Similar storms in mid to late May have caused delays in years past, but this is expected on the Beartooth Highway, which ranges in elevation from 5,200 ft to 10,947 ft. Once the winter snowpack is pushed off the pavement, any additional precipitation can usually be quickly cleared.
The extended forecast for the Beartooth Highway calls for scattered snow showers for the next week, but less than half an inch of accumulation. MDOT should be able to keep its section of the Beartooth Highway clear so it’s ready for traffic by Mother’s Day.
“Every year, we seem to clear the road and then have to clear it again,” Burns said. “The spring snows aren’t as much as winter accumulation, but MDOT is always prepared to continue clearing as Mother Nature treats us to a Montana winter-spring.”
Traffic Timeline
The West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park opened on April 18. The Grand Loop Road is now accessible from West Yellowstone, Montana, to Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Cooke City, Montana, just outside the Northeast Entrance (weather permitting).
The East Entrance is scheduled to open on May 2. That will allow vehicle access from Cody to Fishing Bridge, Lake Village, and Canyon Village.
The South Entrance will follow suit on May 9, allowing access west to Old Faithful and north to Lake Village. The final route to clear in Yellowstone will be Dunraven Pass, scheduled to open by May 23.
“The plug” between Cooke City and the junction of the Beartooth and Chief Joseph Scenic Highways will be cleared once the NPS starts plowing its end of the Beartooth Highway. By the beginning of June, the 69-mile expanse between Cooke City and Red Lodge should be completely accessible (weather permitting).
Yellowstone’s roads and the Beartooth Highway will still be subjected to temporary closures depending on weather conditions. Visitors are encouraged to stay informed on road conditions by visiting the NPS’s Yellowstone website and downloading the Wyoming and Montana 511 apps for real-time updates and alerts.
