Yellowstone National Park · seasonal road
West Entrance road: when it opens, year by year
Last verified NPS page updated September 21, 2026
West Entrance to Madison; Madison to Old Faithful; Madison to Norris; Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris; Norris to Canyon Village Typically opens: Roads start to re-open to automobiles beginning in mid-April (2026 schedule: April 17); most park roads are closed to regular vehicles from early November to late-April. Closes: Per the park's 2026 schedule: October 31; most park roads are closed to regular vehicles from early November.
- 2026 opening
- Apr 17
- scheduled
In the park's words
What Yellowstone says about West Entrance road
“Open April 17 - October 31, 2026: West Entrance to Madison, Madison to Old Faithful, Madison to Norris, Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris, Norris to Canyon Village” source
“Yellowstone entrances and roads scheduled to open at 8 a.m. Friday, April 17 will instead open at noon due to a significant winter storm with heavy snow, low temperatures and strong winds.” source
“Road sections expected to open at noon April 17: West Entrance to Old Faithful West Entrance to Canyon Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris” source
“Roads will start to re-open to automobiles beginning in mid-April.” source
“Most park roads are closed to regular vehicles from early November to late-April, and are open to limited oversnow travel (commercially-guided snowmobiles and snowcoaches) from mid-December to mid-March.” source
“Roads typically open at 8:00 a.m. on the first day. All dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions.” source
Worth knowing
- No official year-by-year opening/closing history table was found for Yellowstone on nps.gov (searched; the Park Roads and Operating Dates pages publish only the current season's schedule), so history is empty for every Yellowstone road.
- The 2026 dates come from the 'Park Roads' page headed '2026 Road Opening & Closing Dates (Projected)' (page updated September 21, 2026; captured October 5, 2026): they are schedules, 'all dates are subject to change depending on weather conditions'. No capture confirms the actual opening of the individual segments, so opened2026 stays null and the scheduled date is in opened2026Scheduled.
- Roads typically open at 8:00 a.m. on the first day (same page).
About this page
Dates are the park’s and WSDOT’s own, captured on 2026-10-05 and re-checked at every build. Medians and extremes are arithmetic on the published rows; we do not forecast. Weather closes passes without notice, so check live alerts for Yellowstone before you drive. Other seasonal roads in the park: North Entrance to Northeast Entrance road, East Entrance, South Entrance to West Thumb, West Thumb to Old Faithful, Dunraven Pass, Beartooth Highway, Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.
Sources · 2
- 1.Yellowstone National Park — West Entrance road (official page) · National Park Service
- 2.Seasonal road pages and historical opening-date tables on nps.gov and wsdot.wa.gov, read and quoted · National Park Service; Washington State DOT
FAQ
West Entrance road questions
- When does West Entrance road open?
- Yellowstone says: Roads start to re-open to automobiles beginning in mid-April (2026 schedule: April 17); most park roads are closed to regular vehicles from early November to late-April. For 2026 the stated date was April 17, 2026.
- When does West Entrance road close for the season?
- Yellowstone says: Per the park's 2026 schedule: October 31; most park roads are closed to regular vehicles from early November. For 2026: Open April 17 - October 31, 2026 (projected; subject to change)
- Is West Entrance road open right now?
- Check the park's road-status page (linked under Sources) or its alerts: our “Is Yellowstone open?” page shows the live NPS alerts.
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