Beartooth Highway To Open For Memorial Day Holiday Weekend

The Beartooth Highway, the scenic high elevation portion of US-212 linking Red Lodge, Montana, with the communities of Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana, and the northeast

entrance to Yellowstone National Park, is scheduled to open for the season at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, May 24th. Spring road clearing and maintenance is conducted by the Montana Department of Transportation and the National Park Service.

Inside Yellowstone, the road over Dunraven Pass linking Canyon Village, Tower Fall and Tower Junction also opens for the season on Friday morning.

All other park roads and all park entrances have already opened for the season.

Most seasonal visitor services in the park open in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Saturday also marks the opening of fishing season in the park. Details are available online, by consulting the park newspaper handed out at entrance stations, or by asking the staff at visitor centers and information stations in and near the park.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a chance of afternoon or evening thunderstorms for the three day holiday weekend, with high temperatures in the 50s and low 60s, and overnight low temperatures near freezing. Spring visitors to the park are encouraged to have flexible travel plans and to be prepared for a wide range of weather conditions.

All communities near and on the way to Yellowstone are open all year, offering a wide range of recreation opportunities, activities, and services for visitors to the region.

There will be no daytime travel delays or overnight road closures due to road construction during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Starting Tuesday morning, May 28, visitors should expect construction delays of up to 30 minutes on the road between Tower Fall and Canyon. This section of road will also be closed every night between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. due to construction.

Updated Yellowstone National Park road information is available 24 hours a day by calling 307-344-2117. Information on current conditions in the park is also available online here.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Yellowstone's South Entrance Opens Tomorrow

The South Entrance to Yellowstone National Park will open for the season on Friday morning, May 10, as originally scheduled.

As of 8:00 a.m. Friday, visitors will be able to travel through the South Entrance to Grant Village, West Thumb Junction and on to Fishing Bridge and across Craig Pass to Old Faithful.

Inside the park, the road between Canyon and Tower-Roosevelt over Dunraven Pass will open to travel May 24 in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Due to construction, there will be daytime delays of up to 30 minutes and nightly closures on the section of road between Tower-Roosevelt Junction and Chittenden Road beginning May 28.

All other interior park roads are open for the season.

In addition, National Park Service (NPS) crews are clearing a section of US-212 outside the park's Northeast Entrance. The road from Cooke City, Montana, to the intersection with WY-296, the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, will open May 10, weather permitting.

The section of the Beartooth Highway between the junction of US-212/WY-296 and the community of Red Lodge, Montana, is set to open on Friday, June 14.

Visitor services throughout the park are opening for the season. Operating dates and hours are available online or by consulting the free park newspaper, provided to visitors at each entrance station.

Visitors should be aware that spring in Yellowstone is very unpredictable and often brings cold temperatures, high winds and falling snow. Cleared sections of roads can be narrow and covered with a layer of snow, ice and debris. Visitors should use extreme caution when driving as road clearing operations can be ongoing at any time throughout the park. In the case of extreme weather conditions, temporary road closures are also possible with little or no advance warning.

Updated Yellowstone National Park road information is available 24 hours a day by calling 307-344-2117. Information on current conditions in the park is also available online.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Sign Up For Becoming An Outdoors Woman Workshops

Women interested in learning the basics of fly fishing, bird watching and wild plants will want to sign up for this year's Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshops.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Park's Becoming an Outdoors Woman program equips women of all ages with the outdoor skills they need to enjoy outdoor activities—and to get their families into the outdoors.

Here are descriptions of some upcoming workshops:

Birding in Montana - June 22-24

Birders of all ages, especially beginners, are invited to enjoy the great bird watching opportunities in the class location near the Mission Mountains. Come enjoy easy-going bird walks at the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge area and the National Bison Range while Audubon members and biologists share the knowledge you need to become a better birder.

Beartooth Botany – July 14

Explore the Beartooth Plateau near Red Lodge as you learn about the vast assortment of flowers and native plants that thrive in this high elevation area. We’ll drive and hike along Beartooth Highway 212 between Red Lodge and Cooke City to view plants in a variety of habitats and landscapes. This class is designed for those with little or no formal plant identification experience.

Don't miss the free evening program in Red Lodge on July 13 that will provide background on basic plant terminology, parts of the plant, and helpful guides.

For details and to register for these two workshops, visit the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov on the Education page. Or contact Liz Lodman at FWP by phone 406-444-9940, email: llodman@mt.gov.

Workshops in the offing include: Becoming an Outdoors Woman in Plains, Mt. on July 21 and the annual Summer BOW Workshop Aug. 17-19 near Bigfork.

For more on Becoming an Outdoors Woman, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Cooke City Among Finalists for Coolest Small Towns in America

Readers of Budget Travel Magazine nominated a record 647 towns to be considered among the Coolest Small Towns in America in 2012. The magazine has narrowed that list down to just 10 standout communities across the country. Making that list is Cooke City, Montana.

Here's what the online mag had to say about the gateway town at the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone National Park:

The string of villages along the border of Yellowstone National Park occupy some of the best real estate in the country, with unfettered access to the waterfalls, geysers, and mountains in the country’s first national park. But Cooke City—a true lightweight in terms of numbers, with a population lower than its own area code—may actually be the reigning champ among these satellite towns. Set on the quiet northeastern corner of the park, it receives just a fraction of the tourist traffic of Yellowstone’s other, busier borders. Cooke City’s history as a mining community has given it an authentically rustic appeal: Its town’s log-based architecture is appropriate rather than contrived, and its teensy size means that everything is within easy reach. There are a dozen traditional mountain lodges, a number of which—such as the Cooke City High Country Motel—include cabins for rent. Early risers can stroll a few short blocks to Bearclaw Sales and Service for pecan rolls and biscuits with gravy at the in-house bakery, then consult with Bearclaw’s outfitter experts—or one of Cooke City’s several other outfitters and tour operators—to prepare for whatever great wilderness expedition the day might hold.

Interestingly, Budget Travel failed to note that Cooke City marks the beginning, or end, of the Beartooth Highway. The road, which takes travelers to the top of 10,947-foot Beartooth Pass, is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful drives in America.

You can read about each of the towns that made the final cut, and then vote for your favorite to become America's Coolest Small Town by clicking here. You can vote once daily until the contest ends on January 31st. As of right now, with nearly 87,000 votes cast, Cooke City ranks dead last, with Hammondsport, NY currently in the lead.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com