Winter Season Activities & Operations Get Underway in Grand Tetons

The winter season officially begins Monday, December 15 in Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway (JDR Parkway). New this winter in the JDR Parkway is the availability of overnight lodging, dining, and saloon. These services will be provided by Headwaters Lodge & Cabins at Flagg Ranch from December 18 through March 2, 2015. In addition, the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center will be closed through March 1, 2015. In the absence of a winter visitor center, park staff will be available to answer questions and provide park information by phone at 307.739.3399, Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

An alternative for winter visitor information about the greater Jackson Hole area—including Grand Teton and the JDR Parkway—is the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center on North Cache Street in Jackson, Wyoming. This interagency visitor center is open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and offers educational and interactive displays that highlight the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and its many features. Wintering elk can be observed on the nearby National Elk Refuge from a wildlife observation deck equipped with spotting scopes. Click here for more information.

Ranger-led snowshoe hikes begin Saturday, December 2 7 from Taggart Lake trailhead on the Teton Park Road, three miles north of the park's Moose HQ campus. The snowshoe tours take place at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday each week. The two-hour guided walks offer an opportunity to learn about snow science and winter ecology. Previous experience is not necessary, and snowshoes are available for a rental fee of $5 for adults and $2 for children, 8 years or older. Reservations are required and can be made at 307.739.3399.

A Single Day Pass is available to winter visitors at the Moose, Moran and Granite Canyon entrance stations. This winter-season permit allows a one-day entry into Grand Teton at a cost of $5 per vehicle. The single day pass is valid only in Grand Teton and cannot be used for entry into Yellowstone. Winter visitors may choose to purchase one of the following other options for entry:

$25 Seven-day Pass valid for single vehicle entry into Grand Teton and Yellowstone
$50 Grand Teton/Yellowstone Annual Pass valid for one year entry into both parks
$80 Interagency Annual Pass valid for one year entry to all federal land management fee areas

Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular winter activities. Most winter trails are skier tracked, but not groomed. The Teton Park Road becomes a backcountry trail in winter and is open to non-mechanized use only. In past winters, grooming operations on the Teton Park Road have been intermittent due to budget and personnel limitations. During winter 2015, however, this winter trail will be machine groomed from Taggart Lake parking area to Signal Mountain for cross-country and skate skiing twice a week thanks to generous support from the Grand Teton National Park Foundation. Grooming will take place each Friday, and whenever weather and staffing allows on Mondays. For trail condition updates, phone 307.739.3682. Important reminder: Snowshoers should walk adjacent to the groomed ski trail, as snowshoe treads ruin the grooved track set for skier use.

Skiers and snowshoers are not restricted to established trails. However for protection of wildlife, park visitors are required to observe the following public closures during winter:

Closed December 1 to April 1—Static Peak, Prospectors Mountain and Mount Hunt (see the park's cross-country ski brochure for area descriptions).

Closed December 15 to April 1— Snake River floodplain from Moran to Menor's Ferry near Moose, Buffalo Fork River floodplain within the park, Kelly Hill and Uhl Hill.

To obtain maps and closure locations, click here.

Backcountry users and mountaineers planning to stay overnight in the park must get a camping permit before their trip. Permits are not required for day users. Winter camping permits can be obtained in person at the front desk of the park's HQ building in Moose Monday—Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. During weekends and holidays, persons wishing to get a permit must call 307.739.3301. A general permit info line (307.739.3309) will be staffed Monday—Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This line will not be staffed on weekends or holidays, and only voice messages will be accepted.

To obtain weather forecasts and backcountry avalanche hazard information, click here, or phone the avalanche hotline at 307.733.2664.

Leashed pets are allowed on the park's plowed roads and turnouts, the unplowed Moose-Wilson Road, and the Grassy Lake Road. Pets are not allowed in the backcountry, which includes all other park areas beyond the plowed roadways.The unplowed Teton Park Road (TPR) is open to visitors who wish to walk, snowshoe or ski with their leashed pet. Dogs are restricted to the TPR, and must be restrained at all times on a leash no longer than 6-feet in length. Dogs must also be leashed while in the parking areas at Taggart Lake or Signal Mountain. Please keep dogs off the groomed ski tracks as a courtesy to other trail users.

Dog sleds are not allowed on the Teton Park Road or on Grassy Lake Road in the JDR Parkway.

Snowmobilers may use the frozen surface of Jackson Lake for the purposes of ice fishing only. A Wyoming State fishing license and appropriate fishing gear must be in possession. On Jackson Lake, snowmobiles must meet National Park Service requirements for Best Available Technology (BAT). Before operating a snowmobile, review approved BAT machines here.

Snowmobiles may also use the Grassy Lake Road in the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. The BAT machine requirement does not apply to snowmobile access on Grassy Lake Road between Headwaters Lodge & Cabins at Flagg Ranch and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. For more information on snowmobiling, click here. New this year, Flagg Ranch Company will have a limited number of snowmobiles to rent for use on the Grassy Lake Road.

For complete information about winter activities in Grand Teton National Park or the JDR Parkway click here. Visitors can also obtain information on the park's website or through the information line at 307.739.3399, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.



Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
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Public Open Houses Scheduled in February for Long-Term Winter Use Plan in Yellowstone

The National Park Service (NPS) continues working on a long-term plan to guide winter use in Yellowstone National Park. The NPS and the park will host a series of open houses in February during a scoping period for that plan.

In May 2011, the NPS released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public review on the potential effects of the plan for motorized oversnow travel in the park. After months of public comment and review, the NPS decided additional study was needed before putting a long-term plan in place. While the final plan is being developed, the NPS chose to manage snowmobile and snowcoach access in the park this winter under the same transition plan used the previous two winters.

The NPS is preparing a Supplemental EIS to create a final winter management plan to take effect with the 2012-2013 winter season. Among the subjects identified for further analysis in the Supplemental EIS are requirements for entry into the park by 10:30 a.m. daily, sound and air quality computer modeling assumptions, "best available technology" standards for snowcoaches, the impacts of Sylvan Pass avalanche hazard mitigation, and opportunities for park access by non-commercially guided snowmobile groups.

The first step in developing the Supplemental EIS is to ask for further public comment and suggestions on potential approaches to winter use, including any additional issues not yet discussed. This process, known as public scoping, will officially open for a 30 day period upon the publication of a Notice of Intent, which is expected to appear in the Federal Register in the next few days.

The NPS has released a draft range of alternatives for public review and comment during scoping. The alternatives cover a wide range of possible approaches to winter uses in the park.

The "no-action" alternative would eliminate all snowmobile and snowcoach travel in the park after the end of the current winter season. A second alternative looks at continuing winter operations at the present temporary limits, plus analysis of limited access for non-commercially guided snowmobiles. Under a third alternative, park roads from West Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful would be plowed to allow commercially operated, wheeled vehicles into the park. Also under consideration is a proposal to phase out snowmobiles and allow motorized entry by snowcoaches alone. This alternative includes analysis of closing the park's east entrance over Sylvan Pass to motorized oversnow use.

Two other draft alternatives would take a new and different approach to winter use: Regulating park entry according to the number of "sound events" created by snowcoaches or guided snowmobile groups, rather than by specific numbers of snowcoaches or snowmobiles. One of these alternatives also assesses the effects of two-week 'shoulder seasons', where entrance to the park during the first two and last two weeks of the season would be via wheeled vehicles or rubber-tracked snowcoaches.

Park staff members will host a series of open houses during the scoping period to answer questions about winter use issues, the draft alternatives, and the process of preparing the supplemental EIS:

- Monday, Feb. 13 in Cody WY: Holiday Inn, 1702 Sheridan Ave.
- Tuesday, Feb. 14 in Jackson, WY: The Virginian Lodge, 750 W. Broadway
- Wednesday, Feb. 15 in West Yellowstone, MT: Holiday Inn, 315 Yellowstone Ave.
- Thursday Feb. 16 in Bozeman, MT: Holiday Inn, 5 Baxter Lane

All four open houses will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Additional details on the Supplemental EIS, the draft range of alternatives, and an electronic form to submit comments can be found on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website, or by writing to Winter Use Supplemental EIS, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.

Written comments may be submitted through the PEPC website, in person at either the open houses or at park headquarters, or by mail. Comments will not be accepted over the phone, by fax, or e-mail. All public comments must be received or postmarked by midnight MST 30 days from the beginning of the comment period.

Park staff members will analyze the scoping comments and other additional information as they refine the draft alternatives and prepare the Supplemental EIS. That new document is expected to be released for public review and comment in spring 2012. The NPS intends to have a final Supplemental EIS, a Record of Decision, and a long-term regulation for winter use in Yellowstone in place before the mid-December start of the 2012-2013 winter season.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com