Free entry to Yellowstone Jan. 19

Jan 13, 2015

A snow coach is probably the most comfortable way to see Yellowstone in the winter. NPS photo.

Yell News Service

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — The world’s oldest national park is joining all other National Park Service (NPS) sites across the country in waiving admission fees on Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

No matter how you choose to enter the park – by car, RV, bus, or on a guided snowmobile or snow coach trip – the entrance fee to the park will be waived next Monday for all recreational visits.

The NPS is waiving entrance fees on 9 days in 2015 at all their sites as a way to encourage people to get outdoors and enjoy the remarkable landscapes and historical and cultural sites national parks have to offer.

Other fee free dates for 2015 are:

– February 14-16 for the Presidents’ Day Weekend
– April 18-19 for the opening weekend of National Park Week
– August 25 for the National Park Service’s 99th birthday
– September 26 for National Public Lands Day
– November 11 in honor of Veterans Day

The road from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Mont., through Mammoth Hot Springs on to Cooke City, Mont., outside the park’s Northeast Entrance, is open to wheeled vehicle travel all year. Access to the interior of Yellowstone and iconic locations such as Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is restricted to guided snowmobile and snow coach trips from the North, West, South and East entrances during the winter months.

Boiling water and cold air make for some great photo opportunities. NPS photo.

At Old Faithful, the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins, dining room, Geyser Grill, Bear Den Gift Shop and the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center are open for the winter. At Mammoth Hot Springs, the hotel, dining room and gift shop are also open for the winter. The Yellowstone General Store, medical clinic, campground, post office and the Visitor Center are open all year. Fuel is available from 24-hour gasoline pumps all year at both Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction.

Yellowstone snow coach tours

If you haven’t seen Yellowstone in winter, then you haven’t seen Yellowstone. A Yellowstone snow coach offers the most comfortable and easiest way to experience the winter wonderland that is the park in winter.

Bison are hearty beasts but a Yellowstone winter can still take its toll on these magnificent creatures. Give them space and enjoy the view. NPS photo.

Comfortable for everyone of any age, these climate controlled customized touring vans create an amiable environment from which you can view wildlife and thermal activity. The coach makes numerous stops along the way so that those who wish to get out of the coach and into the outdoors can do so.

Wildlife are challenged now more than any other time of year. That is why there is so much interest in seeing them first hand and great care must be taken to not stress them during this difficult time.

Unique Over-Snow Transportation

Part of what makes a Yellowstone winter experience so special is the modes of over-snow transportation – the snow coach and snowmobile. These over-snow vehicles allow you to see a world that is normally hidden from us. .

The combination of smaller (9-20 passenger) coaches, and the local, experienced and knowledgeable guides make the coach the best way to see Yellowstone Park this winter.

For more information go to: http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm