Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks - page 116

For all the focus on grizzlies, more people are injured by park bison (and even moose)
each year than by bears. The golden rule is to keep your distance - 100yd from bears and
25yd from anything taller than a chipmunk.
The other main wildlife-related danger comes from slamming into the car in front of
you while staring at a photogenic herd of roadside elk. Exercise caution whenever the de-
sire to rubberneck becomes irresistible, and if you must stop, make sure you pull com-
pletely off the road.
Theft from trailhead parking lots is not common but it's not unheard of. Always lock
your car and keep valuables out of sight.
For a catalogue of the least likely ways you can find trouble in the park, check out
Death in Yellowstone by park historian Lee Whittlesey. The morbidly humorous book
chronicles more than 300 deaths in the park over the last century, ranging from the horri-
fying (boiled alive in a hot spring, disemboweled by a grizzly) to the ridiculous (accident-
ally backing a car over the edge of the Yellowstone Canyon, death from wild parsnips).
YELLOWSTONE PARK: OPENING & CLOSING
DATES
Yellowstone's opening schedule is complicated. Pin down specific opening and closing dates from websites
www.nps/gov/yell and www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com .
» Year-round The North Entrance at Gardiner and the north road from Gardiner to Cooke City via Mammoth and
Tower-Roosevelt Junction. Mammoth Campground is also open year-round.
» Mid- to late April The first of the other roads to open are the West Entrance Rd and the western side of the
Grand Loop Rd: Mammoth to Norris, Norris to Madison and Madison to Old Faithful. Norris to Canyon opens a
week later. Old Faithful Snow Lodge opens.
» Early May The South and East Entrances open, followed by the road between West Thumb and Old Faithful
over Craig Pass (8262ft). Old Faithful Inn opens.
» Mid-May Fishing Bridge RV Park, Mammoth Hotel, Old Faithful Lodge and Lake Yellowstone Hotel open.
» End May The road between Tower and Canyon Junctions over Dunraven Pass (8859ft) is the last park road to
open, usually by Memorial Day. The Beartooth Hwy between Red Lodge and Cooke City normally opens by Me-
morial Day but can be delayed a week or more by heavy snowfall.
» Early June Canyon Village, Lake Lodge and Roosevelt Lodge open. Lewis Lake and Grant Village camp-
grounds are the last to open.
» September Park accommodation starts to close, with Canyon Village and Roosevelt Lodge first to go.