Yellowstone limits winter lodging due to COVID-19

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 10/19/20

Yellowstone National Park has seen its ups and downs this year—after closing early due to the coronavirus, and reopening all entrances June 1, later than usual, they will now be closing over 100 guest units that are usually available for lodging throughout the winter months. The park sees some of the most extreme winter weather in the contiguous U.S. and much of the park is only accessible by snowcoach or snowmobile from October to April. Factoring in the limited medical services in the park during this time, park officials announced that in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure visitor safety, they will be limiting lodging, in addition to closing the Madison Campground a month early. Despite these closures, the park has seen some of its busiest months on record this summer—the 837,000 visitors for September was 16 percent higher than during the same month in 2018—the previous record for the month.