Infos zum Yellowstone NP

Select Yellowstone roads and services open April 19

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Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, April 19, 2019, select roads and services in Yellowstone National Park will open for the season, weather permitting. To celebrate National Park Week, entrance fees will be waived on Saturday, April 20, 2019.

Open Roads
West Entrance to Old Faithful
Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful (via Norris)
Norris to Canyon Village
North Entrance to Mammoth Hot Springs to Northeast Entrance (open year-round)

Open Services
Visit Operating Hours & Seasons for area-specific services.

Stay Informed
Road conditions can change quickly. Find updated road status on the park website, at visitor centers (Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Canyon Village, and West Yellowstone), and by calling (307) 344-2117. To receive Yellowstone road alerts on your mobile phone, text "82190" to 888-777 (an automatic text reply will confirm receipt and provide instructions).

Springtime in Yellowstone
Springtime in Yellowstone means fewer crowds, opportunities for hiking at lower elevations, and skiing or snowshoeing at higher elevations. Wildlife viewing highlights this time of year include bison calving, bears recently emerged from dens, bull elk antlers in velvet, and the arrival of migratory birds.

Yellowstone Pledge
Take the Yellowstone Pledge. It’s a personal promise you make to yourself and the park. It can be taken anywhere: it doesn’t need to be taken out loud or in front of anyone. Here are the Top 10 Ways to put the Pledge into action. YellowstonePledge and encourage others to do the same.

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Weather-permitting, East Entrance and select roads in Yellowstone open Friday, May 3

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East Entrance to Lake Village (Sylvan Pass) and Lake Village to Canyon Village will open Friday, May 3, at 8 a.m. to public motorists.
A significant snowpack still exists in the Sylvan Pass area. Park rangers will monitor avalanche conditions. Temporary closures may occur.
For the 2019 season, expect 30-minute delays along the East Entrance Road between Fishing Bridge and Indian Pond.

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Weather-permitting, Yellowstone's South Entrance & select roads open Friday, May 10, 2019

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South Entrance to West Thumb, Lake Village to West Thumb, West Thumb to Old Faithful (Craig Pass), Tower Junction to Tower Fall, will open Friday, May 10, at 8 a.m. to public motorists.

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Honk! If a bear comes near your car

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If a bear approaches or touches your car, honk your horn and drive away to discourage this behavior.
On Saturday, May 11, a black bear in the Tower-Roosevelt area put its paws on vehicles.
In May of 2018, a black bear previously fed by people in the Mammoth Hot Springs area approached a vehicle, put its paws on a door and looked into the vehicle’s windows. Also last May, a grizzly bear near Yellowstone Lake went up to a car and played with its antenna.
Bears that grow accustomed to people and view humans as a food source can become aggressive and have to be killed.

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Noisy Yellowstone geyser roars back to life after 3 years

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A noisy geyser in Yellowstone National Park has roared back to life after three years of quiet.
Ledge Geyser is one of the biggest in Yellowstone’s Norris Geyser Basin.
The Billings Gazette reports the geyser shoots hot water at an angle up to 125 feet (38 meters) high and a distance of 220 feet (67 meters).
Yellowstone geologist Jeff Hungerford says Ledge Geyser is noisy because its water and steam must pass through a narrow opening in the ground.
Yellowstone has more than 10,000 thermal features and 500 geysers, more than anywhere else on Earth. Some geysers such as Old Faithful are predictable but most, like Ledge Geyser, erupt erratically.

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Mount Washburn Trail and trailhead parking lot at Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone to close in August for improvements

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· The Mount Washburn Trail and trailhead parking lot at Dunraven Pass will close for improvements August 6-27, 2019.
· The trail and trailhead parking lot is located 4.5 miles north of Canyon Junction.
· The closure is necessary for public safety and will include the replacement of a deteriorated multi-tiered log crib that structurally supports the trail. Find a photo of the unsafe crib on Flickr.
· To replace the crib wall, trail crew will use cable rigging and fall protection systems affixed to fabricated anchorages constructed into the trail. A helicopter will deliver log pilings to the work site.
· Please plan accordingly.
· The Mount Washburn Trail from Chittenden Road will remain open.

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A Yellowstone geyser is very active ... but don't panic

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Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser erupted June 12, then erupted again three days later on June 15.
That's a new record for the geyser – the shortest time ever recorded between eruptions, the Billings Gazette reported
But it's nothing to worry about: There's no connection to the infamous "Supervolcano" that lurks underneath the national park.
"Yellowstone has an incredible geyser system that is unrelated to magmatic activity – other than the magmatic system basically providing heat," tweeted volcanologist Janine Krippner.
The U.S. Geological Survey agreed, noting that "geysers are supposed to erupt, and most are erratic, like Steamboat."
In addition, as Live Science reported, records of the geyser's eruptions go back only to the early 1980s, the Billings Gazette said. That’s a pretty short period considering geysers have been active since the end of the last ice age about 14,000 years ago.
A couple of fun facts about geysers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey: The English word geyser is derived from Geysir, a name given by Icelanders in the 17th century to an intermittently discharging hot spring in southwest Iceland.
And of the 1,000 natural geysers around the world, half are in Yellowstone National Park.
As for the Supervolcano, there are no signs it's about to erupt. Scientists who study Yellowstone's 45-by-30-mile caldera, roughly the size of Rhode Island, said in 2018 that the underground system of the volcano will probably give decades of warning before it blows – and that isn't likely to happen for thousands of years.
So don't change your summer vacation plans just yet.

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Leider kann man nicht oft genug drauf hnweisen - in den National Parks sind die Tiere wild!

Nine-year-old girl injured by bison

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· On the afternoon of July 22, there was an incident with a bull bison near Observation Point Trail in the Old Faithful Geyser area.
· According to witnesses, a group of approximately 50 people were within 5-10 feet of the bison for at least 20 minutes before eventually causing the bison to charge the group.
· A nine-year-old girl from Odessa, FL was charged and tossed into the air by the bull bison.
· The girl was taken to the Old Faithful Lodge by her family where she was assessed and treated by a park emergency medical providers, and later taken to and released from the Old Faithful Clinic.
· No citations have been issued. The incident is still under investigation.
· Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild. When an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space. Stay 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals - bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity.

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Bear bites woman in tent at Yellowstone, prompts action

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A series of black bear encounters, including a woman getting bit through the tent she was in, has led officials in Yellowstone National Park to take action to eliminate the offending bears and educate the public on food storage.
Morgan Warthin, Yellowstone public affairs specialist, told the Billings Gazette that the incidents involving black bears match the average number of conflicts for the park per year, but the encounters were more serious than average.
“We re-evaluated the incident last month and looked at the two that occurred in July and felt like at this point give the education of emphasizing proper food storage,” Warthin told the Billings Gazette.
Last month at a backcountry campsite along Little Cottonwood Creek, a black bear bit into a tent and bruised a woman’s thigh, the park reported Thursday. Fortunately for the woman, the bite did not break skin because of the thickness of the tent fabric and sleeping bag.
Suspecting it was a bear that had gotten access to human food in this same area in previous years, rangers set up cameras and a decoy tent at the campsite to see if the bear continued its behavior. On June 11, rangers were on the scene when the bear returned and aggressively tore up the decoy tent, and the bear was killed.
Earlier this month, a black bear consumed 10 pounds of human food that was left unattended as campers packed up gear at a backcountry campsite along the Lamar River Trail. The next evening, campers at the same campsite experienced numerous encounters with the same bear. Hazing the bear away failed and the bear was killed on July 10.
Since July 18, a black bear has caused property damage to tents and vehicles in its search of human food at the frontcountry Indian Creek Campground. Park staff hazed this bear away and set up cameras, so if the bear returns, staff will take appropriate actions.
“These incidents serve as unfortunate reminders that human carelessness doesn’t just endanger people, it can also result in a bear’s death,” the park reported. “Allowing bears to obtain human food even once often leads to them becoming aggressive toward people. All of us play a role in keeping both bears and people safe.”
For those wondering why these bears aren’t simply relocated, Yellowstone officials explained the reasons:
1) There are no areas in the park to move the bear where it wouldn’t have the continued opportunity to potentially injure someone and damage property, 2) surrounding states do not want food-conditioned bears relocated into their jurisdictions, and 3) adult bears have large home ranges, good memories, and could easily return to the original area

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Bison stampedes into family's car in frightening video

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This may not be the up-close look at animals this family was expecting.
A herd of bison at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming ran toward a car last week while a family on vacation sat inside the vehicle. The family was enjoying the sight of the stampeding bison until one of the animals plowed right into their car.
The driver thinks someone else’s car alarm nearby caused the stampede.

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Man suffers severe thermal burns in Yellowstone

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Late on Sunday, September 29, Cade Edmond Siemers, a 48-year-old U.S. citizen currently living in India, suffered severe burns to a significant portion of his body after falling into thermal water near the cone of Old Faithful Geyser.

Rangers and paramedics responded to the Old Faithful Inn at midnight where Siemers was staying. He told rangers that he had gone for a walk off boardwalk without a flashlight and tripped into a hot spring. He got himself back to his hotel room and called for assistance. Rangers detected evidence of alcohol use.

Siemers was taken by ambulance to West Yellowstone Airport and then flown by fixed-wing plane to Idaho Falls. Bad weather conditions prohibited the use of a life flight helicopter at Old Faithful. He was admitted to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

Since rangers were not at the scene of the incident last night, they went out at first light this morning to investigate in the thermal area. They discovered several items near the geyser (the man’s shoe, hat, and a beer can), footprints going to and from the geyser, and blood on the boardwalk.

Investigations continue today, including assessing any damage to the geyser cone. The results of the investigation will be forwarded to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecutorial review.
The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Visitors must always remain on boardwalks and exercise extreme caution around thermal features. Learn more about safety in thermal areas at go.nps.gov/yellsafety.

This is the first serious injury in a thermal area in two years. In June 2017, a man sustained severe burns after falling in a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin. In June 2016, a man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin. In August 2000, one person died and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.

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Yellowstone National Park roads set to close November 4

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A reminder that all roads in Yellowstone National Park are set to close on November 4 at 8 a.m. as part of the standard fall closing except the road between the North Entrance and the Northeast Entrance that is open year round ( In black on the map below ).

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Yellowstone road construction projects in 2020; More than $75 million will be invested to improve safety, access, and experience on park roads

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There will be three major road construction projects in Yellowstone National Park in 2020. One project will have a complete closure between Tower Fall and Chittenden Road, while two projects will cause delays (North Entrance and Fishing Bridge to Indian Pond).

“Our staff does an amazing job planning and implementing these road projects to maximize improvements while minimizing the impacts to visitors and gateway communities,” said Superintendent Cam Sholly. “These construction projects are critical to improving safety, access, and visitor experience along Yellowstone’s roads.”

Addressing the deferred maintenance backlog is part of the National Park Service’s core mission to preserve national parks and provide a world-class visitor experience. In 2018, Yellowstone reported a conservative backlog estimate of $586 million, more than half of which is related to park roads. With the completion of these three road construction projects, the park will reduce its deferred maintenance backlog by at least $50 million.

1. Tower Fall to Chittenden Road

Improvements: This 6-mile segment of road remains largely unchanged since the last improvements in the 1930s. This construction project will widen the road and provide additional/improved pullouts; create a larger, safer parking area at Tower Fall General Store; and improve the trail and overlook for Tower Fall. To fund this project, the park received a grant through the Nationally Significant Federal Lands Program and will match it with fee dollars collected in the park.
Access: The road between Tower Fall and Chittenden Road will be completely closed until April 2022. Specific areas on each side of this closure will be open for select time periods. Check the Road Construction webpage for details about access to Mount Washburn, Tower Fall, the Tower General Store, and Tower Fall Campground.

2. North Entrance

Improvements: The North Entrance is not equipped to meet the challenges of increasing visitation and traffic. This construction will add an additional lane and kiosk to improve traffic flow and reduce lines; replace the existing two buildings with one larger building/station and two kiosks; improve the flow of employee and delivery traffic from Robert Reamer Avenue; improve pedestrian safety by realigning parking along Robert Reamer Avenue; and replace the water line along Robert Reamer Avenue. Funding for this project comes from the Federal Highways Administration, Yellowstone Forever, the National Park Foundation, and fees collected in the park.
Access: Beginning in early summer, expect delays around the North Entrance. The entrance station will be open. More details, including dates, will be available after a construction contractor is selected. This project will start in 2020 and take two years.

3. Fishing Bridge to Indian Pond

Improvements: Along this section of road, an earthen causeway has been in place since 1902 limiting Pelican Creek’s ability to flow naturally. Construction in 2020 will replace the Pelican Creek bridge and causeway with a viaduct to allow the wetland and creek to flow freely again. Crews will also put the finishing touches on work that started in 2018 to improve the deck, piers, and abutment of Fishing Bridge; add turn lanes to the facilities at Fishing Bridge; construct a larger, improved parking area to the east of the General Store; and widen the road and add/improve pullouts. Funding for this project comes from the Federal Highways Administration.
Access: From May 4 to October 30, 2020, expect delays along the East Entrance Road between Fishing Bridge and Indian Pond. Read updated newsletters about the project status. This project will be completed in 2020.
The park completed a major road construction project in 2019. It was the second phase of the Norris to Golden Gate project which widened 4.5 miles of road, increased and improved pullouts, and improved the parking lot, trail, and kiosk at Obsidian Cliff. The third and final phase of Norris to Golden Gate is planned to begin sometime after the park finishes the Tower Fall to Chittenden Road section in 2022.

With winter weather conditions possible half the year, there is a small window from April through early November for repairing and maintaining park roads and bridges.

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Two men sentenced to ten days in jail for Yellowstone thermal trespass violations

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Two men were recently sentenced for trespassing on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser, a closed thermal area. Eric Schefflin, 20, of Lakewood, Colorado, and Ryan Goetz, 25, of Woodstock, New York, appeared in court on December 5, 2019, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Carman at the Yellowstone Justice Center in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming.

Schefflin and Goetz pleaded guilty to the violation of thermal trespass. On September 10, 2019, at about 8:30 p.m., employees and visitors witnessed two individuals walking on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser and reported it to park dispatch. A ranger contacted and cited Schefflin and Goetz.

Sentencing for each included:

10 days of incarceration
$540 in restitution
Five years of unsupervised probation
Five year ban from Yellowstone National Park

“Visitors must realize that walking on thermal features is dangerous, damages the resource, and illegal. Law enforcement officers take this violation seriously. Yellowstone National Park also appreciates the court for recognizing the impact thermal trespass can have on these amazing features,” said Chief Ranger Sarah Davis.

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A woman suffers burns after illegally entering Yellowstone National Park, park officials say

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A woman suffered burns after falling into a thermal feature at Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday, according to the park officials.
Yellowstone has been closed to visitors since March 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The woman "illegally entered the park," the National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement.
She told park rangers she was backing up to take pictures when she fell into a thermal feature at the Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most famous geyser's in the world.
"Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature," reads the park's website. It also warns visitors to stay on the boardwalks and trails in these thermal areas.
After falling, the woman, who was not identified by park officials, was able to get in her vehicle and drive through the park when she was contacted by rangers. Due to her injuries, she was life-flighted to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, park officials said.
The Old Faithful Geyser erupts about every 90 minutes, according to the NPS, and the average water temperature is 169.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
The woman's condition is unknown at this time. NPS said it is continuing to investigate this incident and is not sure which thermal feature she fell into.
Trespassing at the park can net individuals seriously repercussions.
Earlier this year, two men that were caught trespassing on the cone of Old Faithful Geyser, which is a closed thermal area, were sentenced to 10 days in jail and five years of probation. They were also ordered to pay $540 restitution and banned from the park for five years.
"Visitors must realize that walking on thermal features is dangerous, damages the resource, and illegal," Park Chief Ranger Sarah Davis said in January about the sentencing. "Law enforcement officers take this violation seriously. Yellowstone National Park also appreciates the court for recognizing the impact thermal trespass can have on these amazing features."
Last year, a man suffered severe burns when he took a walk off the boardwalk at night without a flashlight and tripped into the thermal water near the cone of Old Faithful Geyser. In that incident, NPS said if it was determined there was any damage done to the geyser cone they would forward the results to the US Attorney's Office for prosecutorial review.
In June 2017, a North Carolina man suffered severe burns when he fell into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin north of the Old Faithful area. A year before that, an Oregon man died when he went off a boardwalk and fell into a hot spring that was 212 degrees Fahrenheit. His body was not recovered.
The nation's first national park, Yellowstone National Park is also its sixth-most popular national park, with 4 million visitors last year. It's located in three states -- Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

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A woman was injured by a bison two days after the Yellowstone National Park reopened

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Two days after the Yellowstone National Park partially reopened following coronavirus restrictions, a woman was injured by a bison.
The victim had been following the wild animal too closely Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from park spokeswoman Linda Veress.
The park did not release the woman's name.
They said she was knocked to the ground and received attention from park medical staff but chose not to go to the hospital.
Veress said the guest did not follow the park's guidance to stay at least 25 yards away from all large animals.
On May 12 -- while the park was still closed -- a different visitor entered the park illegally and fell into what Veress described as a "thermal feature" near Old Faithful, a famed park geyser. That visitor had to be taken by air ambulance to a burn center for treatment.
The park -- like many others across the US -- has kept its doors closed to the public since late March as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a news release earlier this month, the park said it has put together a phased reopening plan for the park, with the first phase going into effect May 18.
"Wyoming has lifted out-of-state travel restrictions and has requested the state's entrances open the week of May 18," the release said. "Montana and Idaho continue to have out-of-state restrictions in place and the park is working closely with these states and counties to open the remaining three entrances as soon as possible."

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Tier fühlte sich bedroht
Sie wollte Fotos machen: Frau im Yellowstone-Nationalpark von Bison durchbohrt

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Leichtsinn kostete einer älteren Frau aus den USA beinahe das Leben. Um Fotos von einem wilden Bison zu machen, kam die Dame dem Tier deutlich zu nahe. Mehrfach wurde sie von den Hörnern des Bisons durchbohrt und musste per Helikopter aus dem Yellowstone-Nationalpark abtransportiert werden.
Eine 72-jährige Frau aus dem US-Bundesstaat Kalifornien habe mit schweren Verletzungen per Helikopter aus dem Yellowstone-Nationalpark geborgen werden müssen, so der "National Park Service". Sie sei anschließend in das Eastern Idaho Regional Krankenhaus gebracht worden.

Frau überschritt Sicherheitsabstand deutlich
Die Frau habe sich einem wilden Bison auf etwa drei Meter genähert, um Fotos zu schießen - ratsam seien eigentlich deutlich mehr als 20 Meter Abstand. Weil sich das Tier bedroht gefühlt habe, sei es auf die Frau zugestürmt. Dabei soll sie mehrfach von den Hörnern durchbohrt worden sein.
Die Yellowstone-Biologin Chris Geremia erklärte: "Bison sind wilde Tiere, die auf Bedrohungen mit aggressivem Verhalten wie Hufe scharren, schnauben, Kopf heben und senken oder Schwanz peitschen reagieren. Wenn das die Bedrohung nicht verscheucht, stürmt das bedrohte Bison möglicherweise an." Derzeit werde der Vorfall weiter untersucht.

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Niederlage für Trump: Grizzlybären im Yellowstone-Park bleiben unter Artenschutz

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Großer Sieg für Artenschützer: Grizzlybären in und um den Yellowstone Nationalpark stehen weiterhin unter Artenschutz. Das entschied ein US-Bundesgericht. Die rund 700 Grizzlybären des Nationalparks hatten ihren geschützten Status im Jahr 2017 auf Betreiben der Trump-Regierung verloren, woraufhin die Bundesstaaten Wyoming und Idaho kurz davorstanden, die ersten Grizzly-Jagden seit 1991 auszurufen.
Das Ureinwohnervolk der Crow und Artenschützer hatten 2018 erfolgreich vor einem Bezirksgericht gegen dieses Vorhaben geklagt. Die US-Regierung war gegen die Entscheidung des Gerichts in Berufung gegangen.
Nun wurde das Urteil bestätigt: Die Bären bleiben geschützt und dürfen bis auf weiters nicht bejagt werden.
"Das ist ein großartiger Sieg für all jene, die die Grizzlys im Yellowstone Nationalpark lieben und die daran gearbeitet haben, dass ihr Schutzstatus erhalten bleibt", sagte Andrea Zaccardi, Anwältin am Center for Biological Diversity in einem Statement.
Der Schutzstatus für die Tiere bleibt aber umstritten. Artenschützer argumentieren, dass sich der Grizzly-Bestand zwar erholt habe, aber noch nicht gesichert sei, dass diese Erholung wirklich dauerhaft ist.
Ihre Gegner hingegen sind der Meinung, dass sich der Bestand der Tiere tatsächlich dauerhaft erholt habe und verweisen unter anderem auf Zusammenstöße zwischen Mensch und Bär. So war im Herbst 2018 ein Jagdführer in Wyoming von einem Grizzly tödlich verletzt worden.

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