With winter easing its grip on the Northern Rockies, work is under way in Yellowstone National Park, and soon will be under way in neighboring Grand Teton National Park, to clear snow from the roads.

In Yellowstone, they've closed the interior roads to over-snow traffic and crews are working to clear away the snow. On Monday morning plows began working their way south from Mammoth Hot Springs towards Madison Junction and Old Faithful beyond.

Depending on the weather, the interior roads will reopen to automobile travel sometime between mid-April and the end of May, according to park officials. Under the current schedule, on Friday, April 16, the roads from Yellowstone’s North and West Entrances to Norris, Madison, Canyon and Old Faithful, will reopen to visitors.

The road linking Canyon, Fishing Bridge and the East Entrance tentatively is set to open on Friday, May 7, with travel from the South Entrance to Grant, West Thumb, Old Faithful and Fishing Bridge expected to be possible beginning Friday, May 14. Travel from Cooke City over Colter Pass to the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway and the Long Lake gate typically also opens by mid-May. The balance of the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge, Montana, and the road between Tower Fall and Canyon over Dunraven Pass opens the Friday before the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, weather permitting.

The road from Gardiner, Montana, through the park's North Entrance to Mammoth Hot Springs to Cooke City, Montana, is open to automobiles all year, weather permitting.

A brief spring bicycling season is offered on some park roads after the plows safely clear traffic lanes and before the roads are ready for automobile travel. Details are available online at www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/springbike.htm.

Once the roads are clear of snow, it won't necessarily be easier to get around Yellowstone. Visitors will be impacted by one major road construction project this year between Madison and Norris through Gibbon Canyon. Visitors can expect up to 30-minute delays from the time the road opens to travel on April 16 through October 20. This section of road will also be closed to travel between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. every night from April 16 until September 1.

There will be no daytime delays or overnight closures during the Memorial Day or July 4 holiday weekends. During this period, visitors should allow extra travel time in case they need to reroute through West Thumb and Canyon. Maps and additional construction details will be available at all visitor centers and online at www.nps.gov/yell.

A small road project on the park’s East Entrance road over Sylvan Pass may also result in up to 30-minute delays during the spring, summer and fall. No night time closures are scheduled. There will be no construction or delays during holiday weekends.

A third project in the park is expected to result in some delays during the last two weeks of June. Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be used to repair and repave the section of road between the Uncle Tom’s Trail parking area and Artist Point along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Visitors can expect up to 30-minute delays on the South Rim Drive, as well as some delays on the road between Canyon and Fishing Bridge. All work is expected to be completed prior to
the July 4 holiday weekend.

Updated Yellowstone National Park road information is available 24 hours a day by calling 307-344-2117.

In Grand Teton National Park, plowing of the Teton Park Road is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 15. As plowing operations begin, recreation on the snow-packed trail will cease for the 2009/10 winter season. Park visitors may continue to use other winter trails—or areas adjacent to the Teton Park Road—for skate skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing until snow conditions are no longer favorable for such activities.

For safety reasons, visitors may NOT access the Teton Park Road while rotary snow removal equipment and plows are working; the roadway is closed to ALL users during this period of time, park officials said in a release.

Skiers and snowshoers using areas adjacent to the Teton Park Road are cautioned to avoid the arc of snow being blown from the rotary equipment because pieces of ice and gravel can be mixed with the snow spray. Park rangers will enforce the temporary road closure to ensure safe conditions for plow operators and park visitors alike.

Depending on weather, snow conditions and plowing progress, the roadway should become accessible to traditional springtime, non-motorized activities in early April; the opening of the Teton Park Road to bikers, hikers and inline skaters will be announced once snow removal equipment is no longer operating.

The Grassy Lake Road in the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway is scheduled to close for the winter season on Monday evening, March 15, in conjunction with other winter closures in nearby Yellowstone National Park. This road remains closed to all motor vehicles from April 1 to May 31, due to springtime grizzly bear activity.

Depending upon snow conditions, ranger-led snowshoe hikes from the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center are scheduled to end on Sunday, March 14. To make a reservation for this activity, or to inquire whether snowshoe hikes are still being offered, please phone 307.739.3399. The Discovery Center will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout March, April and May.

Pet owners are reminded that dogs are not allowed in the park’s backcountry, which includes all areas away from park roadways and turnouts. Pet owners are required to have their dogs on a maximum 6-foot leash whenever they are outside of a private vehicle. Pet owners must also clean up their dog waste. A “mutt-mitt” station is conveniently located near the Teton Park Road closure gates to provide bags for this purpose.

The paved, multi-use pathway running from Dornan’s to South Jenny Lake will not be open for public use until the snow recedes naturally.

The Teton Park Road is scheduled to open to vehicle traffic for the 2010 summer season on Saturday, May 1.