The Old Gardiner Road linking Gardiner, MT, to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park opened Sunday/NPS, Cam Sholly

Access to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park from Gardiner, Montana, opened for visitors Sunday, four-and-a-half months after historic flooding tore out sections of the main north road leading into the park. Traffic began heading down the road Sunday morning, two days earlier than expected as crews completed the temporary route ahead of schedule. 

Heavy rains falling on snowpack that was already melting due to warm temperatures unleashed devastating flood waters on June 12 and 13 that chewed through the park road that runs east of Mammoth Hot Springs and through the Lamar Valley to Silvergate and Cooke City in Montana, as well as the road from Mammoth Hot Springs north to Gardiner, Montana. As the floodwaters swelled, park staff safely were able to evacuate an estimated 10,000 visitors from the park, including backcountry travelers.

The park's north and northeast entrance roads had been closed since the historic flood event. While temporary repairs allowed the Northeast Entrance Road to open in mid-October, the task to regrade and enlarge the 4-mile-long Old Gardiner Road, which started out in the late 19th century as a stagecoach route, was a larger project. The Old Gardiner Road was determined to be the best and only option to quickly reconnect Mammoth Hot Springs to Gardiner after the floods. The single-lane dirt road has been expanded to two lanes over its entire length.

Its completion was hastened by redirecting road crews from a road project elsewhere in the park to the northern entrance. Substantial culvert work, slope stabilization and retainment were required to bring the road up to safe standards.

This road will be used as the primary access route until a permanent reconstruction option is completed in upcoming years. This project is being completed with support from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and funded largely by FHWA Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO). HK Contractors Inc. is the primary construction company under contract to complete this project.

Contractors completed striping on Saturday. 

The public should keep the following details in mind when driving the road: 

In celebration of the road's opening, park entrance fees were being waived for Sunday and Monday.