News Release National Parks Service
Yellowstone National Park’s south loop will reopen to the public on June 22; Visitors traveling to the park in the coming weeks must stay informed about the new interim visitor entry system
At 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, Yellowstone will begin allowing visitors to access the south loop of the park. The south loop is accessed from the East (Cody), West (West Yellowstone), and South (Grand Teton/Jackson) entrances. Accessible areas include Madison, Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake Village, Canyon Village and Norris. As part of reopening planning, park staff has engaged over 1,000 business owners, park partners, commercial operators and residents in surrounding gateway communities to determine how to manage summer visitation while the north loop remains closed due to flood damage.
To balance the demand for visitor access, park resource protection and the economic interests of the communities, the park will institute an interim visitor access plan. The interim plan, referred to as the Alternating License Plate System (ALPS), was suggested as a solution by gateway communities during a major public engagement with the park this past week. Park managers and partners have agreed this system is the best interim solution to ensuring the south loop does not become overwhelmed by visitors. The National Park Service will actively monitor the license plate system and is concurrently building a new reservation system that will be ready for implementation if needed.
Alternating License Plate System (ALPS)
- Public vehicle entry will be allowed based on whether the last numerical digit on a license plate is odd or even.
- Entrance will be granted based on odd/even days on the calendar.
- Odd-numbered last digits on license plates can enter on odd days of the month.
- Even-numbered last digits (including zero) on license plates can enter on even days of the month.
- Personalized plates (all letters, for example "YLWSTNE") will fall into the “odd” category for entrance purposes.
- Plates with a mix of letters and numbers but that end with a letter (for example "YELL4EVR") will still use the last numerical digit on the plate to determine entrance days.
- Entrance station staff will turn away vehicles attempting to enter the park when the odd/even numerical digits do not correspond to the odd/even calendar date for entrance.
Exceptions
- Current commercial use operators with active commercial use permits will be permitted to enter regardless of license plate number. This includes commercial tours and stock groups.
- Visitors with proof of overnight reservations in the park will be permitted to enter regardless of license plate number. This includes hotels, campgrounds, and backcountry reservations.
- Commercial motorcoaches will be permitted to enter regardless of license plate number.
- Motorcycle groups may enter on even dates only.
- Essential services like mail and deliver, employees and contractors may enter regardless of license plate number.
The interim license plate system will ensure that visitors have access to the park during this period of high demand. Park managers and staff will monitor the license plate system and impacts on resources, infrastructure, operations, and staffing, and may adjust or implement a reservation or timed entry system, if necessary, after three to four weeks.
View the most up-to-date information about the Alternating License Plate System, including a list of FAQ's on our website: go.nps.gov/YELLflood
After reviewing the FAQ's on the website above, we want to hear from you! What additional questions do you have? Let us know in the comments and we'll do our best to answer them!
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