Yellowstone Park lodging, campgrounds, dining and tours suspended through June 14
by Pinedale Online!
April 29, 2020
Xanterra, the concessioner for Yellowstone National Park, has announced that all their operations are currently scheduled to remain closed through June 14, 2020. They are tentatively anticipating opening on Monday, June 15th.
Based on current guidance, they are planning to open up limited lodging and services beginning on June 15.
Xanterra is the largest concessioner in the Park. They operate more than 830 buildings, 9 hotels with 2,000-plus rooms, and more than 30 food services facilities and tour operations. The announcement means that the Old Faithful Inn will not reopen in 2020. Only cabins with individual inside restroom facilities will be available for lodging this summer.
Xanterra announced they are reducing employees from the normal 3,500 for lodging operations to only 800. In addition, there will be no sit-down dine-in options anywhere in Yellowstone. All dining will be "grab and go" options only. Retail restrictions will include limiting the number of shoppers inside gift stores at any given time.
Xanterra said it is possible certain facilities may be open prior to June 15th. "When we are able to reopen, we plan to offer lodging and services based on regional guidelines and conditions at that time. We are working closely with local National Park Service staff to ensure our facilities provide a safe and healthy experience for visitors and our employees."
Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park modified their operations as of March 24th at the request of local county health officers from Park County, WY, Park County, MT, Teton County, WY, and Gallatin County, MT. These gateway communities were concerned that if the Parks stayed open, the influx of out-of-area visitors could bring additional cases of the coronavirus to their towns.
Both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks remain closed to all park visitors until further notice. There is no visitor access permitted to either park. State highways and/or roads that transcend park/state boundaries and facilities that support life safety and commerce are still open.
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