Beartooth Highway Opening Delayed By Snow, Should Be Ready Saturday

The Beartooth Highway wasn’t open Friday as scheduled after another snowstorm covered the mountain pass at nearly 11,000 feet with wet, heavy snow. The highway always tries to open on the Friday before Memorial Day—”tries” being the operative word. Plow crews from Yellowstone National Park were still working at West Summit, clearing around a foot of snow Thursday. The National Park Service said it “tentatively” hopes the entire 64 miles will be open to travelers by Saturday morning.

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day thinks that is more than likely. The last week has been eventful for winter weather, but that should not return before Memorial Day weekend ends. “If you’re camping, barbecuing, going to a parade, or driving the Beartooth Highway, the weather is not going to be much of a factor,” Day said. “Some years it is, this year it’s not.”