Island Park Idaho

How’s that for a title?  My dad would say, “You’re either open or you’re not.  Which is it?”  Well, you can go through the gate into the park.  In that sense, they’re open.  But few of the roads are truly open yet.  From the west entrance at West Yellowstone, MT you can go to Old Faithful, or you can go to Canyon, but you can’t make the loop.  So I think semi-open pretty much explains how it is.

I’ve talked to several people who have already been into the park and they report seeing wolves, grizzly bears (yes, they’ve started to wake up, even with all the snow still still on the ground,) bison, elk and the usual critters.  There’s still a ton of snow, so you can’t get out and walk around yet.  But if you’re looking to beat the crowd, any time in the next two to three weeks is a good time.  If you wait until the 20th of May, it will be wall-to-wall people until October.  So go now.  Bring your camera and a sharp eye to see all the babies this spring.  Oh, and bring your own lunch, because right now, basically nothing is open but the road.

See you there!