Yellowstone’s remaining gates will reopen next week. Here’s what to know

Yellowstone National Park will reopen its remaining entrances starting Monday, the park said.

The west, north and northeast entrances in Montana will open June 1 at 10 a.m. after coronavirus shut them down, the park said in a Thursday news release. The west entrance is about 5 1/2 hours from Boise, making it the closest entrance.

“The opening of Montana’s entrances coincides with the Governor’s lifting of out-of-state travel restrictions and will provide visitor access to all five entrances of Yellowstone National Park,” the park said.

The park started reopening May 18 with a “three-phased plan,” McClatchy News reported. It initially opened its south and east entrances in Wyoming.

“Yellowstone has outlined a three-phased plan that initially opens the South and East entrances of Wyoming and limits visitor travel to the lower loop of the park,” the park said in the news release. “The lower loop allows visitors to access Lake, Canyon, Norris, Old Faithful, West Thumb, and Grant Village.”

As part of the plan, the entire Grand Loop Road will be accessible for day use, the park said. Visitors can access restrooms, trails, limited stores, entrance stations and some boating, fishing and food service, according to the park.

Limited overnight accommodations will begin reopening later in June, but campgrounds, visitor centers and other facilities will stay closed.

Yellowstone will provide “additional protective barriers where needed,” encourage everyone to wear face masks in crowded areas, meter visitor access in some locations and increase cleaning, the park said.

The park is also working with officials and businesses to increase testing capacity, according to the news release.

“In addition to building capacity to test people with COVID-19 symptoms, the park has agreed to participate in a COVID-19 surveillance testing pilot project,” the park said. “Park County, Montana health officials have begun testing frontline employees and partners with 50 tests this week.”