Sylvan Pass
The avalanche-raked pass on Yellowstone's east side, the road in from Cody. Unlike the roads where plows race the snow, this one runs on a published calendar: the park names the opening and closing dates for every road in the park before the season and holds to them, weather permitting. Sylvan Pass is among the first segments to open each May and among the first to be shut by an autumn storm. The dates below are the season the park published for each year.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to Yellowstone NP's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 8,530 feet — check Yellowstone NP's status page before you drive.
The record
The park opens the East Entrance Road on a published spring date, in the first week of May every year since 2018.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| May 1 | 1 of 8 years | 13% |
| May 15 | 8 of 8 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Sylvan Pass close?
The published season runs to October 31 most years, and an early storm can shut the pass sooner. The winter closure covers the East Entrance Road between the gate and Fishing Bridge.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| October 22 | 3 of 3 years | 100% |
| November 1 | 0 of 3 years | 0% |
Closing dates come from the same record as the openings — the year-by-year table below. Past autumns, not a promise about this one: a single storm can end the season a fortnight early.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | May 1 | — | nps.gov (archived) | |
| 2025 | May 2 | October 31 | nps.gov (archived) | |
| 2024 | May 3 | October 31 | nps.gov | |
| 2023 | May 5 | November 1 | nps.gov | |
| 2022 | May 6 | — | Avalanche danger above the road closed the pass for stretches of the weeks after it opened. | nps.gov (archived) |
| 2021 | May 7 | — | nps.gov | |
| 2019 | May 3 | — | nps.gov (archived) | |
| 2018 | May 4 | — | nps.gov (archived) |
Why the table stops where it does. Yellowstone publishes each season's road dates for the year ahead and takes the old ones down; there is no archive of past seasons on the park's site. The years here are the ones a park release or a saved season schedule still names, which is why the table starts where it does rather than in the 1930s.
Record drawn from NPS Yellowstone: park roads, with each season's opening and closing dates · NPS Yellowstone: operating dates · NPS news release: 2024 East Entrance opening, May 3 · NPS news release: 2023 East Entrance opening, May 5 · NPS news release: 2021 East Entrance opening, May 7 · NPS news release: 2022 avalanche closures at Sylvan Pass. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked August 20, 2026.
Sylvan Pass: opening and closing questions
- When does Sylvan Pass close for the winter?
- The published season runs to October 31 most years, and an early storm can shut the pass sooner. Across the 3 closings on record the gate has gone shut around October 31 — as early as October 31 in 2024, as late as November 1 in 2023. The winter closure covers the East Entrance Road between the gate and Fishing Bridge.
- When did Sylvan Pass close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is October 31, 2025. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Sylvan Pass in winter?
- No. The East Entrance Road between the gate and Fishing Bridge is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. Yellowstone NP posts the gate's current state.
- Is Sylvan Pass open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. National Park Service — Yellowstone National Park publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation. For planning: the usual season runs from about May 4 to about October 31.
- When does Sylvan Pass open again?
- The park opens the East Entrance Road on a published spring date, in the first week of May every year since 2018. The median of the 8 openings on record is May 4; the earliest was May 1 in 2026 and the latest May 7 in 2021.