National Park News

Rising River Levels Expected to Have Little Impact on Yellowstone Visitors, Unless They Fish

By New West Editor, 7-06-11

	Fishing Bridge, where walkways on either side are now under water. Photo by Flickr user Bernt Rostad.

Warm summer temperatures are causing rapid melting of last winter’s record snowpack. The resulting high water levels are impressive, but expected to have little impact on visitors to Yellowstone National Park, according to park officials.

The National Weather Service is forecasting the Yellowstone River at Fishing Bridge to approach record levels this weekend. The river level is forecast to reach 8.8 feet on Saturday, just shy of the 8.9-foot record set on June 18, 1997. Flood stage is 9 feet.

While other rivers in Yellowstone including the Lamar, Gardner, Gibbon, Madison, Firehole, Lewis and Snake Rivers are running high and fast, none are forecast to reach flood level.

What most visitors are likely to notice is the high water flow of the Yellowstone over the Upper and Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Walkways along the river on either side of historic Fishing Bridge are already under water, as is Gull Point Drive, a short scenic side trip off the Grand Loop Road south of Bridge Bay. Areas near Pelican Creek east of Fishing Bridge and along Elk Antler, Trout, and Alum Creeks in Hayden Valley look more like shallow lakes due to high water.

Anglers are having a tougher time in the park this summer, with turbid, fast-running water. Some campsites and trails remain closed due to the ongoing impacts of snow, high water and muddy conditions.

Visitors are reminded to exercise extreme caution around high or fast moving water. Rocks and soil along lake, river and stream banks may be slippery or unstable. Water may be moving faster than it appears, and can be powerful enough to knock someone off their feet. Immersion in cold water can quickly lead to hypothermia.

The nearly 700-mile long Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states.  It originates high in southeastern corner of Yellowstone National Park flowing north and east until it empties into the Missouri River near the Montana-North Dakota border.

According to officials, the recent crude oil spill on the Yellowstone River occurred west of Billings, Montana, 175 miles downstream from the northern boundary of YNP, is not expected to impact waters or wildlife in the park. 

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