Here's a look at the first morning of Yellowstone's reopening following cataclysmic flooding last week.Â
Yellowstone National Park
A Boy Scout troop from Littleton, Colo., pets Mr. Bates, a dog owned by park visitor Mary Carbrey of Sacramento Calif., as they all wait for Yellowstone National Park to begin letting visitors in on Wednesday at the East Gate.
Yellowstone National Park
Visitors with qualifying license plates wait in line to enter Yellowstone National Park at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the East Gate.
Yellowstone reopening
Park visitors speak to each other outside of the Shoshone National Forest as their cars sit in line to enter Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday at the East Gate.
Yellowstone National Park
Tourists exit their vehicles and look at the line of cars behind them while waiting to enter Yellowstone National Park at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the East Gate.
Yellowstone National Park
Mountains are backed up by a blue sky on June 22, 2022 in Yellowstone National Park.
Old Faithful
A bison eats grass next to Old Faithful geyser on Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone National Park
A ranger confirms that a truck can enter Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday at the East Entrance. The park used a license plate system to limit visitors as it recovers from last week's massive flooding. Wednesday was the first day that visitors were allowed to enter Yellowstone.
Old Faithful
Visitors stand in line at the information desk inside of the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center on June 22, 2022, at Yellowstone National Park.
Old Faithful
Park visitors watch as Old Faithful erupts on Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park. Crowds were relatively light on the first day of the park's reopening.
Rebecca Roland
Yellowstone Park Ranger Rebecca Roland stands outside of the East Entrance on Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone National Park
Visitors with qualifying license plates wait in line to enter Yellowstone National Park at 7 a.m. on Wednesday at the East gate. The park opened an hour later for the first time in nine days.
As featured on
A novel system that limits entry based on license plates appears to have helped prevent visitors from overwhelming the reopened half of Yellowstone National Park.
Wyoming, Montana and the National Park Service will receive at least $65 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to repair damage caused by historic flooding nearly two weeks ago.
