Yellowstone National Park

The West Entrance at West Yellowstone is now open, as well as the road from Mammoth to Norris.

National Parks Week begins this weekend, kicking off with free entry to all parks on Saturday, April 19 — just weeks after mass layoffs and court-ordered reinstatements of some park workers.

Visitors can enter Yellowstone through the West Entrance at West Yellowstone and the North Entrance at Gardiner, and drive to places like Old Faithful, Lamar Valley and Norris Geyser Basin.

Visitors to both parks should keep an eye out for park vehicles and snow removal equipment, and respect any road and wildlife closures.

A Washington woman walked about 10 feet onto the cone of Old Faithful and a Georgia man drove and parked his vehicle in a thermal area.

If Mother Nature and plowing go according to plan, some roads in Yellowstone will start opening to regular vehicle travel on April 18, including the road from West Yellowstone to Madison, Norris, Old Faithful and Gardiner.

Backcountry explorers should avoid wearing earbuds, carry bear spray and travel in groups of three or more.

With 4.7 million visitors the park was about 116,000 visitors short of the busiest year on record.

The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and four conservation groups filed a motion to intervene to defend the park’s plan in court. It's being challenged by the state of Montana.

The federal hiring freeze could mean long lines and dirty restrooms at Yellowstone National Park this summer but business and tourism leaders in Cody, the park’s East Entrance gateway town, aren’t worried about fewer visitors coming to town.