Yellowstone: One-Lane Traffic and Delays at the Gardner River High Bridge

If your Yellowstone trip takes you through the north end of the park, plan for a little extra time. The Gardner River High Bridge, on the road that follows the Gardner River, is currently running on a single lane of traffic.

Here's how it works. Traffic crosses one direction at a time, with waits of up to 15 minutes. That setup is in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from April 1 through late October 2026. In other words, no time of day is exempt, not even early morning or the middle of the night.

There's nothing special to prepare on your end. Once you get there, you follow the signs and wait for your lane to open. Fifteen minutes isn't much, but it's worth building into your plans if you're aiming for a sunrise or a park entrance at a set time.

One thing deserves your attention if you're driving something big. Oversized or overweight vehicles can't cross the bridge during this whole period. That covers anything wider than 8'6", longer than 75 feet, or with a gross vehicle weight over 80,000 pounds. A standard rental RV is no problem. But if you're towing a large trailer or driving an oversized vehicle, you'll need to find another way into the park.

This kind of thing is common at Yellowstone, a huge park where roads and bridges are regularly under construction. To plan your trip with confidence and pick which entrance to use, keep the Yellowstone park guide handy. And if you're stringing together several spots in the West, take a look at our road trip itinerary that runs through the park. It'll help you order your stops around this sort of hiccup.

The bottom line is simple. Nothing alarming, just a slight slowdown to plan for at the Gardner River.