Grand Teton park in Wyoming plans for huge eclipse crowd

The Grand Tetons in Wyoming (Thinkstock)

MOOSE, Wyo. — Grand Teton National Park in northwest Wyoming will alter some road traffic and parking in order to accommodate an expected influx of people looking to view the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

“A typical August day is a very busy day at Grand Teton National Park,” park spokeswoman Denise Germann said. “This Aug. 21, the day of the total eclipse, we’re expecting to be the busiest day in the history of the park,”

Fees will be waved at the Granite Canyon, Moose and Moran entrance gates to ease the flow of traffic. The park has designated five viewing areas — along the road to Kelly, the Gros Ventre Campground, the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, Colter Bay and Jackson Lake Lodge.

“We want to make sure that we can help provide a quality visitor experience for this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Germann told the Jackson Hole News & Guide. “We will see some congestion. Not only on the roads but at our facility we’re going to see some gridlock traffic.”

Visitors to Grand Teton on eclipse day will find Gros Ventre Road a one-way route, open to eastbound vehicles only between the highway junction and the Gros Ventre Campground. The left side of the road will be designated for parking, and portable bathrooms will be deposited along the route.

The road to Kelly was closed this spring due to erosion by a runoff-swollen Gros Ventre River. It may take a while to repair, but in the meantime, the segment that had a full lane washed away has a temporary traffic light to control two-way traffic through the remaining open lane. During the eclipse, only one-way traffic will be allowed.

Other changes to traffic regulations are more minor.

Parking will not be permitted along the shoulders of Highway 26/89/191 and Moose-Wilson Road to allow emergency vehicles a through route. Shoulder parking will be permitted along Teton Park Road.

Park staff and volunteers will be posted at campgrounds, boat ramps and other destinations to turn people away when parking spaces and sites are full.