tourism yellowstone

10 things you should know before visiting Yellowstone National Park

Jan 30, 2023 • 6 min read

Most people see Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring from the busy boardwalks of Midway Geyser Basin © Jonathan Percy / Shutterstock

After 15 years living in Yellowstone County, Montana , and authoring four editions of Lonely Planet’s guidebook to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks , I’ve learned a trick or two about visiting Yellowstone. 

From avoiding the summer crowds to staying safe in grizzly country, here’s what I wish I had known on my first visit to Yellowstone National Park .

1. Visit in shoulder season 

More than 4 million people visit Yellowstone National Park every year, with almost 70% of visitors arriving in the three summer months of June, July and August. Campgrounds, trailheads, restaurants and roads are stuffed to capacity. 

If your vacation dates allow, visit the park at the very beginning or end of the summer instead. September is a fabulous month for both good weather and lower crowds, especially after Labor Day, and this continues until mid-October. May is also good, especially in the northern half of the park and at lower elevations (high passes and some roads are still snow-covered in May). 

Also remember that, unlike Yellowstone’s other entrances, the northern section of the park is accessible year-round via the Mammoth to Cooke City road, so you can explore it any time you want.

2. Book accommodation well in advance (even campsites) 

If you do decide to visit during the mad months of July and August, you will need to book your park accommodation months in advance, even campsites. Since 2022 all of Yellowstone’s campgrounds are now reservable, whether they be the seven National Park Service (NPS) sites (bookable through Recreation.gov ) or the five sites run by Yellowstone National Park Lodges (YNPL). NPS-run sites take bookings six months in advance, whereas YNPL accepts them 13 months in advance.

A few NPS campsites are released just two weeks in advance, so all is not lost if you are gambling on a last-minute trip, though you will need to be flexible. A tip: Indian Creek campsite, south of Mammoth Junction, is normally the last of the park’s campsites to fill up. Without a reservation, you’ll have to camp outside the park, which will add to your daily driving time.

One important note is that flooding in June 2022 damaged Mammoth, Pebble Creek, Slough Creek, Tower Fall and Norris campgrounds, which were closed throughout 2022, so check with the park service for 2023 opening dates.

For hotels inside the park, you need to book up to a year in advance. The reception desk at any of the park’s accommodations can advise you of any last-minute room cancellations at any lodge inside the park.

3. Check that the roads are open

If you are visiting in April or May, be sure to check the road-opening schedule on the NPS website, as roads and accommodations in the southern half of the park open on a staggered schedule, ending with the road between Tower and Canyon junctions by Memorial Day. A couple of campgrounds here (Lewis Lake and Grant Village) don’t open until early June. Travel a park road that has only just opened and you’ll largely have that section of the park to yourself.

Road construction dates are also posted online, so check in advance to see if you need to budget some extra driving time. For example, the Yellowstone River bridge between Tower Junction and the Lamar Valley is under reconstruction from 2023, meaning traffic delays and the closure of the Yellowstone River picnic area.

4. Keep your distance!

Yellowstone is an elemental, untamed place, not a petting zoo, and its wild nature demands respect . Every year tourists die in the park, due to everything from being attacked by a grizzly bear to falling into a boiling hot spring.

Your natural instinct for self-preservation should keep you the requisite 100 yards away from bears and wolves, but it’s also important to keep at least 25 yards from bison, elk and moose, especially if there are young around. Bison injure more park visitors than any other animal.

5. Carry bear spray

If you are hiking off the boardwalks into Yellowstone’s wild backcountry (something we strongly recommend), be sure to invest in a can of bear spray and know how to use it. Outdoor stores at regional and gateway towns (and inside the park, at a premium) sell spray and you can even rent it inside the park, so there’s no excuse not to take one. It could save your life, and the bear’s. And no, bear spray is not like mosquito repellent – you don’t spray it on yourself, but rather at an advancing bear.

6. Practice your Western pronunciation

To blend in with the locals, be sure to hone your best Montana/Wyoming pronunciation, particularly for words like creek (pronounced crick ) and coyote (normally KAI-ote,  not kai-O-tee ). Pronounce Slough Creek as Slew Creek  to gain kudos with the local fly fishers. Brits should be aware that geyser is pronounced guy-zer , not gee-zer (which is an elderly dude). And while we are on the subject, those are bison, not buffalo, grazing the Lamar Valley.  

7. Be prepared for limited cell phone reception

Teenagers and digital junkies should be warned that Yellowstone has limited cell-phone service, mostly focused around the junction hubs of Mammoth, Canyon, Grant Village, Old Faithful and Lake Village. Wi-Fi is even patchier, with free Wi-Fi only available at Mammoth’s Albright Visitor Center. Don’t panic, you’ll survive.

If you simply can’t live without connectivity, you’ll have to drive to gateway towns, such as Gardiner and West Yellowstone, outside the park.

8. See the most popular sights from a different perspective

Many of Yellowstone’s most dramatic sights naturally attract big crowds and full parking lots, but you can often dodge these and snag your own private viewpoint by doing a bit of legwork.

Calcite Springs Overlook in the Tower-Roosevelt area, for example, is most commonly accessed via an often-full roadside parking lot, but it’s possible to hike an hour from the Yellowstone River Picnic Area, on the other side of the Yellowstone River, to enjoy the same views in RV-free serenity.

Grand Prismatic Spring is another spectacular sight, one which most people see from the busy boardwalks of Midway Geyser Basin. But you can score a much better view over the pool’s rainbow-colored rings by walking 0.6 miles south from the Fairy Falls trailhead to a magical, semi-secret overlook.

9. Make use of park intel to maximize your time

Inside the park, visitor information centers can be a mine of useful information for your trip. The Old Faithful visitor center , for one, lists the predicted eruption times for the basin’s most impressive geysers, which allows you to plan your time there to witness as many as possible.

Mammoth’s Albright Visitor Center in the north of the park details the locations of the latest wildlife sightings, which is particularly useful if you want to spot a bear or wolf pack. It’s all about maximizing your chances.

10. Read up on the park

The more you know about Yellowstone’s incredible geology and wildlife, the more astonishing it becomes. The park’s most popular hike , for example, leads to the top of Mt Washburn for epic views over the park, but it’s only when you realize that you're standing on the lip of a 30-mile wide super-volcano caldera (collapsed crater) that the true mind-blowing significance of what you're seeing sinks in. The more you learn about Yellowstone, the more you’ll want to return.

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• YELLOWSTONE LIVE

Everything to know about Yellowstone National Park

Here’s what to see and do in the world’s first national park.

Established: 1872 Size: 2.2 million acres Annual Visitors: 4.1 million Visitor Centers: Mammoth, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Grant Village, Old Faithful Entrance Fees: $30 per vehicle, $15 per person nps.gov/yell ; nps.gov/grte

If ever a park had a flair for the dramatic it’s Yellowstone —geysers, grizzlies , and its very own Grand Canyon, as well as trendy towns and backcountry trails that rarely see human bootprints. After all these years, the world’s very first national park is still one of the most imposing, a blend of land and water, forest and field, wildlife and geothermal features that often seem to be living things.

It seems remarkable in hindsight that politicians recognized the uniqueness of Yellowstone—and suggested that steps be taken to preserve such an incredible landscape—at the very time that America was realizing its manifest destiny by “conquering” much of the West.

A golden spike had finished the first transcontinental railroad just three years earlier and the Little Big Horn was still four years in the future when Ulysses S. Grant created Yellowstone National Park with the flourish of his pen in March 1872. The president was acting at the request of geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden, who had surveyed the region the previous summer. The genius of his expedition was including a photographer and landscape painter who rendered images of the Yellowstone countryside to show those in Washington exactly what needed saving. In fact, without the benefit of such images, a previous expedition was rebuffed by magazine editors who said their accounts of the Yellowstone region were too far-fetched to be believed .

Yet when we look at those early photos and paintings today, it’s as if nothing has changed in the century and a half since Yellowstone was established. And that’s the enduring appeal of the park: a large, unspoiled canvas of the American West. In the words of Hayden, “remarkable curiosities which have required all the cunning skill of nature thousands of years to prepare.” ( Explore this ultimate Yellowstone road trip .)

Can't-miss experiences

A bison rests in the snow in Yellowstone, around Upper Geyser Basin.

Tucked up on the northwest corner of Wyoming with parts spilling over into Montana and Idaho, the massive park offers five different approaches that feed into the Grand Loop Road , a figure-eight highway in the middle of the park. Rather than a single focus, Yellowstone has five main hubs—Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake Village, Canyon Village, and Mammoth Hot Springs—each of them linked to a unique geological or geographical phenomenon.

The most impressive entry is from Gardiner, Montana , in the northwest, a road that ducks beneath the famous Roosevelt Arch and meanders along the Gardiner River to Mammoth Hot Springs and the park headquarters. Albright Visitor Center is located in the historic bachelor officers’ quarters of old Fort Yellowstone, where the U.S. Cavalry kept watch over the park before the National Park Service was born. That sulfur smell that permeates the air is from the hot springs, a cluster of limestone travertine terraces that cascade down a hillside like a steaming waterfall.

From Mammoth, the Great Loop Road shoots due east to the Tower-Roosevelt area and the broad Lamar Valley , the best place in Yellowstone to get a glimpse of the wolves that were reintroduced to the park in 1995. Bison and elk also frequent the valley with its lush grasslands. Veering in a southward direction, the road runs past 132-foot Tower Fall and the start of the Mount Washburn Trail (6.2-mile round-trip) to the summit of a 10,243-foot peak with a fire lookout tower that provides a spectacular view over just about all of Yellowstone.

• Nat Geo Expeditions

As the name implies, Canyon Village lies on the edge of the park’s biggest “ditch”—the gaping Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone —an immense multicolored trench that stretches 24 miles and rises as much as 1,200 feet above the Yellowstone River. Trails lead to outstanding viewpoints like Artist’s Point on the south rim and Lookout Point on the north rim, two of the best places to snap selfies with 308-foot Lower Yellowstone Falls as a backdrop. Canyon Visitor Education Center in the village revolves around the park’s geology and the supervolcano that underlies Yellowstone.

Continuing the clockwise journey around the Grand Loop, the road climbs up the river valley to Yellowstone Lake . The largest high-altitude lake in North America, the sky-blue pool offers the park’s best opportunities for boating, fishing, and waterfront camping. Given the lake’s chilly water, even during the height of summer, swimming is discouraged. Bridge Bay Marina offers rental boats, guided fishing charters, and scenic lake cruises, as well as shuttle services to remote campsites along the 141-mile lakeshore. ( See all U.S. national parks in photos .)

Perched on the lake’s West Thumb, busy little Grant Village lies at the junction of the Loop Road and the highway running up from the South Entrance and Grand Teton. In addition to another visitor center, the village hosts several stores, a gas station, a boat ramp, and an amphitheater with summer ranger programs.

Turning to the west, the Grand Loop cuts across the Continental Divide (and into the Pacific drainage) at two different points before cruising downhill into Old Faithful Village and the park’s largest cluster of visitor services. Opened in 1904, Old Faithful Inn is a masterpiece of national park rustic architecture, in particular the lobby with its massive yet cozy stone fireplace and soaring timber ceiling.

The main event is just outside: Old Faithful Geyser , which erupts around 17 times per day to an average height of 130 feet. Visitors can learn more about the geothermal forces at the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center and then hike the Upper Geyser Basin along the Firehole River , home to around 60 percent of the world’s geysers. Curving around to the west, the road continues to other geothermal wonders like the Midway Geyser Basin and its Grand Prismatic Spring and the Lower Geyser Basin with its Fountain Paint Pot.

Madison features an information station and bookstore at the junction where the highway from West Yellowstone in Idaho joins up with the main park road. The Grand Loop continues to the Norris Geyser Basin , where geological wonders like Artist Paint Pots, Roaring Mountain, and Steamboat Geyser are complemented by the indoor exhibits of the Museum of the National Park Ranger and Norris Geyser Basin Museum with its distinctive 1920s “parkitecture.” Visitors can also explore the eerie Norris-Canyon Blowdown with its ghost trees or fly fish for trout in the swift-flowing Gibson River.

Where to stay

Hotels • Old Faithful Inn : The world’s largest log structure is an icon of American national park architecture; restaurants, bar, shop. • Lake Yellowstone Hotel : The Greek Revival facade of the park’s oldest hotel overlooks the lake; restaurants, bar, shop. • Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel : Established in 1937, this classic motor lodge features motel-style rooms and cabins; restaurant, shop, map room. Camping • Yellowstone : The park includes 12 developed campgrounds, including Mammoth, Canyon, and Grant Village.

Off-season things to do

• Ranger-led activities include guided snowshoe walks through the colder months at Mammoth, Old Faithful, and West Yellowstone. • Cross-country ski trails are located at six places within Yellowstone. • Guided snowmobile and snowcoach tours are allowed on Yellowstone roadways during the winter “snowover” months when they are closed to motorized traffic. • Yellowstone Forever offers unique cold season programs like Wolves in Winter and a winter landscape photography field seminar.

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• NATIONAL PARKS

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The Ultimate Yellowstone National Park Travel Guide

It isn't just the astounding geological wonders that give our country's first national park its allure, from 500 geysers that erupt up to 400 feet into the air to deep glacier-carved valleys and fossil forests. The vibrant megafauna and endless backcountry terrain make it one of the wildest areas in the country. And if you know where to go, you can avoid the crowds.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the Outside app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

Yellowstone is a trippy place . Its 2.2 million acres are dotted with bubbling mud pots, steaming hot pools of concentric rainbow hues, and some 500 geysers that spew water—and, occasionally,  cinderblocks and decades-old pacifiers . Among it all are elk, bighorn sheep, and 1,000-pound bison that would just as soon toss you 10 feet in the air as look at you.

The people are just as strange. More than 4 million pour in from around the globe every year, causing mile-long bear jams on the park’s two-lane roads, in addition to  petting bison , challenging bison to fights , loading them into their cars, and peeing directly into Old Faithful . (Luckily, the park has its own jail.) Yellowstone visitors have been boiled to death in thermal pools, drowned while searching for hidden treasure , and, of course, eaten by grizzlies.

Personally, I find the mayhem fascinating (apart from people throwing garbage into geysers—honestly, what the hell?) and indicative of just how wild the landscape is. When president Ulysses S. Grant designated the area the country’s first park in 1872, Yellowstone took hold in the modern imagination as the quintessential portrait of the American West and, despite its recent news coverage, has largely remained that way. Spanning the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into parts of Montana and Idaho, the park’s sheer magnitude means that, with the right planning, you can have the unspoiled experience that made our forefathers awestruck enough to preserve it.

Along with containing the largest concentration of geothermal features in the world, Yellowstone is one of the most ecologically diverse parks. Its most famous residents are its wolves, which have thrived since their 1995 reintroduction, helped revive the ecosystem , and have become a major tourist attraction in their own right. The park offers exceptional fishing and paddling on vast windswept lakes. It’s threaded with more than 900 miles of trails winding over mountain ridges, past thundering waterfalls, and into remote geyser basins where you won’t see another soul—after all, the common Yellowstone maxim is that fewer than 10 percent of all tourists make it more than one mile from the paved parking lots.

What You Need to Know Before Visiting

Bring a spotting scope, or at least some good binoculars. Yellowstone has been called America’s Serengeti for the vast herds of bison and elk and the constellations of other charismatic megafauna that inhabit the park. Don’t want to spring for a $400 spotting scope or a $1,000 telephoto camera lens? You can rent them by the day or week from camera stores in West Yellowstone or Gardiner, Montana (from $25 a day). Barring that, it’s easy to borrow a look from the crowds of wildlife watchers and guides who line the roadways. A bit of advice on etiquette: Don’t just roll up and demand to know what people are looking at from the window of your idling vehicle. Park safely off the road, stroll up to a group clustered around a spotting scope, and ask polite questions. They’ll usually be delighted to share what they are seeing and what they know, and they’ll most likely offer you a look through their lens.

Expect crowds in the summer. Around 43 percent of Yellowstone’s visitors—some 1.78 million people— cram into the park in July and August. They’re all jockeying for parking spaces, and crowds four people deep are watching Old Faithful erupt. Plan to visit popular spots like Old Faithful and the West Thumb and Norris Geyser Basins early in the morning; midday, head to the backcountry, where crowds thin quickly. The east shore of Yellowstone Lake, via the Thorofare Trail, is a great place to escape people.

Plan your hikes around the park’s thermal features. Yellowstone became the world’s first national park because of its thermal features, and they remain its prime attraction. Despite the crowds at Old Faithful, the Upper Geyser Basin is absolutely worth a look, especially if you can catch Grand Geyser, with its 200-foot-high plume (erupts every six to seven hours), and Riverside, which throws an arch of water 75 feet into the Firehole River every five or so hours, in the same visit. The park posts estimated eruption times  online and on a board in the visitor’s center. Steamboat Geyser, in the Norris Geyser Basin, features the world’s tallest plume at 300 to 400 feet and has become exceptionally active lately. It was dormant for 50 years until an uptick of eruptions in the 1960s and has erupted record 38 times in 2019. Catching Steamboat is a matter of luck, but one indicator can help: If touring Norris, keep an eye out for Geyser Gazers , members of a 300-strong volunteer association who record observations for the park via two-way radios. If you spot someone running toward Steamboat yelling into a radio, you’d be wise to follow.

How to Get There

Yellowstone is fully in the grip of the automotive industrial complex—there is no public transportation to or inside the park. You can drive into Yellowstone via one of the five entrances: West Yellowstone, Montana;  Grand Teton National Park to the south; Cody, Wyoming, to the east; Cook City, Montana, to the northeast; and Gardiner to the north. The closest major airports are Bozeman, Montana, to the north, and Jackson, Wyoming, to the south, both less than 1.5-hour drives to the park and stocked with cars for rent. Yellowstone’s 466 miles of roads are all paved, so high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles aren’t necessary.

When Is the Best Time of Year to Visit Yellowstone?

Winter:  Most of the park’s roads are closed from late fall to late spring due to snow and subzero temperatures. Park headquarters at Mammoth Hot Springs  (near the north entrance) and Highway 212 from Mammoth to Cooke City (at the east entrance) are open year-round. Highway 212 traverses the Lamar Valley , where you’ll find some of the park’s finest wildlife watching. The remainder of the park opens in mid-December for oversnow travel by skis or snowshoes, snowmobile, or snowcoach—vehicles with tank-like tracks in lieu of wheels. For lodging, only two hotels,  Old Faithful Snow Lodge  and  Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins , are open, though visitors are welcome to camp with a backcountry permit , which are free in winter. (One advantage to sleeping on the snow: the grizzlies are hibernating.) Wolf watchers prefer winter, when deep snow makes for good tracking and easy visibility against the snow.

Spring: March and April are best for seeing the bears that have stumbled hungry from their hibernation dens. Bison and elk can be seen calving. In May, the wolf pups finally emerge from their dens. I have friends who plan a “baby animals” weekend in the spring to see the numerous newly born critters. Many park roads open around April 20, conditions depending, though many facilities like stores and hotels may not open until May, and some higher-elevation roads and campgrounds may not open until June. Check the park’s hours page for details. In spring, expect few crowds, but plan for snow and temperatures between 30 and 60 degrees during the day and as low as single digits at night.

Summer: Especially in summer, don’t expect to just snag a room at one of the park’s nine hotels. Plan ahead—most rooms are booked a year in advance, as are many campgrounds. Some 70 percent of Yellowstone’s more than 300 backcountry campsites are reservable by mail beginning on April 1 . Applications cost $25 and ask for first, second, and third choices per night. The remaining 90 sites, apportioned equitably across the park, are left open each day to be claimed on a first-come, first-served basis, reservable up to 48 hours in advance of the night you plan to camp ($3 to $15 per person). Even if latecomers can’t get their first-choice sites, they should be able to get a spot nearby. Temperatures average 70 degrees, and afternoon thunderstorms are frequent.

Fall: Fall is the ideal time to visit Yellowstone. The crowds and mosquitoes are gone; animals are more active (even fighting!) because of the rut and are fattening up for winter. September features crisp weather; October can bring snow, with temperatures that fall in the same range as spring.

Where to Stay in Yellowstone

Outside Inc.’s National Park Trips offers a free Yellowstone Trip Planner filled with a complete itinerary, beautiful photography, a park map, and everything else you need to plan your dream vacation.

In the Park

Yellowstone’s nine hotels offer more than 2,000 rooms and cabins and are booked through concessionaire Xanterra . The bright-yellow, 153-room Lake Yellowstone Hotel (from $217) is the park’s oldest and most upscale. It was renovated in 2014 with expanded and modernized rooms, as well as restoration of the famously spacious dining room, lobby, and sunroom that features nightly piano or string quartet performances. The 327-room Old Faithful Inn (from $99) shares a spot on the National Historic Register with the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Built entirely from local materials, it is considered the largest log structure in the world. Even if you don’t stay at the Old Faithful Inn, its lobby is worth a visit. Seemingly random windows spread around the cavernous, 65-foot-high room are meant to mimic the way light falls through a forest canopy. The observation deck on the lobby’s roof was closed to the public after an earthquake in 1959, but the inn allows eight people to attend the flag-lowering ceremony there each day at dusk. To make a reservation, call the hotel’s bell desk at 307-344-7311 starting on May 8.

Car campers can claim one of 2,178 campsites ($15 to $30) spread across 12 campgrounds within the park. Five of the campgrounds are administered by Xanterra and take reservations. The other seven are first-come, first-served, including the more intimate 27-site Pebble Creek and 16-site Slough Creek campgrounds in the Lamar Valley, which are optimally located for early and late wildlife watching. Check availability here.

Beyond the Park 

Opened in 2018, the four-star, 50-guestroom Sage Lodge (from $259) offers a more stylish alternative to Yellowstone’s massive hotels. A 35-minute drive north from the park and set on a 1,200-acre ranch overlooking the Yellowstone River , Sage specializes in fishing, horseback riding, and mountain biking outings, as well as culinary experiences like dry-aged beef tastings. Sage is pet-friendly (unlike Yellowstone’s hotels) and has a full-service spa.

What to Do While You’re There

Just 1.2 miles round-trip, the Grand Prismatic Springs Overlook Trail gets you a far better view of the world-famous multihued hot spring than the boardwalk running along its edge. Park at the Fairy Falls Trailhead, just off the west side of Grand Loop Road, and climb 105 feet to an observation spot for Instagram gold. From the path, which is within the park’s Midway Geyser Basin, you’ll also be able to see Excelsior Geyser, Turquoise Pool, and Opal Pool.

The 20.6-mile route to 10,969-foot Electric Peak makes for a good trail run or overnight hike (be sure to get a backcountry camping permit ). Start at Glen Creek Trailhead, south of Mammoth Hot Springs, and head east through the open grasslands. The area is frequented by bison and grizzly, so stay heads-up and carry bear spray . Campsites 1G3 or 1G4, six miles from the trailhead, are closest to the pyramid-shaped peak.

The 32-mile Bechler River Trail , in Yellowstone’s southwest corner, is a stone-cold classic. To do the four-day route between Lone Star Trailhead and the Bechler River ranger station, you’ll have to ascend a moderate grade up the waterfall-studded Bechler River, through forests largely missed by Yellowstone’s infamous 1988 fires. This trail also passes Lone Star Geyser, which erupts every three hours, and Mr. Bubbles hot springs , one of Yellowstone’s few thermal features that are legal (and cool enough) to swim in. Go in August or September to avoid mosquitoes and crowds and for more moderate river crossings.

My favorite way to see Yellowstone is to cycle its roads in spring, when they’ve been plowed but are not yet open to cars. From the third week of March to April 20, depending on conditions, Highway 20 from West Yellowstone connecting to Highway 89 to Mammoth Hot Springs opens to human-powered traffic only—a pedal of 49 miles. Cycle between snowbanks and past bison herds, and visit the Norris Geyser basin. Overnight at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel or Gardiner, 16 miles farther on, and then return the next day. Rent road bikes at West Yellowstone’s Freeheel and Wheel (from $40), which also makes the town’s best espresso.

The 24-mile round-trip paddle to Shoshone Lake Geyser Basin is usually done as a three-day excursion, which includes spending a few hours exploring the 40-geyser thermal area on the west shore of Shoshone Lake . Put in at the Lewis Lake boat dock and head for the Lewis River Channel , a three-mile-long river connecting the two lakes. In late summer, you’ll need to walk your boats through shallower sections. Snag campsite 8Q4 or 8R1 on Shoshone Lake if you can—both have black-gravel beaches for easy landing and good sunrise and sunset views. Start early—Yellowstone’s lakes are notorious for ferocious afternoon winds. Rendezvous River Sports offers Shoshone Lake expeditions as soon as the ice melts in late spring (from $1,125).

Horseback Riding

While visitors are allowed to bring stock into the site (abide by stock-packing regulation s ), the park has dozens of private outfitters offering day trips and guided overnight backcountry trips that include stops for hiking and fly-fishing. Its nine hotels lead one-to-two-hour trips at Canyon and Roosevelt.

Wildlife Viewing

Yellowstone Forever , a nonprofit that supports park research and facilities, offers excellent wildlife guiding, educational programs, and expeditions year-round. Its winter Lamar Valley Wolf Week programs (from $780), which include lodging at a historic biology field station, generally sell out a year in advance. Consider reading Decade of the Wolf , written by the park service biologist who led the effort to reintroduce the animals to Yellowstone and, in the process, restored the health of the entire ecosystem.

The Best Places to Eat and Drink Around Yellowstone

Catering to 4 million visitors a year, Yellowstone’s eateries are more focused on quantity than quality. The good news is that Xanterra, the concessionaire that runs the park’s catering, says that in 2018, 60 percent of their food purchases included at least one sustainable attribute , including regional production, eco-certification, or responsibly harvested products. Inside the park, the most upscale options are found at the Lake Hotel dining room , which serves steakhouse-style dishes. Early morning Lamar Valley wildlife-watching outings often end at the Roosevelt Cabins (open May to September) for a hearty late breakfast. Order the eggs and ham steak, sourced from Yoder, Wyoming. The park’s best drinking establishment is in the lobby of the Old Faithful Inn, which features seating on two separate balconies ringing the main floor. Or grab a pint of Grand Teton Brewing’s Old Faithful Ale (obviously), and people-watch as crowds stream through the lobby on one of the inn’s historical tours , which happen four times daily.

Outside the park boundary, the Grill at Sage Lodge specializes in fish and meat, like bison filet and chicken-fried rabbit, cooked over a wood fire. In Gardiner, where many of the park guides reside, the Wonderland Café serves upscale comfort food like baked elk chili mac, as well as good vegetarian fare. For drinks, the Iron Horse Bar and Grille is a friendly institution featuring bric-a-brac decor. Grab a Montana microbrew and catch the sun’s last rays on the huge deck overhanging the Yellowstone River.

If You Have Time for a Detour

Chico Hot Springs , in the Paradise Valley, an hour north of the park, opened in 1900 and remains a celebrated piece of authentic Americana. The resort features a pair of geothermically heated mineral pools, a hotel, a dining room known for its steak, and a funky saloon with live music and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.

It’s worth stopping by  Grand Teton National Park  (from $20), which lies just 6.9 miles to the south. Grand Teton is an adventure playground, featuring iconic mountaineering and backpacking routes, as well as world-class fishing and boating on Jackson Lake and the Snake River. At Grand Teton’s doorstep is the town of Jackson, renowned for fly-fishing, whitewater boating, mountain biking, and a bustling arts and culinary scene.

The Beartooth Highway, at Yellowstone’s northeast corner, between Cooke City-Silver Gate and Red Lodge, is one of the country’s most spectacular drives. This National Scenic Byway swings through the Absaroka and Beartooth mountains at elevations up to 12,000 feet and includes views of glaciers, granite peaks, and high alpine lakes. It also includes summer skiing at Beartooth Basin , which opens as soon as the road does in June (usually around June 15).

How to Be Conscious

The most popular book in the park’s gift shops is Death in Yellowstone , and for good reason—it’s chock-full of accounts of unusual fatalities, from being mauled by grizzly bears to boiling to death in 212-degree pools. Don’t add your name to the list, because, to to paraphrase Keanu , those who love you will miss you, and because your passing will likely impact Yellowstone’s delicate ecosystem. If you’re killed by a bear, that bear will likely be put down. The aforementioned bison stashed in the hatchback? Also put down. Letting your boiled bones settle to the bottom of a hot pool may affect its plumbing . Less dramatically, even stepping on the surface of thermal features can mar them forever. It’s also illegal and can get you jailed and barred from federal lands, as three Canadian bloggers famously discovered in 2017. The park has a lengthy web page devoted to protecting yourself and the park, including guidelines on safe distances from which to view wildlife, how to store food in bear country, and warnings about lightning, drowning, falling trees, hypothermia, and insect bites.

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A beginner's guide to visiting Yellowstone National Park: Everything you should see and do

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here .

I recently returned from an incredible trip to Yellowstone , our nation's first national park. It was very strange to be there in the days of COVID-19, but it was also one of my best visits yet, as it wasn't as crowded as it's been in the past. It was also my first time actually staying inside the park, which was quite a treat.

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Of course, you could easily spend weeks exploring the sprawling 2.2 million acre park and still not see it all. But even a day trip here or long weekend getaway is well worth your time. Here's everything you need to know to plan your trip to Yellowstone National Park.

What to see and do in Yellowstone

Let me start with the highlight: the wildlife.

Among the many rare species you might encounter are grizzly and brown bears, wolves, mountain lions, foxes, coyotes, elk, deer, buffalo, moose and every matter of birds. You can easily pull off the road and see any or all of these animals at once. Buffalo, in particular, are known to cause traffic jams as they use the same roads you do to commute.

Travelers will also discover a ton of adventure in this park. You can camp, hike in the backcountry, boat, fish, cycle and, in the winter, you can even try cross-country skiing.

Both biking and hiking are great ways to experience the natural wonder of this incredible park, and there are plenty of mountain biking and off-roading opportunities. Campsites are available from just $5 a night, and there are approximately 900 miles of trails to explore in the park — just be hyper-aware of your surroundings, as you'll be sharing the territory with some fearsome predators. When I was there last, I saw both bears and wolves.

There are so many amazing hikes here that aren't too difficult and are within walking distance of accessible parking areas. My favorite was probably the hike to Mystic Falls from Biscuit Basin, not too far from Old Faithful. The 2.5-mile round-trip walk takes you to a dramatic waterfall. If you hike a little farther you might luck out like I did and see Old Faithful erupt on the horizon.

Old Faithful

Probably the most famous of all Yellowstone's attractions, Old Faithful is a massive geyser that erupts reliably every 60 to 110 minutes. It's a cone geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin and easily accessible by road, and park rangers can tell you when the next eruption is during the day. There are benches from which you can watch the spectacle. It erupts about 20 times per day, and the plume of water and steam can be as high as 180 feet!

You can usually stay at a lodge near Old Faithful, but for the 2020 season, only cabins are available.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

This river valley formed by the Yellowstone River is probably my favorite part of Yellowstone. I've been here now in several different seasons and it's always changing, always distinctly different and always awe-inspiring.

There are several viewpoints, and it's one of the most dramatic areas in the country. I'm especially fond of Artist Point. As you can imagine, they call it that for a reason.

You can also check out the Canyon's Lower or Upper Falls viewing areas. I highly recommend doing the Brink of the Lower Falls observation point where you can really get a sense of the river's immense power. If you're driving, be prepared to pull over constantly to get a new perspective.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs was one of the first parts of the park that saw policing back in the 1800s when poaching was a problem. The U.S. Army had a base there (it still houses park employees) and it's home to historic Fort Yellowstone.

Travelers will also find the Mammoth Hot Springs lodges and cabins, places to eat and even a gas station.

But the best features are the dramatic hot springs laced with boardwalks for closer observations. You can get a good look at the many steaming hydrothermal pools and the travertine terraces. You can walk (or drive) to the Upper Terraces. There's also a hiking trail circling the pools and falls, but bring your bear spray. In a 24-hour span, I saw a grizzly bear and her cubs, and the next morning I saw another grizzly near the road.

There are also herds of elk that call the area home. You're pretty much guaranteed to see elk during a trip here.

Biscuit Basin and Mystic Falls

Not far from Old Faithful you'll find Biscuit Basin, which is home to gorgeous hot springs and small geysers with fairly regular eruptions.

The mix of colors and textures in the rocks is striking. You can follow a wooden walkway and it will eventually lead to an easy hike to Mystic Falls and a spectacular waterfall in a river valley.

Related: State-by-state guide to reopening America

There are also plenty of fun family-friendly activities just outside the park in cities such as Gardiner and West Yellowstone, Montana. Consider, for example, the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. You and the kids can see live bears and wolves who can't return to the wild and learn a ton about the fearsome animals from a safe distance.

Whether you're exploring the park by foot or car, don't forget to grab an $80 annual national park pass . Yellowstone National Park normally charges a $35 entrance fee per vehicle, so if you have any other national park trips on the horizon, you can easily get your money's worth.

The best times to visit Yellowstone

The peak time is definitely summer when everything is open. It can get hot, but it's generally not humid. You should pack shorts for the daytime, and be sure to bring sweaters, a sweatshirt or a coat. Yellowstone is in the mountains and it gets cold at night even in the summertime.

You can travel here all year long, including during the winter , which would be a magical (albeit cold) time to visit Yellowstone. Warren Smith, a chiropractor at HealthSource in Butte, Montana, told me he has cross-country skied into the park from West Yellowstone, and outfitters will take even take you snowmobiling.

My personal favorite time to visit is in the early fall when the crowds are thinner, and the colors begin to change. Temperatures are more moderate and it's not quite so hot. You get more of the park to yourself and wildlife is more likely to be around. Keep in mind, though, there can be freak snowstorms even in September — so pack for anything.

Read our complete guide on the best times to visit Yellowstone .

Where to stay in Yellowstone

There are plenty of places for you to stay in and around Yellowstone. Both vacation rental properties and hotels are plentiful at all five entrances to Yellowstone (there are three in Montana and two in Wyoming).

Related: How to visit the national parks for less

Points hotels near Yellowstone

Search Cook City, Gardiner, Red Lodge or West Yellowstone in Montana for hotels or rental properties near the trio of Montana entrances. There are also plenty of places to bed down at the two Wyoming entrances. You can search Cody, Wyoming and areas in Idaho.

If you're looking for places to spend points, however, there are far fewer options unless you're willing to stay a few hours outside the park in places like Bozeman, Montana or Idaho Falls, Idaho.

There's a nice Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone where last-minute rooms in July started at $281 a night. That's steep, but if you book early you can certainly find better rates. A long weekend in September will set you back $252 a night, or you can use 45,000 IHG Rewards Points per night.

I booked a room here in July and, despite the last-minute reservation, managed to secure a decent rate. Just watch out for added taxes and fees (unlike the rest of Montana, there are taxes in West Yellowstone). The final price ended up being almost $300 a night. Ouch.

There are also two Choice hotel properties travelers may want to consider: An Ascend Hotel for $212 a night and a Comfort Inn starting at $186 a night in West Yellowstone. Choice also has select properties in Livingstone, Montana, but that's an hour away from the park.

Travelers can also consider the Days Inn by Wyndham West Yellowstone (from 15,000 Wyndham points per night). And if you have Best Western Rewards points, you could try the Best Western Desert Inn or the Best Western Weston Inn , both from 28,000 points per night.

If you're looking for a major chain hotel, you'll need to head to Bozeman, Montana for a Hilton or a Marriott property. Rates are generally better, but it's a good 2-hour drive to Yellowstone. Prices are also high during the peak summer season — yes, even in 2020 — and can easily run at least $250 per night.

When it welcomes its first guests on Aug. 18, the 122-room Kimpton Armory Hotel Bozeman will be one of the area's most exciting new properties. The art deco building dating back to 1941 and features a whiskey bar, a rooftop pool and a concert hall. It's about an hour from Big Sky and two hours to the north entrance to Yellowstone .

In Big Sky, the relatively new Wilson Hotel, a Residence Inn by Marriott, is one of the first from a major brand in the area.

Related: How to use points to stay near national parks

Staying inside Yellowstone's borders

Within the park, travelers will discover several rustic lodges. Xanterra is the concessioner for all accommodations inside Yellowstone National Park (as well as Glacier and others, too). Many of the large lodges have existed for more than a century, so keep that in mind and manage your expectations accordingly.

Related: I went to Glacier and Yellowstone during COVID-19 and it was weird

Hotels sell out quickly during the high season. Even this summer, with the coronavirus crippling travel, there isn't much availability. In fact, only cabins are available in the park right now. Lodges are closed and are likely to remain shut down for the remainder of 2020. That makes inventory even scarcer than it usually is this time of year.

I was able to find some dates with availability, but prices are high. At Mammoth Falls Lodge cabins, rates were $277 a night for dates in July and August.

Back in June, I stayed in the cabins at Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge. They are charming but basic. The beds are small, and there's no air conditioning. Still, it was really fun staying inside the park and having easy access to hiking trails and the beautiful Mammoth Springs.

The cabins at Old Faithful Lodge are cuter and just steps from the famous Old Faithful geyser. They're tiny, sure, but the perfect base for exploring the nearby geysers, mountains and hot springs when I stayed there in June. Rates in August start at $174 a night.

If you're thinking about staying inside the park this summer, you want to act fast.

Betsy O'Rourke, chief marketing officer at Xanterra, told TPG earlier this year, "We open the inventory 13 months out and we sell out in a few hours. However, about 30% of that inventory cancels and gets rebooked."

Her advice? Check back frequently. "Our cancellation policy is 48 hours out, so we do get cancellations even close in."

You can find better deals if you're willing to stay at a vacation rental instead. Airbnb has plenty of properties, especially for travelers who want something unconventional like a traditional log cabin, glamping-style tent or a treehouse.

Even last minute, there's availability on Airbnb outside the park. I recommend searching for West Yellowstone or Gardiner. I found plenty of options near Montana's Western entrance to the park starting at $157 a night.

Luxury accommodations near Yellowstone

It can also make a lot of sense to use your credit card points to help offset the cost of an upscale stay near the park. Consider redeeming a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a stay at an independent property. You could also "erase" a qualifying travel charge by using a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

The Under Canvas "glamping" lodge is just 10 minutes from Yellowstone's West Entrance. I found availability in August for $264 a night. With taxes and fees, a four-night stay would be just over $1,200.

If you really want to splurge, try the Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana — it's about 4.5 hours from the park, and rates start around $1,600 a night. Paws Up resort in Greenough, Montana is also a 4.5-hour drive, and rooms will set you back about $1,700 a night. And the first five-star, ultra-luxury hotel in the entire state, a Montage in Big Sky, will debut in 2021.

Camping in Yellowstone

Of course, you can always camp inside Yellowstone. Yellowstone has 12 proper campgrounds with over 2,000 individual spots. You can head over to Yellowstone National Park lodges to make reservations, which cost $27 a night, on average.

Other campgrounds are available on a first come, first served basis. They fill up quickly in the summer, and in 2020 not all campgrounds are available because of the pandemic, so your mileage may vary. A search in July found just four of the 12 campgrounds open and accepting reservations. In fact, most were full by 7 a.m.

If you have an RV or camping equipment, you can stay outside the park in the surrounding national forests for very little — or nothing at all. It's called dispersed camping, and travelers comfortable with a more primitive stay should consider the surrounding Custer Gallatin or Bridger Teton National Forests.

How to get to Yellowstone

Flying to yellowstone.

You can fly to a number of cities that put Yellowstone within reach. The easiest and closest airport is Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) in Montana, which bills itself as the "Gateway to Yellowstone." It's the busiest airport in Montana with nonstop service to 21 U.S. cities.

Related: New routes make it easier than ever to visit these top US National Parks

American Airlines has been betting big on Montana and added four seasonal flights last year for this summer. American was set to fly to Bozeman from Los Angeles (LAX), New York-LaGuardia (LGA) and Philadelphia (PHL) and to Kalispell (FCA) from LGA. None of those flights are happening, but we're hoping they return next year.

American normally flies from Newark (EWR), Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) nonstop to Bozeman. I found tickets in September for between $377 and $425 in the main cabin. Award prices started at 25,000 AAdvantage miles in coach or 50,000 miles for first class, plus $11.20 in taxes and fees.

United flies to Bozeman from six of its hubs, and Delta Air Lines also flies from six hubs, including Salt Lake City (SLC). At this time, Delta is only flying from Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) and Salt Lake City (SLC). Alaska Airlines has flights from Portland, Oregon (PDX) and Seattle (SEA), and Allegiant flies from four cities including Nashville, Tennessee (BNA). Frontier flies from Denver (DEN), and Sun Country now flies from its Minneapolis hub. JetBlue normally flies from New York-JFK and Boston (BOS) but this summer, they're not flying from New York.

Give yourself two hours for the drive from Bozeman to Yellowstone depending on traffic, weather and which park entrance you're using. There are a variety of operators that offer guided tours of Yellowstone. Karst Stage is one touring company that operates charter buses and day trips from Bozeman to the park.

You can also fly into Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) in Jackson, Wyoming. The airport is only 45 miles south of the park. It also gives you easy access to Grand Teton National Park. American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines all fly to Jackson Hole airport, and Frontier offers seasonal service.

Delta has flights from Salt Lake City for about $300 in the main cabin in August or 23,000 SkyMiles plus $11.20.

You could also fly to Idaho Falls, Idaho and its Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA). It's just under 100 miles from Yellowstone. Allegiant offers year-round, nonstop flights from Las Vegas (LAS) and Phoenix-Mesa (AZA), and seasonal service from Los Angeles and Oakland (OAK).

Delta offers year-round, nonstop flights from Salt Lake City and seasonal service from Minneapolis, and United has service from Denver. United's flights to IDA were about $347 round-trip in main cabin or 25,000 United miles and $11.20 in taxes and fees.

Of course, there's always Yellowstone's eponymous airport. Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is located just 2 miles from Yellowstone National Park . Delta flies into this airport from Salt Lake City, and I found tickets from $175 in August.

Where to eat in Yellowstone

Montana and Wyoming aren't exactly known as foodie paradise. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants, but haute cuisine isn't exactly a thing.

Personally, I recommend doing grocery runs and always keeping a picnic ready for those mountain meadows you stumble upon. Be sure to pack lots of snacks, as restaurants are typically only open in the high season and often have limited hours.

They are also few and far between, especially inside the borders of the park, and they're especially scarce in the age of coronavirus. In fact, most restaurants inside the park remain closed, and the few that are open are take-out only. Forewarned is forearmed.

Smith, the chiropractor from Butte, told me he really likes two places in West Yellowstone: the Slippery Otter Pub that serves bison and elk burgers, and The Branch Restaurant and Bar. Unfortunately, it was closed when I visited in early July (probably due to COVID-19). Hopefully, it will reopen next year.

One of the most important things to know about visiting the national parks right now is that most of the bathrooms I encountered in both Yellowstone and Glacier were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. If you go, definitely have a plan for the call of nature. Folks driving motorhomes will be fine, but be sure to plot your visit and use bathrooms wherever you find them.

Getting around Yellowstone

I strongly recommend renting a car (or an RV!) for your trip to Yellowstone National Park. The park is really designed for drivers, with major roads taking you to most of the iconic attractions. Still, if you really want to explore, bring hiking boots. And don't forget to pack your bear spray. You can't fly with it, though, so buy bear spray after your flight.

If you'd rather not drive, seasoned park veterans take visitors on the famous Yellowstone Yellow Bus Tours . The vintage 1920s buses are an iconic part of the park's heritage. The long, yellow buses with rollback tops are perfect for gazing at the mountains without worrying about the notorious curves in the park's roads.

"These days, a fleet of eight vintage White Motor Co. buses ferry visitors on guided wildlife-watching tours, photo safaris, sunset tours and more," says operator Xanterra. "The distinctive antique yellow vehicles have retractable canvas roofs and panoramic windows, making them ideal for sightseeing. Plus, they're really cool to ride around in."

They also book up quickly, so you'll want to be aggressive with your planning. But, unfortunately, Yellow Bus tours are not running during the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns.

You could also bike around the park, but there's not a lot of separated bike lanes. There are, however, a few trails specially designed for mountain biking. There's a complete guide to biking in Yellowstone here , but you can also rent bikes at Old Faithful Lodge.

Bottom line

Yellowstone National Park should be very high on your travel bucket list. It's a great time to go local and explore the nation's many national parks. Yellowstone is a personal favorite, and getting to see wolves and bears here was one of the highlights of my entire year.

If you're traveling to Montana, don't limit yourself to Yellowstone National Park, though. Across the state, there's Glacier National Park and countless sites that tell the incredibly important history of Native Americans in the United States. Big Sky, not far from Yellowstone, is also surging in popularity. It's a great spot for skiing in the winter.

I highly recommend a visit here this year, especially since travelers with a U.S. passport might find they can't venture too far from home. Just be sure to pack your masks and have a firm plan for where to stay — and use the bathroom — before you go.

Additional reporting by Meghan Hunter.

All photos by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy.

Plan Your Trip to Yellowstone National Park: Best of Yellowstone National Park Tourism

Essential Yellowstone National Park

How to do Yellowstone National Park in 3 days

More to explore.

Dig Into Yellowstone National Park

Top Hikes in Yellowstone National Park

Browse collections

Nature putting on a show.

Once-in-a-lifetime wildlife spotting

Hit the trail

Year-round fun

It’s all about the journey

• Old Faithful Inn
• Canyon Lodge and Cabins
• Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cottages
• Old Faithful Snow Lodge & Cabins
• Roosevelt Lodge Cabins
• Old Faithful Inn Dining Room
• Roosevelt Lodge Dining Room
• Lake Yellowstone Hotel Dining Room
• Bear Pit Lounge
• Mammoth Hotel Dining Room
• Yellowstone National Park
• Lamar Valley
• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
• Grand Prismatic Spring
• Old West Dinner Cookout
• Full-Day Guided Yellowstone Day Tour
• Lake Yellowstone Half Day Kayak Tours Past Geothermal Features
• Yellowstone National Park Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Rim and Loop Hike with Lunch
• 4-Hour Morning Kayak on Yellowstone Lake with Lunch

Protect Your Trip »

The 16 best yellowstone national park tours of 2024.

Make the most of your trip to the oldest U.S. national park with these guided excursions.

The Best Yellowstone National Park Tours

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Home to more than 2.2 million acres, hundreds of geysers and waterfalls, as well as Yellowstone Lake – the largest high-altitude lake in North America – Yellowstone National Park is a bucket list vacation destination for many travelers. For an unforgettable visit to America's oldest national park, consider a guided tour. In addition to in-the-know locals, these tours provide hassle-free transportation from nearby cities like Jackson Hole, Wyoming . With the help of traveler and expert input, U.S. News determined that the following tours offer the best ways to take in everything the park has to offer. All of these top-rated excursions feature skillful guides who are eager to share their knowledge of the park's unique geologic features and wildlife.

Note: Because of weather and other factors, Yellowstone's roads are not accessible all year, and its entrances in Wyoming and Montana have differing seasonal opening and closing dates. Additionally, tour companies' prices typically do not include the park's $20 entry fee for each visitor 16 and older.

BrushBuck Wildlife Tours – Yellowstone Old Faithful, Waterfalls and Wildlife Day Tour

Price: From $299 Duration: 12 hours

Take a day to observe Yellowstone's scenery and wildlife on this tour. After passing through Grand Teton National Park , buses proceed to highlights of Yellowstone National Park, such as Old Faithful , Yellowstone Lake , the Upper and Lower Falls, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and numerous geyser basins. Throughout the journey, guides provide commentary on the area's history, flora and fauna, which travelers typically find very insightful.

Buses depart Jackson Hole daily from April through November starting at 6 a.m., and tour-takers must be at least 6 years old. Fees include the use of binoculars and spotting scopes, as well as a picnic lunch. Private outings and multiday tours are also available.

Check prices & availability on:

Teton Floats – Yellowstone Lower Loop Tour

Price: From $299 Duration: 11 hours

See many of Yellowstone's top thermal attractions on this small-group outing, which also travels through Grand Teton National Park. Marvel at the famously reliable Old Faithful, which erupts every 90 minutes, as well as geysers such as Beehive, Castle, Daisy, Grand and Sawmill. Other highlights include the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Grand Prismatic Spring . In addition to enthusing about the scenery and wildlife, tour-takers frequently praise the guides for their valuable information and entertaining stories.

Pickups from lodging in Jackson and Teton Village occur around 7:30 a.m., and buses return to the starting point between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tours happen daily from May to mid-October. Prices include transportation, use of binoculars, snacks and a picnic lunch. Groups are limited to eight people, all of whom must be at least 4 years old. The company also operates tours in Grand Teton National Park, in addition to fly-fishing trips.

Scenic Safaris – Yellowstone Snowmobile Tour (Old Faithful)

Price: From $525 (single) or $855 (tandem) Duration: 12 hours

While certain parts of the park may be inaccessible by conventional four-wheeled vehicles in winter, that doesn't mean there aren't adventures to be had. This 45-mile snowmobile tour beside the Yellowstone River takes riders past points of interest, such as Moose Falls, Lewis Canyon and West Thumb Geyser Basin, to Old Faithful. Rides are offered daily from mid-December to mid-March, a period when some of the park's larger animals move down to its lower valleys. Tripgoers generally find snowmobiling in the park a memorable experience, one enhanced by the helpful, informed guides' commentary.

Jackson Hole-based Scenic Safaris picks up tour-takers in the area between 6 and 7:30 a.m. and returns them to their lodgings between 6 and 7 p.m. Prices vary throughout the season, but they always include the use of a snowmobile, a helmet and a snowsuit, as well as morning snacks and lunch. Drivers must be at least 16 years old, and riders must be at least 8 years old. Private tours are also available.

Yellowstone Adventure Tours – The Best of Yellowstone

Price: From $1,250 Duration: 8 to 10 hours

Visit the best-known Yellowstone spots – including Old Faithful and the Upper and Lower Falls – but also several lesser-known geysers, hot springs, waterfalls and wildlife viewing areas on this private excursion. Trip-takers consistently praise the enthusiastic, personable guides' commentary about the park's remarkable landscape and wildlife.

Tour prices vary based on the size of your party. Prices include pickups from locations in West Yellowstone, Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston, Paradise Valley, Gardiner and Mammoth, Montana, as well as locations within the park. You'll also get a picnic lunch, use of binoculars and scopes, and snacks. The expeditions occur between May and October. Start times vary by season, but tours generally begin early in the morning. Yellowstone Adventure Tours also offers private outings devoted strictly to off-the-beaten-path locations, as well as multiday tours of the expansive park.

Yellowstone Raft Company – Scenic Float

Price: Adults from $74; kids from $64 Duration: 2 hours

Sights on this raft ride include Boiling Beach, LaDuke Hot Springs, the Devil's Slide (a cliff with a distinct stripe of red rock) and Electric Peak. Reviewers frequently praise both the beautiful scenery and the engaging guides.

From May through September, tours are available daily starting at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The company asks that participants arrive about 30 minutes prior to departure to get ready and sign paperwork. Prices include transportation from the meeting point at the northern border of the park to the river. Gardiner-based Yellowstone Raft Company also offers whitewater rafting, as well as kayaking and horseback riding. Private tours start at $600 for parties of six; each additional person pays $74.

Flying Pig Adventures – 8-Mile Rafting Trip

Experience Yellowstone by rafting its eponymous river. On this trip, you'll paddle through Class II and III (novice- and intermediate-level) rapids with names like Queen of the Waters, Rock Garden and Sleeping Giant, and pass sights such as Devil's Slide and the nearly 11,000-foot tall Electric Peak. Participants consistently describe this tour as fun and deem its guides friendly and entertaining.

Trips operate daily from May through August starting at 9:15 and 11:15 a.m., as well as 1:15, 3:15 and 5:15 p.m. Rafters must weigh at least 45 pounds to participate. In addition to this 8-mile trip, Flying Pig offers an 18-mile ride, as well as an overnight expedition.

Wild West Rafting – Classic Half-Day Whitewater Experience

Price: Adults from $69; kids from $59 Duration: 2 hours

Ride mild and intermediate rapids on an 8-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River on this outing. You may also glimpse deer, elk, osprey, bald eagles and other wildlife inhabiting the area as you paddle down the river. In addition to enjoying the views, travelers typically find the guides knowledgeable, enthusiastic and helpful.

Raft trips run daily from May through September at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Prices include use of life jackets, water shoes and (on colder days) wetsuits. They also cover transportation from Wild West Rafting's Gardiner office to the river. Full-day paddling trips, in addition to private outings are also available.

Yellowstone Geyser Kayak Tours – Day Paddle

Price: From $200 (single) or $175 (tandem) Duration: 5 hours

Kayaking in the West Thumb Geyser Basin – the largest geyser basin in Yellowstone Lake – allows you to see geothermal features, some of them underwater, that would otherwise be inaccessible. This outing also travels to Potts Basin, an area with no boardwalk and, possibly, no other visitors. Travelers report enjoying the scenery and appreciate the informative guides.

Tours begin and end at the marina in Grant Village on the western side of Yellowstone Lake. Trips are available daily from late May through late September at 9 a.m. (though they may begin at 10 a.m. toward the end of the season) and conclude at around 2 or 3 p.m. Prices include a picnic lunch and use of all necessary kayaking gear. No prior experience is required, and children ages 5 to 12 must ride in a tandem kayak with an adult. The company also operates sunset paddling trips.

Wildland Trekking – Private Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Price: From $550 Duration: 4 to 7 hours

This private trek through the park can be tailored to suit your preferences, with possible routes ranging from 3.5 to 8 miles long. Whatever way you go, you're likely to see Artist Point overlook, as well as forests, lakes, geysers, mud pots and meadows in areas away from the park's boardwalks. Reviewers enjoy the beautiful scenery and appreciate the helpful, patient and personable guides.

You can sign up for this excursion from mid-May through September. Prices vary depending on group size and include lunch, snacks and use of trekking poles. Participants will be notified of their exact start times a week before their hikes. Wildland Trekking also organizes multiday tours around the national park.

Yellowstone Hiking Guides – Grand Canyon Rim Hike

Price: From $182 Duration: 6 hours

Walk the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on this 6-mile trek and see Yellowstone landmarks like the river's Upper and Lower Falls, as well as forests and meadows. Hikers find the views spectacular and the guides both knowledgeable and entertaining.

Tours take place every day except Sunday from June through September. Groups meet at the Upper Falls View parking area off of South Rim Drive at 8 a.m. Prices include lunch, snacks and use of trekking poles. The company leads a variety of hikes around the park, including the Lamar Valley.

Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris – Best of Yellowstone

Price: From $345 Duration: 10 to 12 hours

Observe the wildlife and landscape of Yellowstone on this full-day, small-group tour, during which naturalists offer insights on the area's ecology, wildlife and geology. In addition to animals, you'll see the park's famed geysers, hot springs and waterfalls. Tourgoers regularly report seeing ample wildlife and appreciate the friendly, informative guides.

Excursions are available from mid-April through October. Pickup from lodging in Jackson and Teton Village typically begins around 6:30 a.m. (or 7 a.m. later in the season). Prices include transportation, breakfast and lunch, as well as use of binoculars and spotting scopes. Groups are capped at eight participants. Half-day (four- to five-hour) iterations of this tour are also available.

Grizzly Country Wildlife Adventures – Yellowstone Lower Loop Tour

Price: From $365 Duration: 12 hours

This tour hits many of Yellowstone's top attractions – including Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Fountain Paint Pots and Yellowstone Lake – as well as some lesser-known geological formations. In addition to seeing multiple geysers, lakes and waterfalls, you'll have opportunities to glimpse some of the park's diverse wildlife. The trip also includes a morning drive through Grand Teton National Park on the way to Yellowstone. Travelers frequently rave about the scenery and appreciate that the engaging guides try to visit off-the-beaten-path locations within the busy national park.

Tours typically take place from mid-May through December. Departures from Jackson and Teton Village begin at 7 a.m., and vans return approximately 12 hours later. Fees include transportation, lunch, snacks, and use of spotting scopes and binoculars. The company also leads wildlife safaris year-round.

Old Faithful Snowmobile Tours – Yellowstone Snowmobiling Day Tour

Price: From $425 Duration: 12 hours

Marvel at a snow-covered Yellowstone on this daylong snowmobile tour to Old Faithful. Stops along the way include Black Sand Basin and Moose Falls. During the approximately 100-mile ride (which lasts about six hours), you'll likely see multiple geysers and waterfalls, as well as an array of wildlife. Reviewers consistently gush about the views and appreciate the professional and accommodating guides.

Fees include pickup in the Jackson area between 6 and 6:30 a.m., as well as a continental breakfast and lunch. Groups typically return to Jackson between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Tours run daily from mid-December to mid-March, and the company also operates multiday adventures.

Yellowstone Vacations – Snowcoach Tour Old Faithful

Price: Adults from $240; kids from $220 Duration: 9 hours

Snowcoaches – buses with oversized, low-pressure tires – allow you to experience Yellowstone during the less accessible winter months. This tour's vehicles take passengers to popular locales within the park, such as Biscuit Basin, Black Sand Basin, Fountain Paint Pot, Madison Junction and, of course, Old Faithful. Passengers generally find the coaches warm and comfortable and the drivers (who double as guides) knowledgeable and passionate about the park.

From mid-December to mid-March, daily tours begin at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Yellowstone Vacations also conducts snowmobile tours and, during summer months, bus tours.

Yellowstone Wild – Bear and Wolf Watching Tour

Price: From $900 Duration: 8 hours

Calling all wildlife lovers! As its name suggests, this tour centers on seeing bears, wolves and other animals that call Yellowstone home. Travelers regularly report seeing a wide array of wildlife and praise the guides for their animal-spotting skills and overall professionalism.

This tour is private and fully customizable, and it is available from May through October. Fees depend on group size. In addition to a light breakfast and a full picnic-style lunch, prices include pickup from hotels in the Gardiner, Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Junction and Roosevelt Lodge areas. Additional fees may apply for round-trip transportation to some other locations. Departures begin between 5 and 6 a.m. (depending on the time of year), and kids must be at least 5 years old to participate.

Yellowstone Insight – Day Tours – Wildlife Tour

Price: From $850 Duration: 12 hours

This tour goes where the animals are, which means routes may vary, but a focus on the park's Northern Range (including Mammoth Hot Springs ) is fairly standard. Bears and wolves are among the wildlife you may spot during this daylong expedition. Tourgoers enthusiastically praise the guides for their expertise.

Tours, which are available to book year-round, generally start at around 5 a.m. in the summer and 6:30 a.m. in the winter. Prices include round-trip transportation to locations in the Bozeman area, as well as a continental breakfast and use of spotting scopes.

You may also be interested in:

• Best U.S. National Parks
• Best Colorado Snowmobile Tours
• Top Things to Do in Montana
• The Ultimate Camping Checklist

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Yellowstone National Park

America's First National Park

150 Years of Yellowstone

America's first national park was set aside to preserve and protect the scenery, cultural heritage, wildlife, geologic and ecological systems and processes in their natural condition for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. Yellowstone serves as the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the last and largest nearly intact natural ecosystems on the planet. Yellowstone has the most active, diverse, and intact collections of combined geothermal features with over 10,000 hydrothermal sites and half the world's active geysers. The park is also rich in cultural and historical resources with 25 sites, landmarks, and districts on the National Register of Historic Places.  

Within Montana

Visit Yellowstone and experience the world's first national park. Marvel at a volcano’s hidden power rising up in colorful hot springs, mudpots, and geysers. Explore mountains, forests, and lakes to watch wildlife and witness the drama of the natural world unfold. Discover the history that led to the conservation of our national treasures “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

Top 10 Hikes in Yellowstone

The top 10 most loved hikes in Yellowstone National Park according to Jake Bramante, the first person to hike all 734 miles of trail in Glacier National Park in one summer.

West Yellowstone

As a gateway to Yellowstone National Park, West Yellowstone is an adventure seeker’s playground full of possibilities and exciting events and activities. The same trail system used for snowmobiling in the winter is available for ATV and UTV use in the summer. West Yellowstone makes for the perfect basecamp regardless of the season.

Considered the original entrance to Yellowstone, Gardiner is home to the historic Roosevelt Arch, which was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903. Year-round access to the "American Serengeti"—Yellowstone's Northern Range—truly differentiates Gardiner from other Yellowstone gateway communities. 

Located on the banks of the Yellowstone River, Livingston has long served as a cultural hub in Montana. Offering an eclectic blend of shopping, arts and culture, dining, and world-class outfitting and guide services, Livingston has it all. 

Situated only a few miles from the Northeast Gate of Yellowstone National Park, Cooke City is surrounded by Yellowstone National Park, Custer Gallatin National Forest and two Scenic Byways: The Beartooth Highway and Chief Joseph Highway. In winter, Cooke City distinguishes itself with its access to vast, untouched acreage of ideal snowmobiling terrain, but there is no shortage of activities year-round in this gateway town. 

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Explore Yellowstone National Park

Home » Places to Go » National Parks and Monuments » Yellowstone National Park

Home to an incomparable combination of natural beauty, rugged wilderness, majestic peaks, abundant wildlife, and the world’s largest concentration of geysers and thermal features, it’s no wonder Yellowstone was named America’s first national park.

From hiking and horseback riding to fishing and scenic wildlife tours, there are plenty of things to do across its 2 million acres. The iconic spots — Old Faithful, Lower Falls and Yellowstone Lake — may be familiar from paintings and photographs, but seeing them in person is a humbling, enthralling experience you can enjoy year-round. When it comes to where to stay in Yellowstone National Park, you have choices, but booking early is key. From inside the park hotels and motels to campgrounds and backcountry camping with the correct permits, there’s a perfect basecamp for your wild and wonderful Yellowstone adventure.

Read Yellowstone, Wyoming FAQs

Encompassing 2.2 million acres, Yellowstone National Park is the second largest national park in the lower 48. With so much to explore, including over 10,000 hydrothermal features, more than half the world’s geysers, 466 miles of road and over 92 trailheads, you’ll want to decide which features to visit before you arrive. This map highlighting camping and lodging in Yellowstone – plus some of the park’s most popular sights – will help you get started.

This canyon carved by the Yellowstone River is most famous for its Lower Falls. Here, the river tumbles twice the height of Niagara Falls before striking the canyon floor.

With approximately 20 eruptions every day, this reliable geyser’s frequency can be predicted with 90 percent accuracy, within about 10 minutes.

As the largest alpine lake in North America, Yellowstone Lake beckons to anglers, boaters and others drawn to its vast, scenic beauty.

Grand Prismatic is Yellowstone’s largest single hot spring and the world’s third largest. The hot spring’s vibrant colors are caused by the bacteria that live inside this stunning geothermal feature.

Heat, water, minerals and limestone combine to create the famous terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs. Minerva Terrace is one of the most striking elements here, as it looks like an ornately carved staircase.

Wooden boardwalks in Norris Geyser Basin allow visitors to get up-close views of the geothermal features here. The acidic water lends colorful hues to many of the park’s hot springs and mud pots.

This RV park is named after the Fishing Bridge, a wooden bridge that used to provide a fishing platform. Fishing is no longer allowed, but visitors can still use walkways to watch waterfowl. This area has 310 sites designated for hard-sided recreational vehicles.

This campground for tents and RVs sits at an elevation of 6,800’ and is set in a partly wooded area. The area is known for fishing and is located near Old Faithful. Here, you’ll find over 270 individual sites and 3 group sites.

This campground sits at an elevation of about 7,800 feet in a lodgepole pine forest, just a few miles from the West Thumb Geyser Basin. The campground offers a relaxing setting with easy access to amenities. Choose from over 400 sites, including both RV and tent sites.

Named for its proximity to Bridge Bay Marina on Yellowstone Lake, this scenic campground offers over 400 regular sites and 4 group sites for both tents and RVs. Sitting at 7,800′ and with Yellowstone Lake in its sight, the campground is popular with boaters and anglers.

One of the most popular campgrounds, Canyon Campground offers over 270 sites — including tent and RV — and is within one mile of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Enjoy a wooded setting in this centrally-located campground.

This campground sits near the base of the Gallatin Mountains at an elevation of 7,300′. The area offers easy access to fishing and hiking and provides a quieter, more primitive experience. Here, you’ll find 70 sites.

Sitting at an elevation of 7,800′, this campground is a short walk from Lewis Lake, where canoes, kayaks and motor boats can be enjoyed. A boat ramp is located near the campground information and registration area. Find 85 campsites here.

The only campground in the park open year-round, this 85-site campground is close to fishing, hiking, and the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. Wildlife viewing opportunities abound with elk and bison occasionally passing through the area.

This campground features views of the Absaroka Mountains and offers a more isolated camping experience, with only 27 sites available. Day hiking, fishing and wildlife viewing opportunities can all be found nearby.

This campground is near some of the best wildlife watching opportunities in the park and offers 16 sites. Located at the end of a two mile dirt road, this campground is best suited for tents and small RVs.

Named after nearby Mammoth Hot Springs, this hotel offers lodging in the summer and winter. The hotel was built in 1936 and offers visitors a variety of accommodations, including two restaurants and a bar, as well as the chance to spot elk grazing outside the hotel.

This sprawling facility features the most accommodations in Yellowstone with more than 500 rooms and cabins. The lodge also offers a cafe, grill, eatery and ice creamery for visitors to enjoy.

The newest of the park’s hotels, the Snow Lodge is open during the summer and winter months. Exterior log columns and a cedar shingle roof make this lodge a significant example of classic “parkitecture.” Here, visitors can enjoy full-service dining and the quick service Geyser Grill.

As a national historic landmark, Old Faithful Inn is the most requested lodging facility in the park. Built in 1903-1904 with local logs and stone, the Inn is considered the largest log structure in the world. Here, visitors can enjoy a full-service restaurant and quick deli.

This historic cabin facility is located near Old Faithful Inn and includes a one-story main lodge built in the 1920s. Tremendous views of the Old Faithful Geyser can be seen from the lobby area, which houses a bakery/snack shop and cafeteria-style food court.

Lake Lodge Cabins features a main lodge with a large porch offering a spectacular view of Yellowstone Lake. Located behind the lodge are 186 cabins with private baths. Visitors can find dining at Wylie’s Canteen at Lake Lodge.

The historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel welcome you to a time of classic, yet casual elegance. The hotel was designated a national historic landmark in 2015 and offers wired internet service, a business center and a deli.

Built in 1920 near Yellowstone’s Tower Falls area, the rustic cabins and family-style dining are a favorite of families and anglers alike. A large corral operation offers horseback trail rides, stagecoach adventures and a popular Old West Dinner Cookout.

Grant Village features 6 two-story buildings each containing 50 rooms; none have elevators. The lodging complex features a full-service restaurant, a lakeside restaurant with a casual menu, lounge and gift store. The village is also nearest to Grand Teton National Park.

Located just 57 miles south of Yellowstone’s south entrance, Jackson boasts incredible dining, shopping and lodging options for those seeking a fun and relaxing escape to the mountains.

Cody, Wyoming sits 52 miles east of Yellowstone’s east entrance. Founded by William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Western attractions such as nightly summer rodeos, cowboy music and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West offer just a few things to do.

Located between Canyon Village and Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley is one of Yellowstone’s best places to observe wildlife. Elk, moose, bison and grizzlies are among some of the animals you may see here.

Located in the northeast corner of the park, Lamar Valley is famous for its abundance of wildlife, such as elk, moose, wolves, bison and bears. Anglers enjoy the Lamar River’s healthy population of trout.

For the safety of wildlife and visitors, please keep your distance from all animals. It’s recommended to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and at least 25 yards away from all other wildlife.

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Uncover an array of activities and attractions near Yellowstone, ensuring a vibrant and memorable experience during your visit.

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Looking for accommodations? Explore a variety of lodging options to stay near Yellowstone and make your trip unforgettable.

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Explore a mix of dining spots and watering holes in near Yellowstone, offering a variety of flavors and drinks to satisfy your cravings.

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Yellowstone National Park Tours & Vacations

With rainbow-colored hot springs, gurgling geysers and bubbling mud pools, it's no wonder the tales of Yellowstone National Park sounded more like fable than fact. 

Yellowstone National Park is extraordinary. Brimming with half of the world’s hydrothermal features and landscapes that'll have you wondering if you’re still in the United States (or on Earth!). Join your local guide to uncover the beauty and mystery of the world's oldest national park. Marvel at the vivid colors of Grand Prismatic Spring. Watch steaming geysers like Old Faithful erupt. Follow a wolf-tracking expert in Lamar Valley to learn the secrets of these mysterious animals. You'll discover why Yellowstone is a national park like no other. 

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Yellowstone national park travel faqs, do i need a covid-19 vaccine to join an intrepid trip.

Trips from 1 January 2023 onwards

From 1 January 2023, Intrepid will no longer require travelers to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (excluding all Polar trips and select adventure cruises).

However, we continue to strongly recommend that all Intrepid travelers and leaders get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

Specific proof of testing or vaccination may still be required by your destination or airline. Please ensure you check travel and entry requirements carefully.

Where is Yellowstone National Park?

Most of Yellowstone is located in northwestern Wyoming, but some areas of the park also spread across southern Montana and eastern Idaho. 

How do I get to Yellowstone National Park?

You can get to Yellowstone by flying into one of the nearby airports, driving or taking a bus. The closest airports are:

• Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (north entrance).
• Yellowstone Regional Airport (east entrance).
• Jackson Hole Airport (south entrance).

It's also possible to fly to nearby airports like Chicago, Salt Lake City, Utah or Denver, where you can rent a car.

You can access Yellowstone via one of five entry points if you're driving. It takes 4.5 hours to drive from Salt Lake City, 1.5 hours from Idaho Falls, 1.5 hours from Jackson and 1.5 hours from Bozeman.  

It's possible to catch a bus from Bozeman in Montana to West Yellowstone all year, and you can also go directly from Idaho to West Yellowstone via bus during the summer months. 

There is no direct train into Yellowstone. However, you could catch a train to southeast Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah and Northern Montana and go from there.

Getting around Yellowstone National Park

There is no public transport within Yellowstone, so you will need a car to get around.

Most roads are closed to vehicles during the winter months due to heavy snowfall, excluding the road to Mammoth Hot Springs, which is maintained for winter travel.

There are five entrance points that loop around the park’s main landmarks and it can take hours to drive between them.

Always check road and park conditions before you set off. 

What's the weather like in Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone National Park sits within two climate zones: cool temperate and continental. There are four distinct seasons, but the weather can be unpredictable (think four seasons in a day!) and you can't always rely on the forecast.

What to pack for Yellowstone National Park

The weather in Yellowstone can change quickly (in all four seasons), so depending on the time of year you visit, you'll definitely want to pack waterproof layers, a sun hat or warm hat, and good, comfortable footwear. 

What animals live in Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone is a wildlife lover’s paradise with an abundance of small animals and large predators. Some of the animals you might get to see include:

• Deer (mule deer, pronghorn deer, white-tailed deer)
• Bighorn sheep
• Mountain goats
• Black bears
• Grizzly bears
• Canada lynx
• River otters

Are Intrepid trips accessible for travelers with disabilities?

We are committed to making travel widely  accessible , regardless of ability or disability. We do our best to help you see the world, regardless of physical or mental limitations. 

We are always happy to talk to travelers with disabilities and see if we can help guide them toward the most suitable itinerary for their needs and, where possible, make reasonable adjustments to our itineraries.

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The Peak of adventure.

Discover Summer in Montana 

Discover the great wild open north of the park, where wanderlust meets awe. Frolic in a fabled small town, a winding river, or a valley that goes on forever. 

Meet Our (Unofficial) Ranger

Our (unofficial) Ranger shares some favorite places to explore in Montana’s Yellowstone Country. 

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Just as captivating as Montana’s landscapes are its small communities. Experience life with a view, explore wild spaces, and embark on the rugged adventures that mark the region.

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Which Entrance to Yellowstone National Park Should I Take?

Planning a vacation to yellowstone involves many details, one of which is deciding how you will enter the park..

With 2.2 million acres ⎯ larger than the size of Rhode Island ⎯ the park is enormous, which is why it’s a good idea to figure out what you want to see and know which entrance is closest to those sights. There are five Yellowstone entrances ⎯ North Entrance, Northeast Entrance, South Entrance, East Entrance and West Entrance . Here are the details on each to help you plan your adventure to the country’s oldest national park.

• North Entrance, open year-round, brings you to Mammoth Hot Springs
• Northeast Entrance puts you at doorstep of park’s wildlife
• East Entrance brings you to Yellowstone Lake
• South Entrance allows you to tackle two national parks in one day
• West Entrance brings you to geyser paradise

1. North Entrance Brings You to Mammoth Hot Springs

Want to experience some of the West’s most spectacular scenery in a town that can feel like a cross between Northern Exposure and Animal Planet, given its wild neighbors living up the street in Yellowstone?

Head to Gardiner, Mont., just five miles from Yellowstone’s steaming terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs, one of the park’s many natural wonders. Sitting at the only year-round entrance to the world’s first national park, pretty much everything in Gardiner is colorful from the scenery and people to the names of dishes on menus, adding a poetic slant to your visit.

If you’re coming from the Pacific Northwest or even Missoula, Mont., the North Entrance, along US 89, may be the one for you. Situated in Gardiner, Mont. , a lively small western town, the North Entrance is open year round and is the only way to reach the park’s northeastern border in the winter.

Be Wowed by Mammoth Hot Springs

From the North Entrance, you are well-situated to see the park’s incredible wildlife, as well as the famed Mammoth Hot Springs and the historic hotel and dining room located near the hot springs. You also pass the Boiling River turnoff on the stretch of road from Gardiner to Mammoth. In the Boiling River , one of two sanctioned swimming areas in the park, you can swim in an area where warm hot springs water enters the Yellowstone River.

Explore Lamar Valley

From Mammoth, you can head east on the northern most road in the park to get to the expansive Lamar Valley , referred to as the Serengeti of the United States, because of the extraordinary diversity of mammals living there. It is the Lamar Valley that the first wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995-97. It is also home to grizzly bears, black bears, bison and elk, among many others. Bring your binoculars!

2. Northeast Entrance Puts You at Doorstep of Park’s Wildlife

Closest to Cooke City, Mont. , and its sister village Silver Gate, this entrance gives you the best access to Yellowstone’s legendary Lamar Valley where grizzlies, black bears, bison and wolves roam. The tiny outpost of Cooke City (year-round population is 100) has a downtown that spans only a few blocks but offers good dining and lodging options

Closed in the winter time, the Northeast Entrance makes sense to enter if you are coming from the northeast side of Montana like Billings or Red Lodge, Mont. From Billings, you can take I-90 west to US 212 west and from Red Lodge, Mont., take US 212 west. Driving US 212 west is arguably the most dramatic route to enter the park.

Be Amazed By Beartooth Pass

With its sweeping alpine vistas, Beartooth Highway , along US 212, is the closest you may get to feeling as if you are on top of the world. Every corner of the road presents a more incredible view than the previous. Head south over Beartooth Pass, before dropping into Cooke City and Silver Gate, the closest towns to the Northeast Entrance.

Fuel Up in Cooke City

Cooke City itself is a tiny town but offers a number of services from lodging to restaurants and gas. From it, you can drive to the Northeast Entrance is a matter of minutes. Once you go through the entrance gate, the Lamar Valley unfolds before your eyes. Home to bison, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves and elk , plan to spend some time along the roadside pull-offs, viewing the animals from a safe distance . You’ll find the Lamar Valley will give you an overwhelming sense of what the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem looked like before white pioneers settled there more than 150 years ago.

3. East Entrance Brings You to Yellowstone Lake

The East Entrance brings you right to the Yellowstone Lake , the largest mountain lake at such a high elevation of 7,733 feet. It stretches 20 miles long and 14 miles across and its shorelines are dotted with geothermal features . From there, the West Thumb Geyser Basic and Old Faithful lie to the southeast and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to the north.

To get to the park’s East Entrance, you will pass through Cody, Wyo. , founded by Buffalo Bill Cody himself. While Cody is 53 miles from the East Entrance, it is the closest town to the entrance.

Have an Authentic Western Experience

Cody is an Old Western town that celebrates its rich history through daily summer rodeos and incredible museums that make up the Buffalo Bill Center of the West . With its historic downtown and numerous family friendly activities, including the Cody trolley tour where you can learn more about Cody’s history, it is well worth a stop for a day or two. Admission to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is good for two days, so take your time exploring.

Buy a cowboy hat downtown at the third-generation-owned Wayne’s Boots or Boot Barn up the hill and head to two of Cody’s family friendly venues that offer cowboy music during the evenings. The Cody Cattle Company has a really casual atmosphere where kids can run around the establishment’s wooden picnic tables. Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue is a more upscale  show that has moved next to the Irma Hotel in downtown Cody. The show starts at 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday throughout the summer.

Stop at Buffalo Bill Dam

From Cody to the entrance, you will take the Yellowstone Highway, also known as US 16-20-14, past the enormous Buffalo Bill Dam six miles from town. Completed in 1910, it was the tallest dam in the world then. Today, it supplies water to 93,000 acres of farmland in the Bighorn Basin, bringing to life alfalfa, sugar beets, oats, barley and beans. The dam’s visitor center is open daily May 1-Sept. 30. From there, you will continue through the valley, eventually, reaching Sylvan Pass, which is RV-friendly and tops off at 8,350 feet.

4. South Entrance Allows You To Tackle Two National Parks in One Day

If you are looking to tackle two national parks in one day, the South Entrance is for you. From Jackson, Wyo. , you can stop at the awe-inspiring Grand Teton National Park along your 57-mile drive north on the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Highway up to Yellowstone. Plus, if you are staying in Jackson, Wyo., the South Entrance is the easiest entrance to access Yellowstone.

Jackson itself is an incredible mountain town that attracts skiers to its steep slopes in the winter and throngs of tourists in the summer. Blending the Old West with upscale boutiques, Jackson is the ritziest of all Wyoming towns. But it has a full range of hotels and eateries, catering to every type of traveler.

Once you enter through the South Entrance, you will drive along a stretch of the park’s road without any turnoffs for more than 20 miles. But once you hit the West Thumb Geyser Basin, you can stretch your legs and explore some of the park’s amazing geothermal features. From there, head west to view Old Faithful or continue north along the shores of Yellowstone Lake and on up as far as the Lamar Valley, which stretches to the Montana border and is known for its abundance of large mammals, including wolves, bison and bears.

5. West Entrance Brings You to Geyser Paradise

If geysers are on the top of your Yellowstone hit list, you may want to enter the park via US 20 and the West Entrance, as it puts you in the heart of the park’s geyser country.

This entrance is the park’s busiest, so it’s no wonder that West Yellowstone, Mont., is a bustling gateway with dining, shopping and attractions for travelers. Located just across the Wyoming border in Montana, West Yellowstone is a convenient entrance town for those coming from Idaho or western Montana, especially Missoula. Visitors will find Wild West flavor, plenty of lodging and a mix of cultural and outdoor activities.

Welcome to Geyserville

When you enter the park through the West Entrance, you will drive 14 miles until you reach Madison, a jumping off point for geyser basins to the north and south. Head south and you will see the largest geyser basin in Yellowstone called the Lower Geyser Basin, which includes Fountain Paint Pot, Firehole Lake Drive area and the Great Fountain Geyser. You’ll want to stop at the Midway Geyser Basin, slightly south, which is home to the dazzling Grand Prismatic Spring , which has resident bacteria that creates rainbow-like rings in the spring.

Further south is the Upper Geyser Basin, which is home to Old Faithful , Biscuit Basin and others. At least 150 geysers exist in 1 square mile here.

Up north you’ll find Norris Geyser Basin , the park’s oldest and hottest thermal area with two walkable zones. It’s home to the Steamboat Geyser, which is the world’s tallest geyser at 300-plus feet. If you drive farther north, up to the park’s northern border with Montana, you can explore the boardwalks of Mammoth Hot Springs, a two-tier travertine wonder.

West Yellowstone Attractions

There’s also a lot to do when you are ready to take a break from sightseeing in the park. Minutes from the West Entrance sits West Yellowstone, Mont. , home the Grizzly &Wolf Discovery Center , as well as lodging and dining.

Catch a show at the Playmill Theatre or study up for your park trip at Yellowstone Giant Screen Theatre, which shows IMAX movies about Yellowstone and beyond.  It also is home to a number of well-equipped RV parks, which make it a fantastic place to park your RV and launch your tours of the park via your car.

Getting a park map is key to understanding where all of Yellowstone’s scenic attractions are located, as well as their proximity to the park’s entrances. You’ll get a free map when you go through an entrance station, but if you want to plan in advance, purchase a Trails Illustrated map of Yellowstone from REI.com .

Pssst. Want to download an insider’s guide to Yellowstone, where to stay and what to do? Order our free stunning Yellowstone Trip Planner filled with an inspiring itinerary, gorgeous photographs and everything you need to plan your dream vacation.

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Major Construction Is Causing Traffic Delays at Yellowstone National Park – Here’s What To Know Before You Visit

Y ellowstone National Park is a 2.2 million-acre recreational area on a volcanic hot spot. Yellowstone has lush forests, hot springs , geysers, canyons, and alpine rivers. The park is technically located in Wyoming (mostly), Montana, and Idaho. It is the oldest national park in the United States. The park is also home to the largest hot spring in the United States (and third largest in the world). The hot spring is a very popular feature of the park along with Old Faithful, one of its most famous geysers. 

The park is so scenic that it has been a filming location for many movies and shows. For fans and world travelers, the park is one of the most breathtaking national parks in the United States. It is a treasured cultural landmark that travelers enjoy visiting. However, recent changes have caused delays to visitors’ park access, which is not unprecedented due to other unavoidable situations.

The park was closed due to the pandemic in 2020, but it re-opened in 2021. Since then, tourism has picked up, serving as a welcome retreat for travelers. This is why the news of significant construction in the park may be of concern to visitors of the Yellowstone National Park.

What Is Causing the Traffic Delay?

The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a warning to visitors for the upcoming months. Travelers should expect more traffic jams this summer as major improvements will be worked on in the park. These traffic delays are due to the replacement of two different bridges at the park. 

The first is the Yellowstone River Bridge which was built in 1961. The 604-foot-long bridge will be replaced by a more structurally sound bridge. The new bridge will be built upstream and will be a 1,285-foot long and 175-foot high steel structure. The second is the Lewis River Bridge which is located south of the Lewis Lake Campground. The bridge is 10 miles from the South Entrance Road. Its replacement will be located downstream. 

The renovative project includes the replacement of both bridges. Sturdier bridges are being constructed to secure the safety of visitors and rejuvenate the current fixtures for longevity. But as the most popular season for visitors approaches, there are sure to be some noticeable differences for travelers. The summer is the most crowded season at Yellowstone National Park due to the ideal weather and wildlife sighting opportunities. Here are the most important factors for travelers to consider as they plan their trip to Yellowstone National Park.

What Does Construction Mean for Visitors of Yellowstone?

Although traffic delays can be frustrating during travel, they will lead to a more accessible park in the future. New paved parking areas and a route across the new bridges will help travelers access trails and better views. In addition to these changes, the park picnic area will be expanded so that more visitors can enjoy it. 

The construction on the Lewis River Bridge means that the trail to the Lewis River Falls is closed. The Lewis River Bridge replacement should be completed in Fall of 2024 while the Yellowstone River Bridge project is set to finish in Fall 2026. The National Park Service even recommends that visitors expect delays between May and October (2024). But for the longer construction of the Yellowstone River Bridge, travelers can expect occasional short traffic delays. Some hiking trails in the area may be temporarily closed for the duration of the project, so travelers should do their own research before they plan to visit. 

Luckily, travelers have many resources to help them navigate the traffic. They can find out more detailed and current information about the live road status on the National Park Service’s website. There is a live status map and call number, and travelers can even sign up to receive Yellowstone road alerts. Travelers can also check the nine park webcams, one of which is a live-stream webcam. However, travelers can see the traffic conditions at the North and West entrances of Yellowstone. The projected opening and closing dates of roads are even posted for travelers’ convenience. 

See which popular national parks are requiring reservations for summer 2024

Every year, it seems that more national parks are requiring timed-entry reservations . Sometimes, it’s just to drive into a park . Other times, it’s for specific, sought-after activities .

This summer is no different, with Mount Rainier and Yosemite joining the mix. The requirements add an extra step and expense for travelers, but they’re not meant to be a hurdle.

“The timed entry system reservation system is not to limit visitation but to spread it out more equitably throughout the day,” Mount Rainier National Park ranger Terry Wildly told USA TODAY in February.

In the past, she said visitors had to wait up to three hours just to enter the popular park, and some caused lasting damage to meadows when venturing off-trail to avoid crowds. 

As Mount Rainier rolls out reservations this summer, here’s what other park visitors should know.

How many national parks have timed entry?

Only a fraction of America’s 63 national parks require timed-entry reservations or permits for particularly popular experiences. In most cases, they’re only for certain portions of the park during the busiest times of day. 

◾ Acadia National Park will require timed-entry reservations for vehicle access to Cadillac Summit Road from May 24 through Oct. 22. There are two types of reservations, Sunrise and Daytime, with varying restrictions. Each reservation costs $6 per vehicle and may only be purchased online, not in the park. A separate $35 vehicle entry fee is also required for the park.

◾ Arches National Park requires timed-entry reservations for all vehicles entering the park between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Oct. 31. Timed-entry tickets cost $2. A separate vehicle entry fee of $30 is also required.

◾ Glacier National Park will require timed-entry reservations for vehicles accessing North Fork and Going-to-the-Sun Road from the West Entrance between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. from May 24 through Sept. 8. Reservations will not be required for vehicles entering Going-to-the-Sun Road from the St. Mary Entrance nor will they be required for Two Medicine, like they were last year. However, they will still be required for Many Glacier between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m from July 1 through Sept. 8. Each type of reservation costs $2. A separate $35 vehicle entry fee is also required for the park.

◾ Haleakalā National Park requires reservations year-round for visitors who want to watch sunrise from the summit. Summit sunrise reservations cost $1 and are required for every vehicle entering the park between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. A separate $30 vehicle entry fee is also required for the park.

◾ Mount Rainier Natonal Park , for the first time, will require timed-entry reservations for two of its most popular areas: Paradise Corridor from May 24 through Sept. 2 and Sunrise Corridor between July 3 and Sept. 2. Reservations will only be needed between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Each type of reservation will cost $2. A separate $30 vehicle entry fee is also required for the park.

◾ Rocky Mountain National Park will require timed-entry reservations to access most roads between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. from May 24 through Oct. 14. Visitors who also want to access the park’s busy Bear Lake Road will need a specific type of reservation, Timed Entry+, between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. from May 24 through Oct. 20. Timed Entry+ covers all park roads. Both types of reservations cost $2.

◾ Shenandoah National Park requires day-use tickets to hike Old Rag Mountain through Nov. 30. Tickets cost $2 per person and can be reserved 30 to 5 days in advance. The day-use tickets are separate from the park’s $30 vehicle entry fee .

◾ Yosemite National Park now requires reservations for vehicles entering the park between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. on certain days. Through June 30 and between Aug. 17 and Oct. 27, they’ll only be required on weekends and holidays. But they’ll be required every day from July 1 through Aug. 16. Peak hour reservations cost $2, on top of the $35 vehicle entry fee for the park.

◾ Zion National Park is continuing to pilot its permit system for its popular Angels Landing hiking trail. Permits can be obtained through a seasonal lottery or daily lottery on Recreation.gov. Lottery registrations costs $6 for up to 6 people for each lottery. Permits cost $3 per person. That’s on top of the $35 vehicle entry fee for the park.

When can I make park reservations?

Dates vary by park, but all national parks book reservations through Recreation.gov .

The great outdoors next door: Hot to find hiking, camping, more near you

Which national parks in Utah require reservations?

Of Utah’s “ Mighty 5 ” national parks, only Arches requires reservations for park entry.

Do you need reservations to get into Zion National Park?

No. Reservations are not required to enter Zion, just permits to hike Angels Landing.

Can I get into RMNP without a timed entry?

Yes. Rocky Mountain National Park’s timed-entry requirements don’t begin until May 24. Even after that, reservations will only be required during peak hours.

Are reservations required for Yellowstone?

No. Yellowstone does not require timed-entry reservations. However, permits are required for specific recreational activities , such as backcountry camping and boating.

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Last updated: August 5, 2019

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Yellowstone Tourist Roars at Bison Before Getting Attacked

Being a respectful visitor who's mindful of flora and fauna is an essential part of visiting our national parks . But not everyone who gets out in nature knows how to leave everything as you found it.

A video shared on Instagram by Tourons of Yellowstone showed what happened when a tourist decided to go face-to-face with a massive bison at Yellowstone National Park . Cars on the road were stopped both ways as the man stood just a few feet away from the animal while someone in a car filmed the interaction, which originally occurred back in 2018 .

At first, the man spread his arms wide to seemingly invite the bison to come closer to him. It quickly scurried closer and the man moved out of the way. Then, he looked back at the bison, opened his arms wide, and roared at the animal. Not one to back down from a challenge, the bison charged toward the man head-on. The person filming didn't capture what happened next, but the man seemingly was unscathed as he was still walking a few feet away seconds later.

Bystanders were confused as to why he'd decide to pick a fight with such an intimidating wild animal in its natural habitat. Some urged him to get back in his car and derided him for doing something so stupid. People on Instagram tended to agree.

"I think I prefer that the drunk guy got gored by the bison rather than getting arrested. That would make this a more interesting and newsworthy incident," one person commented.

"[I] was really hoping for a good flip in the air and a bloody crash landing," another said.

"I’m rooting for the bison. He has evolution on his side," another chimed in.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone)

The man was identified back in 2018 as 55-year-old Raymond Reinke of Pendleton, Oregon. It wasn't his first offense in a national park; he had recently spent the night in jail after being arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct during a visit to Grand Teton National Park, according to The Associated Press .

After he was released, he headed to Yellowstone, where a ranger stopped him for a traffic violation and reported that he was drunk and combative, ultimately letting him off with a seat belt violation citation. It's believed that the confrontation with the bison happened shortly thereafter. He was later identified in another state after causing a disturbance at a hotel outside Glacier National Park .

According to The Oregonian , the man copped to the fact that he was inebriated during these interactions. He told a judge that he and his friend were on a "last hurrah" tour through national parks before he entered treatment for alcohol abuse.

Reinke was sentenced to 60 days in jail for harassing wildlife for the Yellowstone bison incident, plus another 60 days for interfering with law enforcement and 10 days for disorderly conduct. He was also banned from Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks for a five-year probationary period where he was not allowed to drink alcohol.

In the courtroom, he extended his remorse to the animal he crossed. "I'm sorry to the buffalo. He didn't deserve what I did to him," he said, per ABC Fox Montana .

The lesson to be learned here is to not even risk something so dangerous next time you're in a national park, whether you're sober or not.

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Yellowstone Park Rangers searching for tourist after death of baby bison

Officials at Yellowstone National Park are searching for a man whose actions resulted in the death of a bison calf last weekend.

On May 20, a young calf became separated from its herd as the animals crossed the Lamar River . Rather than notifying a Ranger, a park visitor intervened and pushed the newborn up a slope and onto the road, where it began approaching cars and people. Rangers tried to reunite the calf with the herd, but their efforts failed and ultimately they took the difficult decision to put it down.

A photo of the man, taken by another park visitor, was shared on Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone . The account highlights careless behavior at US National Parks, often involving wildlife. Usually nobody is hurt, but sadly in this case a bison lost its life as a result of someone ignoring park rules.

A post shared by TouronsOfYellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) A photo posted by on

If you recognize the man from Saturday, you can call the National Park Service (NPS) tip line on 307-344-2132, or email [email protected].

Wildlife safety

The man who handled the calf doubtless meant well and hoped it would return to the herd on its own, but there are good reasons why visitors are told never to approach or try to interact with wildlife.

First of all, the man didn't understand the animals' behavior as well as a qualified Ranger, and couldn't have foreseen what may happen as a result of moving the calf.

Second, there's the problem of habituation . If an animal becomes used to harmless contact with people, it will lose its natural wariness and may even seek them out in future. This increases the chances of a dangerous close call, which can result in injury to the person or the animal and can mean that the creature has to be euthanized for public safety.

Then there's the risk to the man himself. Many bison attacks happen when a person gets in between a mother and her calf, and if the adult had been nearby then he could have been seriously hurt. Bison are fast and powerful, and are responsible for more injuries at Yellowstone than any other animal according to the NPS. Last summer, three people were gored by bison at the park within the space of a month.

Visitors to Yellowstone should stay at least 25 yards (23 meters) from bison and elk at all times. If you're not quite sure how far that is, close one eye, hold out an arm, and give the animal a thumbs up. If you can completely hide it behind your thumb, you're at a distance that's safe for both of you.

For more advice, see our guides how to avoid being gored by a bison and wildlife safety: eight tips for unexpected encounters .

Best binoculars and monoculars : enjoy wildlife from a safe distance

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