Yellowstone National Park (YSNP) is 2.2 million acres of wilderness located in the north-west corner of Wyoming. The park was established in 1872 as the World's first National Park and it is perhaps one of the most unique places on earth. It sits about 7000 feet above sea-level, on a plateau covered by thousands upon thousands of acres of majestic "lodge-pole" pine trees.

Perhaps the best known feature of Yellowstone is the "Old Faithful" geyser which erupts every 75 to 95 minutes, shooting steam and boiling water well over 100 feet in the air. Other features include dozens of other erupting geysers, pristine mountain valleys, deep canyons, ravines, alpine lakes, and other rare and interesting geological features. Yellowstone is also host to an amazing variety of wildlife, including buffalo, elk, moose, and bears.

Yellowstone is not open year-round. It is closed to automobiles during the winter. Travelling to and from Yellowstone can be a challenge at any time of the year due to the weather. The park is nestled high within the Rocky Mountains, and there are few roads in and out of the park. Furthermore, Yellowstone is so big that it can take hours to travel from one end of the park to the other. Cell phone coverage is sporadic. It is wise to keep the gas tank full and have water and snacks on hand if you should become stranded, or simply hungry.

Summer season is roughly mid-May through mid-September, and is usually quite crowded with vacationers. After Labor Day the park becomes much less busy. After September 15th, some parts of the park close for the winter, but a few others remain open until mid-October. During that last month, be prepared for limited gas, food, and lodging options within the park (but still plenty of choices outside the park). My personal favorite time to visit is around the week of September 22, you'll pretty much have the park to yourself, but will rarely be completely alone.

Winter season is mid-December through mid-February, during that time the park is only accessible via Snow Coach and sometimes, Federal laws permitting, via snowmobile

Getting Around

There are five entrances into Yellowstone, and in any given year, one or more entrances may be closed for road-construction, forest-fire, or high-water. Each of the five routes, north, north-east, east, south, and west has it's own unique geography and sight-seeing opportunities. Also, at any given time, one or more of the connecting roads within the park may be closed for construction, or have travel restrictions. During the height of the summer season, large numbers of visitors and buses make for slow travel within the park. Due to the abundant wildlife, traffic often comes to a complete stop for extended periods of time. It's all part of the Yellowstone adventure. When you enter the park, you'll be given a map detailing any road-closures. Pay attention to the map as it will also list service stations and potential lodging and food locations. If it's very early or late in the season, ask the ranger what's open.

Geographically, Yellowstone is like five national parks in one. There's Geyser country, Lake country, Canyon country, Mammoth area, and Roosevelt area. These distinct and uniquely interesting areas are "linked" by a series of roads fashioned in a large "figure-8", which is often called the "loop road". Each loop is roughly 60 miles and you should expect to average 30 miles an hour, although the speed limit is 45. On the North Loop, you'll find Mammoth and Roosevelt nature areas. In the center of the figure-8 you'll find Yellowstone Lake, and the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone". Towards the south you'll find lots of geysers, especially "Old Faithful".

Visitors may miss one of the important aspects of the loop road, and that is that it's much more than just a way to get from one "attraction" to the next. The road is an adventure in itself, there are numerous turn-outs, scenic views, picnic areas, trail-heads, camping areas, wildlife viewing, and dozens of other "points of interest" along the way. You simply cannot see all of the park in one day. Try to plan for at least two days to see and enjoy all the unique sights, sounds, and smells of the park. If you can stay in the park, that's great, otherwise, there are "gateway" communities surrounding the park that provide all the usually amenities of gas, food and lodging. (Remember, during high season, it's always best to have reservations.)

Geysers

Perhaps the "main attraction" of Yellowstone is the geysers. There are three main areas, or "basins" of geysers. The Upper Geyser Basin is the most famous and is the location of "Old Faithful" and the "Old Faithful Inn" hotel, which is perhaps one of the largest "log cabins" ever built. The lobby's 60+ foot ceiling is worth the visit, as well as the upper geyser basin tail, that leads out from the front door of the inn through a series of paths and wooden walkways around a 3-mile loop among some of the most active geysers in the park. The Old Faithful area is also the largest concentration of lodging, food, and shopping within the park. Having dinner at the Snow Lodge next to the Old Faithful Inn is surprisingly upscale for the "middle of nowhere" location. Having dinner in the Inn requires reservations up to a year in advance. (Although breakfast and lunch are usually no problem.)

Old Faithful is in the south-west corner of the "figure-8" loop road. Heading north leads to the middle-geyser basin, the lower-geyser basin, the fountain paint-pots, the west-entrance road, and just a bit beyond the west-road, the Norris geyser basin, which was closed for a year because it was "too hot" for tourists. (No joke, usually one to three people die each year due to bears and or thermal pools, so watch yourself, it's not like being in DisneyLand.)

West Yellowstone

The town of West Yellowstone Montana is a small gateway community located immediatly outside the west entrance of the park. It's about a half-hour drive from the loop road to the west entrance. You travel through the picturesque Madison valley. Once in town, there's numerous hotels, shops, restaurants, a grocery store, and several family-friendly attractions, including an IMAX theater, a Yellowstone museum in the old train depot, and a Wolf preserve. The last two time's I've been there, there's been a very cool new/used book store located on the main street worth visiting, it has a range of books that's surprising for such a small town. Last trip I also noticed that free high-speed Internet was available in several of West Yellowstone's motels.

Mammoth

In the north-west corner of Yellowstone is Mammoth hot springs, and the original entrance to the park. A short road leads down the mountain-side to the gateway community of Gardener Montana. The Mammoth Hotel, shopping, and restaurants surround the old park administration buildings at Mammoth, and it's a short drive down the mountain to reach Gardener. The last time I drove down into Gardener I was impressed by the number of tee-shirt shops, but little else.

Roosevelt country

Heading east from Mammoth, along the northern "top-end" of the figure eight, takes you into Roosevelt country and towards the Tower falls junction and the north-east entrance to the park. The northeast entrance leads towards Billings Montana, located 90 miles to the north-east over the BearTooth mountains. The BearTooth mountain pass closes fairly early in the season, so in general, I don't expect to "get out" of Yellowstone thru the north-east entrance. The north-east entrance is also the least well maintained entrance to the park and needs a lot of road repairs. If you do go out the north-east entrance, you can also usually get down to Cody Wyoming, but it's a longer drive than using the more direct east entrance.

Canyon

Following the loop road from Tower falls south over Dunraven Pass, leads you to the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone". The canyon, which is quite "grand", is carved by the flow of the Yellowstone river over the spectacular "lower falls". Multiple vantage points exist on the northern rim and southern rim of the canyon. The smaller "upper falls" is located just a few miles away. The canyon lodge, and shopping complex close around September 15th. On my last trip, one store at Canyon remained open during that last month, serving a limited fare and snacks. The gas-station was open as well.

Lake

Heading further south on the eastern-side of the figure-8 loop road brings you to Lake country, the Lake Hotel, the Lake lodges, and Lake Yellowstone. Nearby is the east-entrance road leading to Cody Wyoming, located about 60 miles east. The road to the east entrance leads down to the water's edge of Lake Yellowstone before climbing up and over the mountains to the east. Its a spectacular view. If you go to Cody, be sure to visit the Buffalo Bill Historic Center, which is five museums in one. Cody is the biggest gateway community and quite a bustling little town. Lodging, shopping, and restaurants are plentiful.

Grant

Grant Village is located in the south-east corner of the loop-road and leads to the south entrance. The south entrance road is beautiful and leads to the Grand Teton National Park and the town of Jackson Hole Wyoming. Heading west out of Grant Village takes you around the loop and back to Old Faithful. Near Grant is the West-Thumb Geyser basin. It's a beautiful spot on the southern-ish shore of Lake Yellowstone, with small geysers bubbling along the edge of the lake.

You've now been "once around" the loop-road of Yellowstone.

My "Perfect" Yellowstone Road-Trip

Note: I fill up the tank more often than necessary to take more breaks from driving and to always keep the tank more than half-full. By the time you get to Yellowstone, the distances between filling stations are not always convenient, so it's always nice to be filled up.

DAY ONE: From Denver it's an 100 minute drive up to Cheyenne where you turn west on I-80 towards Utah. Alternatively, you can take the scenic "back-way" up to I-80 via Route 287 through Fort Collins and connecting with I-80 at Laramie. Drive west for a couple of hours across I-80 through Rawlins (gas?) to Rock Springs. Take exit 104 at Rock Springs (which is about the half-way point, and a good place to get a bite of lunch and top-off the gas...) and turn north on Route-191 through Pinedale (gas?) up to Jackson Hole (gas?). Total drive time is about 9 hours from Denver plus any time you take breaks or stop for fuel. I usually try to book a hotel in Jackson Hole Wyoming, especially if it's on a week-end that I will be arriving, but if you arrive by 5pm there's usually plenty of choices. Two areas to explore for a room: one is the row of motels one block east and south of the town square, and the other is the motels a mile or so west and north of town near the Elk refuge.

DAY TWO: Take a leisurely drive north a few miles from Jackson to the turnoff to the entrance of the Grand Teton national park. Enter the park, and proceed north towards Yellowstone. Take a side visit to Jenny Lake (There's two chances.) Enjoy the color. Keep heading north into Yellowstone. If you can book a room at the Old Faithful Inn, it's magical to stay inside the park, otherwise, have lunch, watch/walk the geysers, and then head for West Yellowstone to spend the night there.

DAY THREE: Tour the park, above all, don't miss the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the "Lower Falls" of the Yellowstone river at the top of the canyon. If you have a second night, go back to West Yellowstone and see the IMAX and or travel around and see Mammoth and Tower, and Lake.

DAY FOUR: Drive out the east entrance towards Cody Wyoming. Get a room in Cody and visit the Buffalo Bill Historic Center, BBHC, It's worth the time. There's a Super Wall-Mart in Cody, so you can quit "roughing it". Downtown Cody has interesting shoping and art stores.

DAY FIVE: Continue EAST out of Cody towards Sheridan Wyoming and or South East towards Buffalo Wyoming (Depending upon whether the "high road" over the Big Horn mountains is still open for the season. Have lunch. It's about five hours back to Denver, due-south on I-25.

Only one day? If I only had one day I'd spend the night in Jackson Hole, take a leisurely drive through the Grand Tetons, up to Old Faithful, cut across the center of the "figure-8" loop road, see Canyon, and come south to the east-exit (Fishing Bridge) to Cody via the east entrance. There, one-day, and although you missed 80% of what there is to see, what you saw was spectacular.

Okay, you caught me, the "one day" is actually three from Denver. One up. One around, and one back. You simply cannot do it any quicker. Enjoy the journey, take your time. Plan for five days and you'll see a lot more and have time to relax and take pictures.

Only one road open? Sometimes I have to come and go by the same route. It's not as much fun as the "big loop" from Jackson to Cody to Sheridan to Denver, but sometimes the roads are closed and you have to come and go the same way.

In Park Reservations? The hotels at Old Faithful, Grant Village, Lake, Canyon, and Mammoth are run by Xanterra . You can also check for and book lodging on their web site. One trick is to start to book any one of the hotels for today, and then click "Check other dates" to see a calendar of availablity.

Also a search for "West Yellowstone lodging" and "Jackson hole lodging" should give good hits for staying there. Also search "bbhc" if you'll be in Cody.

Enjoy.