Yellowstone (Wyoming, USA) - exact location, interesting places, inhabitants, routes.
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Yellowstone National Park is one of the most visited in America, located in the north of the country, in three states - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The park is famous for its numerous geysers, hot springs, waterfalls, rich wildlife and picturesque landscapes. This international biosphere reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, became the world's first national park (March 1, 1872).
From north to south, the length of Yellowstone Park is 102 km, from east to west - 87. The length of the asphalt road ("Big Loop") passing through the main attractions of the park is about 230 km.
Travel to Yellowstone
How to get to Yellowstone
The park is located 80 km from Cody Airport (WY), where flights from major US cities take place. From July to September, the park is also accessible by bus from Salt Lake City and Bozeman.
There is no public transport near the park.
Search for flights to Los Angeles (closest airport to Wyoming)
Yellowstone Climate
From June to early September, the maximum daytime temperature ranges between +20...+25 °C; at night high in the mountains it can drop below zero. Winters are cold, with average temperatures below -5 °C. Snow can fall at any time of the year.
The park is open all year round, however, visiting some areas may be limited; before your trip, it is better to check the weather forecast on the official website. The best time to visit the park is from May to September. Fires are frequent in the second half of summer and autumn.
Yellowstone Hotels
The park has nine hotels (more than two thousand rooms), shops, gas stations and many campsites. During the summer, it is worth booking places well in advance. Many tourists also stay in the nearby populated areas located outside the park.
Nature of Yellowstone
Activities and attractions in Yellowstone
Yellowstone has 9 information centers and museums. The main attraction of the park is its three thousand geysers. Of which the most popular are the world's largest geyser, the Steamboat Geyser and the Old Faithful Geyser. The latter is known for its predictability: it throws jets of hot water to a height of more than forty meters at intervals of 45 to 125 minutes (usually once every 1.5 hours). Therefore, the exact time of the eruption is always indicated on the observation deck.
Of the 290 waterfalls (from 4.5 meters), the highest and most spectacular is the Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River, 94 meters high. Yellowstone Lake, one of the largest alpine lakes in North America, lies in the center of the Yellowstone Caldera. The caldera is the largest dormant supervolcano that has erupted with great force several times over the past two million years. It is not surprising that most of the park is covered with solidified lava. It is also home to one of only five geyser fields in the world.
The park is famous for its numerous geysers, hot springs, waterfalls, rich wildlife and picturesque landscapes.
The park is home to almost 60 species of mammals, including rare ones: the wolf and the grizzly bear (about 600 individuals). There are American bison, black bear (baribal), wapiti deer (about 30 thousand), elk, black-tailed deer, bighorn goat, pronghorn and bighorn. Rare species include puma (25 individuals) and wolverine (unknown number). In 2003, tracks of a lynx were spotted, but the lynx itself has not been seen since 1998. Also: 18 species of fish (including Yellowstone salmon), 6 species of reptiles (turtles and snakes), 4 species of amphibians and 311 species of birds (the extremely rare whooping crane, bald eagle, white pelican and trumpeter swan).
There are 1,770 km of marked trails and bike paths throughout the park. Hunting and mountaineering are completely prohibited. Fishing is permitted after obtaining the appropriate license. In summer you can also go boating, in winter you can go cross-country skiing and snowmobile.
Pets may only be taken for walks on a leash and only near roads, campsites or information centers.
Price valid at time of publication, at the time of booking the price may change, because... Airfare prices are changing! To reduce the risk of tariff recalculation, you can use the club system ().
Other dates are possible - please inquire!
Special project H
About 640 thousand years ago, when all of North America was literally shaking from tremors and flooded with lava flows, a giant crater with an area of 2,000 square meters formed in the center of the Rocky Mountains. km. Over time, this crater became a plain, but in its depths the passions never subsided.
There is an opinion that soon the Yellowstone supervolcano will wake up again and a repetition of the ancient catastrophe will lead, at a minimum, to the beginning of a new ice age. In the meantime, it modestly reminds itself of itself with weak tremors, boiling fumaroles, gushing geysers and mud fountains, and many tourists come here to see thousand-year-old exhibits in the open air.
In 1978, Yellowstone became the 28th site included in the UNESCO World Heritage List - since then, human activity has not violated the boundaries of the reserve, and all the natural wonders and ecosystems that have developed over thousands of years live happily in their natural environment.
We can say that the park is a real geological holiday: here you can clearly see what happened to the earth’s crust over entire eras. For example, the course of the Snake River is the path of the North American tectonic plate through the center of activity of the Earth's mantle over the past 17 million years! It is also clearly visible how the Yellowstone caldera was regularly flooded by lava rivers: the remains of rhyolite rock are visible on the Obsidian Cliffs, and the Sheepeaters Cliffs are covered with basalt. The different layers are best seen on the eroded slopes of the Yellowstone River Canyon.
Another local natural wonder is Mammoth Hot Springs. The calcite-rich ecosystem was formed over thousands of years by the action of cooled hot water and steam. Cascades of water burst out of the ground and flowed down, and as they evaporated, many strange multi-colored terraces were formed. In the last century this was considered an inexplicable miracle, but now it is known that the shade is influenced by ancient microscopic algae that are not afraid of temperature. For example, the bacterium Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus can live even at 780°C. Only their color changes depending on the degrees: some terraces shine with scarlet and canary yellow colors, others are painted indigo or violet.
Aboriginal bacteria also live in the warm waters of Lake Yellowstone; there are even entire colonies of them, with bizarre shapes and unique meaning. For example, the microorganism Thermus aquaticus is widely used by modern medicine in genome research. And on the sandy shores of the lake live several species of endemic plants that are not found anywhere else in the world, these include the rare flower Abronia ammophila or the grass Agrostis rossae.
In some areas The groundwater They reach the surface using more aggressive methods - fields of geysers with thousands of people spread across the park. Among them is the largest natural fountain in the world, the Steamboat Geyser, as well as one of the most popular, the Old Faithful Geyser. It shoots jets of hot water to a height of forty meters with a regularity that can be used to set your watch (the interval is usually about 90 minutes).
In addition, in the northeastern part of Yellowstone, one of the world’s largest petrified forests “grows”: during a small eruption that happened here several thousand years ago, the ash mineralized the trees, turning them into fabulous stone idols. One can imagine that it was along these hillocks that Native Americans once stalked the tracks of wild animals. Relatively recently, in 2010, a hunting dart was found here that was at least ten thousand years old.
The second name of the park is “land of waterfalls”, because there are about 300 of them. The most grandiose of them is the Lower Yellowstone Cascade, its waters rush into the canyon from a 94-meter height. Next to the stormy stream flying into the abyss, a path winds its way leading to the top of the waterfall. From here you can watch the falling waters and rainbows appearing here and there.
Where to live: Hotels directly in the park have an obvious advantage - their proximity to geysers. For example, the windows of the Old Faithful Inn hotel offer a view of the most popular Old Faithful geyser (provided that the room is on the right side:). You need to reserve a room here at least a month in advance.
A large number of hotels are located outside the area, such as Holliday Inn and the like. The downside is that they are located quite far from the entrances and the nearest geysers are one and a half to two hours away, so think about whether you want to run back and forth and waste time and energy on it.
There is also the option of staying in campsites within the park. It's quite cheap (about 25-35 dollars per night), there are many of them - you can always find the one closest to the place you want to see, and here you will definitely feel the atmosphere of the park and spend a couple of romantic evenings around the fire. List of campsites. What to take with you on a camping trip? A typical tourist kit: tent, sleeping bag, rug, warm clothes, optional spoon-fork-plate-kettle (there are cafes and restaurants in the park), flashlight.
What to watch: Upon entering the park, you will be given a map where all the interesting places will be marked (to explore the park well, you need 5-6 days). And it is better to stop overnight in different parts of it, otherwise you will have to travel back and forth many times.
List of places that you just need to visit: plateau with geysers (Lower Geyser Basin, Upper Geyser Basin, Biscuit Basin, Old Faithful area are 10-20 minutes drive from each other), West Thumb Geyser Basin plateau (located on the shore of Yellowstone lake , beautiful water geysers), Mud Volcano mud springs (located between Fishing Bridge and Canyon Village) and a stunningly beautiful Canyon with two huge waterfalls (Upper Falls and Lower Falls).
You can order a tour of the park by calling +1716 307 344 5282 or
Usefulness:
How to get there: The park is located in the state of Wyoming and you can enter it from all four corners of the world. In summer there is a choice, but in winter some entrances are closed, so it’s better to see which one is open in advance. Keep in mind that Yellowstone Park is large and a car is required to explore it - as there are no shuttles or taxis in the park.
The eastern entrance is located 80 km from the city of Cody (Wyoming), and the city has an airport. You can order a taxi at the airport
The northern entrance is located in the city of Gardiner (Montana), 80 km from the city of Livingstone (Montana), the nearest airport is in the city of Bozeman (Montana), 136 km. You can leave the airport by bus, order a taxi or rent a car. Additional Information about flight schedules and car rentals.
The southern entrance is located 90 km from the city of Jackson (Wyoming), and the city has an airport. You can order a taxi at the airport.
The western entrance is located 80 km from the city of Cody (Wyoming), and the city has an airport. At the airport you can order a taxi or rent a car. More information on flight schedules and car rentals.
Maps of the park areas can be viewed
You can visit the park as part of our tours to the USA.
Dates and duration may vary - please inquire! For example:
Salt Lake City + Cody + Yellowstone
Departure 19.05 for 9 nights (including overnight flights)
Tour program: departure from Moscow on May 19, arrival on the same day in Salt Lake City, overnight at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Salt Lake City-Airport West 3* (without meals), on the morning of May 20, flight to Cody, same day arrival. Independent travel* to Yellowstone. May 20-25, accommodation at a hotel in Yellowstone or at a hotel in the park itself. May 25, independent move* to Cody. Overnight in Cody at the Buffalo Bill Village 3* hotel (no meals). May 25 morning flight to Salt Lake City, May 25-26 hotel accommodation in Salt Lake CityHoliday Inn Hotel & Suites Salt Lake City-Airport West 3* without meals. Departure to Moscow on May 26, arrival on May 28 in the morning.
the price is given depending on the selected hotel in Yellowstone
upd 31.01 now from 1479/1640 euros, ask for current price calculation
Moose Creek Inn 2* without meals, located 5 minutes walk from the western entrance to Yellowstone National Park 1377 euros
1539 euros
The tour price includes: flight Moscow-Cody-Moscow (with connections, check the flight and duration of connections when booking), 2 nights accommodation in Salt Lake City, 1 night in Cody, 6 days near the park or in Yellowstone Park, specified meals.
* There are 5 entrances to the park: Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern and Northeastern.
The closest entrance to Cody is East. Open from the first Friday in May to the first Sunday in November. This entrance is located 52 miles (80 km) from Cody via Hwy. 14-16 & 20.
Starting from Cody Airport, drive south, turning right onto Highway 16 and follow it until it intersects with Highway 14. Follow Highway 14/16/20 west until we reach Eastern Entrance to the park (about an hour in total).
You can enter the park from Northeast entrance. Then we also drive south from the airport and turn right west onto Highway 16. We follow it until the intersection with Highway No. 120. Follow it north to the intersection with the Chief Joseph Highway (WY296) and continue west along it to Highway 212 and through Cooke City to the Northeast Entrance. (The portion of the trail between Cooke City and Pilot is closed to traffic from November to May, so access to the park through this entrance is possible from late May/early June (depending on weather conditions) to mid-October). This route is approximately 80 miles (130 km) long and will take approximately two hours.
Western Entrance located near the town of West Yellowstone and open from the third Friday in April to the first Sunday in November.We leave the Bozeman Airport, heading west (right) on Frontage Road. Turn left (south) onto Highway 191 and follow it to West Yellowstone. At the main intersection in West Yellowstone, turn left (east) and drive to the park's West Entrance. This route is approximately 92 miles (150 km) and takes approximately 2 hours to drive.
Northern entrance- the only entrance to the park that is open all year round. Located near the town of Gardiner.
This is the closest entrance to Bozeman.The Northern Entrance can be reached via Livingstone. We follow Highway 90 east towards Livingstone, see exit 333 and turn south on Highway 89. We follow it to Gardiner, in the city we follow the main street to the Roosevelt Arch, where the Northern Entrance will be. This route is 87 miles (140 km) long and will take just over 1.5 hours.
South entrance Open for entry from the second Friday of May to the first Sunday of November.
Bozeman + Yellowstone
Departure 13.05 for 8 nights
(including overnight flights)
Tour program: departure from Moscow on May 13, arrival on the same day in Bozeman, overnight at the Holiday Inn Bozeman 3* hotel(no meals, free transfer to the airport), on the morning of May 14, independent transfer** to Yellowstone. May 14-19 hotel stay in Yellowstone. May 19, independent move** to Bozeman. Overnight in Bozeman at a hotelHoliday Inn Bozeman 3*(no meals, free transfer to the airport). May 20 morning flight to Moscow,May 21 morning in Moscow.
upd 31.01 now 1571 euros, ask for current price calculation
Holiday Inn West Yellowstone 3* without meals, located in Yellowstone National Park 1527 euros
The tour price includes: flight Moscow-Bozeman-Moscow (with connections, check the flight and duration of connections when booking), 2 nights accommodation in Bozeman, 6 days near the park or in Yellowstone Park, specified meals.
** Buses run twice daily from Bozeman to West Yellowstone and take approximately 3 hours. You can view the schedule and buy tickets.
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Photo by Dan Anderson, sahib josh, jkardysphotos, texasfires, Gary P Kurns Photography, Cepreu K, nigelwilliams2001, Misha Logvinov, Lallee–mostly away, larrygerbrandt, TheAmericanWestPhotography.com, mcdux, Doug Dance Nature Photography, Mark Mandrell,Michael Hornemann |
On a journey to the "lost world" Yellowstone Geyser Park we went at the end of August. Yellowstone, the very first national park, founded in 1872, is located in three states - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The park has a roughly rectangular shape, the length from north to south is 102 kilometers, from east to west 87 kilometers. Yellowstone is such a small microcosm, here you can see everything - rivers with waterfalls, thermal springs with geysers, and a variety of animals and birds, you can wander through forests or steppes, go down to the bottom of canyons or take a boat ride on the lakes. To avoid a large influx of tourists, it is better not to visit the park in summer. The roads leading through the park have only one lane in each direction, very often without a shoulder, and traffic jams are simply inevitable, either because of bison who decide to stroll along the road, or because of stopped cars and tourists taking photos.
The road from California to the western entrance to the park took only 2 days; almost at night the camper drove into the Grizzly campsite ( Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone) and early in the morning we went to the northwestern part of the park to Mammoth Hot Springs. Early in the morning there were not many cars and, despite the road repairs and the lack of pavement in one section, we got there in just 1.5 hours. There was a parking spot on the upper terraces for the camper, but on the lower terraces everything was occupied and Alex had to drive in circles while I quickly took a few photos. This was the only problem with parking our 7.5-meter “house” during the entire trip.
We spent the next day at Upper Geyser Basin (Geyser Hill)— the thermal spring was especially memorable "Morning Glory", so named for its resemblance to the flower of the same name - the bright blue bindweed. The color of the water in the source is given by bacteria called thermophiles. Several decades ago the source was bright blue. Unfortunately, almost every visitor felt it necessary to throw a coin into the source; there must have been about a ton of coins, stones and even, they say, logs collected there. A large amount of debris slowed down the circulation of the water, it became colder and the orange and yellow bacteria that previously lived only at the edges spread to the center. Rangers have repeatedly tried to clean up the spring, but the debris is so deeply embedded that there is a danger that the spring will disappear if it is removed.
Morning Glory Pool
If a rainbow suddenly fell from the sky, it would probably look a lot like . Shades of red, orange and blue color a valley in Yellowstone National Park halfway between the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins. The colorful spectrum is the result of the activity of pigment bacteria that form at the edges of the source, and the color and saturation depend on the water temperature. In the summer, the bacteria turn orange-red, and in the winter, they usually turn dark green.
Geyser Clepsydra Geyser, Lower Geyser Basin The most convenient geyser to observe, it erupts almost continuously and is located almost 5 minutes from the parking lot. One thing is for sure, the photographs do not quite convey the atmosphere of the park - there are not enough sounds - hissing, gurgling and growling, and of course the smells - the unforgettable aroma of hydrogen sulfide or rotten eggs. As soon as you gape a little, a gust of wind brings a “fragrant” cloud of an erupting geyser, from which you need to protect your camera lens and, preferably, your lungs.
There is something surreal about the clouds of stinking steam, the alternating hot splashes and cold blasts, the variable visibility, the incredibly vibrant hues of the water, and even the majestic procession of boardwalk-style tourists whispering and muttering, and sometimes screaming, in a dozen languages. Source Black Pool, West Thumb Geyser Basin not black at all, but bright blue. A few years ago it was somewhat colder and harbored black and brown cyanobacteria, but gradually the water warmed up, the bacteria died out and the color of the source changed. Blue springs are the hottest, the water temperature in them reaches 90-95 degrees Celsius. Sometimes you can see air bubbles rising, like in water simmering over low heat.
When the thermal springs were saturated and we were no longer oohing and aahing at the sight of another geyser, it was time to go on a photo tour in a yellow vintage car made in 1937 (White Motor Company Model 706). The photo safari route depends on the guide - everyone has their own favorite places in the park. Our specialty was bison and we went to Hayden Valley.
In photographing bison, I think the most important thing is patience - there is no need to rush anywhere, it is advisable to sit comfortably, but not too far from the car, so that if something happens there is somewhere to hide, and just watch the movement of the bison - something interesting is sure to happen and the bison will finally stop eating grass. Perhaps they will eat some bushes
Lamar Valley- the most the best place to watch wildlife in Yellowstone. The valley is home to grizzly bears, wolves, elk, bison, pronghorn, eagles and bighorn sheep. Most of these animals are most active at dawn and dusk, but some of them, such as deer or roe deer, can also be seen during the day. It should be noted that the only bear we saw in the park was not in the Lamar Valley, but near the Fisherman's Bridge ( Fishing Bridge), not far from the campsite of the same name, our main parking lot in the park.
After bison, deer and wolves, we went to explore the waterfalls, there are more than forty of them! One of the names of the American Yellowstone National Park is “land of waterfalls.” The most beautiful are considered a pair of waterfalls - Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls. The lower one can even compete with the great Niagara Falls - it is twice as tall. The waters of Nizhny falls into the canyon from a 94-meter height.
If you drive up to the Lower Falls in the morning, around 9:45, you can probably see a rainbow. We chose the Artist's View observation deck and staked out a parking spot for our long camper. There is a legend that the American artist Thomas Moran painted a picture from here, which was later shown in the American Congress in 1871 to convey the splendor of this place and convince of the feasibility of creating a National Park.
Lower Waterfall with observation deck"An Artist's View", Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Waterfall Tower Falls or Tower Fall was discovered and named by members of General Henry Washburn's expedition in 1870. The expedition set out to check the stories about the Land of Wonders, about which hunters and prospectors told incredible stories, and the Indians called the Land of Ice, Fire, Water and Smoke. In one of the stories, the prospector told that about the lands where you can catch fish in the river and cook it in a small puddle on the shore - naturally no one believed him. Initially, it was decided to name the river and waterfall Minaret Creek, but one of the participants objected that the name violated the agreement not to use the names of their friends. He stated that "Minnie Rhett" was the name of the lover of one of the expedition members. The name was revised and changed to Tower Falls. I will devote a separate post to how we got there.
On one of the days of our stay in the park there was a full moon. Modern detective stories and thrillers have taught us that the full moon is a time of bloody incidents and brutal crimes. As soon as you see the full disk of the Moon in the frame, you immediately guess that some dramatic events are about to follow. In our case, the events began even before the moon rose - the road was blocked and clogged with cars, polite rangers turned around all the cars heading towards the eastern exit of the park. Somewhere along the road, some unlucky tourist or, on the contrary, lucky one, came across an unexploded shell, which was used in winter to initiate avalanches. We had to watch the Moon from the side of the road, fortunately our “home on wheels” provided us with hot tea.
While traveling through the Lamar Valley, I really enjoyed camping by a small river - Pebble Creek, which is spectacularly set against the backdrop of the Absaroka Mountain Range and is located near the northeast gate of Yellowstone National Park. The campsite is a very quiet and secluded site, with no electricity and only 27 tent and camper sites. You can't make reservations in advance, and by 10 a.m. the campsite is already filling up. We arrived at Pebble Creek by 8am and spent our last two days in the park.
A curious jay became interested in a silver bag of food, which I, somehow without thinking too much, put on the table. The food had to be urgently saved...
And this cute roe deer decided to join our breakfast, she is assessing, literally from behind my back, what can be profited from on the table. Unfortunately, the bacon and eggs didn't appeal to her.
Two weeks in Yellowstone Park flew by and it was time for us to head back to civilization.
What conclusions can be drawn from the trip: for lovers of outdoor recreation, but with all the amenities, a camper is simply irreplaceable, although not a very cheap thing. Among the shortcomings, it should be noted that not all roads in the park are accessible to a mobile home, but this is compensated by the opportunity to live inside the park and enjoy all the “comforts” of home comfort.
Yellowstone National Park, USA
Yellowstone is not only a giant supervolcano, but also an amazingly beautiful national park, where millions of tourists come every year. The reserve is famous for its geysers, hot springs and picturesque natural landscapes teeming with birds and wildlife. If you're planning to visit the park, you may need some practical information regarding your travel itinerary, accommodations and food.
How to get to Yellowstone
There are many options for getting to Yellowstone. You can choose air travel followed by land transport, use a car or bus.
By plane
There are two local airports near the reserve: West Yellowstone (Montana) and Cody (Wyoming). The first operates only in the summer (from June to September) and provides access to the western entrance to the national park. The second one welcomes tourists throughout the year, allowing access to the park through the eastern entrance.
Alternatively, you can travel to Salt Lake City, Jackson (Wyoming), Billings (Montana), or Idaho Falls (Idaho) airports and then drive from there. When choosing air travel, it is worth considering that all airports, with the exception of Salt Lake City, are quite small and do not accept flights from every American airline.
By car
A car is one of the most convenient modes of transport for traveling to Yellowstone. It allows you not only to get to the park, but also to move around inside the reserve. There are three most popular routes for traveling by car:
- From Salt Lake City (distance – 628 km) – via Idaho Falls.
- From Denver (906 km) – via Cody or Laramie.
- From South Dakota (850 km) – via Rapid City.
By public transport
Municipal bus service runs between Bozeman and West Yellowstone throughout the year on Route 191. During the summer months, West Yellowstone (the park's western entrance) is accessible by bus from Idaho. In addition, the preserve is served by commercial traffic from Bozeman, Cody and Jackson.
Cost of visiting Yellowstone
Before you go to the park, you need to keep in mind that walking and visiting geysers is not a free pleasure. Upon entry you will need to purchase a 7-day pass, the cost of which depends on the method of visiting (prices for 2016):
- By car – $30
- By motorcycle or snowmobile – $25
- Walking – $15 (for persons 16 years and older)
- On a non-commercial bus (with a capacity of 16 or more people) – $15 per visitor
Children under 15 years old are admitted free of charge.
Weather in Yellowstone
Summer
Weather conditions in Yellowstone can be unpredictable, so be prepared for snow in June or hail in July. Usually the daytime temperature is +25 °C. It can be cool at night, with frost possible at higher elevations. Thunderstorms often pass in the afternoon.
Winter
In the cold season, the thermometer fluctuates from -20 to -5 °C. The record low temperature ever recorded in the park was -54°C. Snowfalls can occur at any time, and at higher elevations there is 2 times more snow than at low elevations.
Spring and autumn
Daytime temperatures vary from 0 to +20 °C. When visiting the park in autumn or spring, it would be a good idea to take a raincoat or a warm jacket with you, as you may get caught in rain or snow.
Hotels and restaurants in Yellowstone
There are 9 hotels on the territory of the park with a total capacity of 2000 people. All are open during the summer, and two (Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel) are open during the winter. It is advisable to book rooms in advance, as upon arrival you may end up staying outside. One of the most popular is the Old Faithful Inn, located next to the Old Faithful Geyser. Depending on the room, an overnight stay there will cost from $115 to $572.
If you come with your own car, you can use the camping services. There are 12 campgrounds in Yellowstone, with overnight stays ranging from $15 to $47.75. Campsites usually fill up early in the morning, so reservations must be made in advance.
Catering establishments in the reserve include both gourmet restaurants and small cafes or stalls selling sandwiches and grilled meats. In the summer, 11 restaurants and canteens operating at the hotels are available to visitors. In winter, you can only eat at two hotels - Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.
Things to do in Yellowstone
There are 9 museums and visitor centers within the national park where you can get brochures and tourist maps, buy souvenirs and see interesting exhibits. The main attractions are thousands of geysers and hot springs, of which the Old Faithful Geyser is the most popular. It is quite predictable and erupts with enviable regularity - every 45-125 minutes.
Not far from Old Sluzhaki is the Upper Geyser Basin. The road between its many hot springs is about 5 km long and takes at least 1.5 hours. It is worth considering that tourists are allowed to move only on special wooden platforms.
Within the Midway Geyser Basin you can see the Grand Prismatic Spring - the largest in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
Particularly noteworthy are the Mammoth Hot Springs - stunning travertine terraces along which flows hot water temperature +72 °C.
Of considerable interest to tourists are the Grand Canyon, Norris Geysers and Hayden Valley, which is home to a myriad of wild animals - bison, deer, pronghorn. There are over 1,700 km of walking trails and bicycle paths throughout the reserve, allowing you to fully enjoy the beauty of the marvelous nature. In addition, in Yellowstone you can go fishing (after purchasing a special permit), boating on Yellowstone Lake, horseback riding, and in winter - snowmobiling and skiing.
Why go to Yellowstone?
1) Yellowstone NP is the first US national park, created March 1, 1872. Americans are very proud of their “invention,” because they believe that it was their country that first thought about the need to leave the earth untouched, preserving the natural heritage for posterity. In any case, the history of the creation of the first national park is very interesting, and I will return to it from time to time.
2) Having gone through a thorny path on the way to recognition, Yellowstone today is known primarily for its active supervolcano., so huge that its outlines could only be seen from space. One fine day, the volcanic system will once again show what it is capable of, but until a super explosion occurs, we have an excellent opportunity to walk on the “breathing earth”, to feel how geothermal processes, known from geography lessons, are taking place very close by.
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Just imagine: 2/3 of all geysers on Earth are collected in one place - the Yellowstone caldera. In addition, here you can see a huge number of geothermal objects, which, due to ignorance of the correct terms, we called a gurgling swamp or a small volcano.
3) Despite the fact that the park is shaking all the time, and clouds of steam or a cloud of hydrogen sulfide are escaping from the bowels of the earth here and there, wild animals seem to thrive here. To meet various representatives of the fauna, you just need to leave the tent (well, if you leave food in the tent, the fauna will come to you).
In three days we were able to see with our own eyes: grizzly bear, black bear, herds of bison, pronghorn, coyote, Elk deer, white-tailed deer, marmot, all this not counting the huge number of all kinds of rodents. Fortunately, we did not encounter wolves, cougars and lynxes, which also roam Yellowstone somewhere.
4) The beauty of the local nature will not leave even the most experienced landscape lover indifferent, among whom we modestly consider ourselves. Canyons, forests, about 300 waterfalls, lake shores and rivers - everyone will find a corner of nature to their liking.
5)Yellowstone is a photographer's paradise or ordinary photography enthusiasts like me - here you can stand over each colored puddle for hours and get different pictures, depending on the weather and lighting, or catch a bear in its habitat by adjusting the camera zoom. A ton of pictures is the minimum set of souvenirs that everyone brings home from the park.
I just listed 5 reasons to visit Yellowstone National Park, who personally directed me to this amazing place. But the list goes on and on... The park has everything you need for excellent fishing, bike rides, kayaking, horseback riding excursions and guided tours into the wild natural world. In a word, there is plenty to choose from.
Basic information and rules for visiting the park
7-day Passes - Yellowstone Territory (2016) - valid for 7 days
Entrance Pass for… Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Private, non-commercial vehicle $30 $50 Motorcycle or Snowmobile* $25 $40 Individuals by foot, bicycle, ski, etc. $15 per person 16 and older $20 per person 16 and older Non-commercial bus or vehicle with capacity of 16 people or more** $15 per person 16 and older $20 per person 16 and older
We used the purchased annual pass to all US national parks Interagency Annual Pass.
- There are no hot springs in Yellowstone where you can take a bath.. The only “hot” river with swimmers, which I came across in official information, is teeming with some kind of bacteria that destroys the brain when it enters the human body - well, its a river.
- You can and should visit geyser fields only along a designated route. without leaving the established paths. You need to watch your children with both eyes, because there have been cases of serious burns when the foot stepped in the wrong place.
- The park has a huge number of rules and restrictions regarding wild animals., they were not invented at all in order to spoil tourists’ selfies; some of them are written in someone else’s blood. But if all the rules are followed, the danger is minimized.
- Pets are essentially not allowed anywhere except the camp, and we actually didn't see any dogs on the trail.
- Free wi-fi available V Mammoth Hotel lounge, Horace M. Albright Visitor Center, the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Lake Lodge Caffeteria, Canyon Lodge and Grant Lodge.Mobile communications are scarcely available anywhere.
- For those who go hiking, their own rules of conduct have been developed., first of all, preventing an unwanted encounter with a bear: walking in groups, making noise, blowing a whistle. When meeting a bear, do not run under any circumstances, do not use a hunting knife for defense (the latest record is 22 puncture wounds inflicted on a bear before its own death, the bear almost did not feel it), stock up on pepper spray against bears.
When is the best time to go to Yellowstone?
The mountainous location of the park greatly affects the climate, which is why Yellowstone seems like a pretty cool place with long, cold winters and short, not very hot summers. Maximum summer temperatures are 20-25 C, and at night in the warmest months you can safely expect a temperature of 5 degrees.
Despite the presence of a winter program for visiting the supervolcano, this idea does not seem very successful to me, even for the reason that a number of roads are closed in the fall and will be open as early as next spring. The last road closure becomes accessible in the last days of May, so the best time to visit Yellowstone is from June to September. However, it should be taken into account that July and August are the busiest months for the park, with traffic jams and crowds of tourists everywhere. Thus, June and September remain: the weather is still or already cool, but this is only at night - during the day it is quite comfortable, and the crowds of tourists are still ahead or already behind. True, some trails may be closed - so we didn’t get to Uncle Tom's Trail, leading to one of the Grand Canyon waterfalls.
Given this knowledge of weather science, I moved Yellowstone Park to the very end of our route, so we arrived there in early June. Yellowstone in early June can be frustrating with cool nights, especially if you have to survive it in a tent, but by 11 pm it’s already quite warm and comfortable. In three days we got one good rain late in the evening, and another one in the morning way back, so the whiny mood of the weather did not at all disrupt our plans to study the treasures of the supervolcano.
Yellowstone Infrastructure
As is customary among Americans, the infrastructure of the country’s most famous park is superbly developed. Through the vast expanses of Yellowstone there are good asphalt roads, the central part of which forms something like the number 8. The Great Circle of Eight has a length of 230 km, so a visit to each attraction needs to be carefully planned, otherwise you simply won’t be able to drive back and forth (especially since the speed limit in the park is 73 km/h and below).
9 tourist zones have been created in the park, in each of which you will not find a shortage of food (shops, cafes, restaurants), or souvenirs, or ranger advice. Separate zones (Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful) are entire tourist towns with great wi-fi, museums, small cinemas and other joys of civilization. We visited many of them, I’ll tell you about them separately.
Overnight in Yellowstone
If you have not yet joined world of camping, then Yellowstone National Park is a great place for such an experience. In almost protected forests arranged 12 campsites for tents and RVs, each of which operates according to its own calendar. For example, at the beginning of June, not all camps were open. In addition, 5 camps are open for bookings, and the remaining 7 are operating on a system first come - first served(i.e. you must arrive before everyone else to qualify for a specific place in the camp). Detailed information about all Yellowstone campgrounds can be found on the official website, .
We stopped at Canyon Campground for three nights by prior reservation, for which we paid 94.12 USD. An excellent camp both in terms of location and infrastructure - I can recommend it.
I was truly surprised by the fact that only 3 of the 12 camps located in the park have showers. For some it may vary, but for me this question is fundamental. Our Canyon Campground - one of them, in addition, has a shower Grant Village and Fishing Bridge RV. Of course, you can go to another camp to wash your hair, but the distances in the park, as I already wrote, are not short at all.
It was completely unusual with firewood here- everyone typed them in the forest, and I didn’t see a single sign or warning that this should not be done. Although in Canadian and American parks it is usually prohibited to pick up dry branches from the ground - they are also houses for insects.
The seriousness of the issue with bears became clear from the separate room for washing dishes, with an automatically closing door and bars on the windows, and standard trash cans - anti-bear.
In addition to the above most romantic and affordable option: tent/forest/fire, the administration of the supervolcano also offers very expensive accommodation in hotels scattered in various parts of the park, closer to the attractions. Whatever option you choose, it’s better to take care of its reservation much in advance, because the warm season here is very short, and today there are more than enough people who want to see Yellowstone.
Another alternative option is to live outside the park. You can, for example, rent a room in a town Cody and visit the sights every day. There are also tent cities right behind the Western entrance. In one of these “foreign” camps I had to reserve a place, because there was not a single place available for reservation in the park itself (and this was a month before the trip!) But then, fortunately, someone canceled their reservation in Canyon Campground, and I immediately took the vacant seat for myself. Fortunately, because living inside the park saves a lot of time on travel.
1) The weather in this seemingly harmless park does not change quickly, but very quickly, although the mountains here are small. Therefore, even in summer I recommend taking a windbreaker/raincoat with you. It would be nice to get a waterproof backpack where you could hide all your devices in case of rain out of nowhere.
2) After visiting Yellowstone, we began to think seriously about potential encounters with bears, especially grizzlies. June and late spring are especially dangerous because during this time female bears are raising their young and can be especially aggressive. Now is the time to consider bear spray. This is a can of pepper spray that won’t do much harm to the animal, but will distract it from bitter thoughts and plans to kill you, just in case.
This can is quite expensive (50CAD), especially since it is disposable, but given our love of climbing in wild places, we found such a purchase worthwhile. Another option - rent this spray— we saw such an office not far from our camp Canyon Campground(prices in photo).
3)Never question the park's safety requirements. They say bringing water coolers into the car means you have to bring them in, even if it seems illogical to you. Once, in another place at night, a bear came to the camp - everyone heard it and it was very scary, people even began to hide chairs.
Our Yellowstone itinerary
I came across a good visual schematic map on the website - it was convenient to use when drawing up a route, despite the slightly strange numbering of objects.
#1 Old Faithful Geyser/Upper Basin
#2 Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
#3 Hayden Valley
#4 Mammoth Hot Springs
#6 Norris Geyser Basin
#7 Lamar Valley
#8 Tower Fall
#9 Lower Geyser Basin
#10 West Thumb Geyser Basin
Since we have been allocated for Yellowstone Park almost three days, then we actually got the following breakdown:
Day 1 - Late arrival at the park, setting up camp, dinner, shower.
Day 2 - Big Ring- points 2 (we lived very close), 3, 5 10, 1, 9 - this is a lot, but we were not that tired yet, and the geysers and boiling puddles were not yet tired and familiar. In any case, some may find the one-day program too overwhelming.
Day 3 – Small Ring— points 8, 4, 6. There seem to be fewer points on the map, but it took exactly the same amount of time as yesterday: from morning to sunset.
Day 4— point 7 and leaving the park
To be on time everywhere, we got up at 8 am and by 9 we were already at the first object on the list, and returned every day at dusk— and this is basically our usual pace. At times the plans were adjusted by the weather, so if we had been a little lazier, we would have had to throw something out of the route. Fortunately, in the end we managed to watch all of the above, albeit according to an accelerated program.
Well, I thought I’d talk about Yellowstone today, but it turned out to be only preparatory work, a preface or an introduction to the main topic. But you can’t do without important information either, in case someone decides to go. Next time I promise a lot of photos and impressions. See you!
