Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is the flagship of the National Park Service and a favorite to millions of visitors each year. The park is a major destination for all members of the family. By driving the grand loop road, visitors can view the park from the comfort of their vehicle and also take a rest at one of the many roadside picnic areas. For the active visitor, the park has thousands of miles of trails from dayhikes to backcountry explorations. The main attractions are all located on the grand loop road and here are some of the top reasons to visit the park. This site has a lot of the information you need for your trip and you may also consider our dvd "The Wonders of Yellowstone" to help you plan your visit. * World's First National Park * 2,219,789 acres (Larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined) * Wildlife - 7 species of ungulates (bison, moose, elk, pronghorn), 2 species of bear and 67 other mammals, 322 species of birds, 16 species of fish and of course the gray wolf. * Plants - There are over 1,100 species of native plants, more than 200 species of exotic plants and over 400 species of thermopholes. * Geology - The park is home to one of the world's largest calderas with over 10,000 thermal features and more than 300 geysers. It has one of the world's largest petrifiied forests. It has over 290 waterfalls with the 308' Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River as it's showpiece. * Yellowstone Lake is the largest (132 sq. mi.) high altitude (7,732') lake in north america. * 9 visitor centers * 12 campgrounds (over 2,000 campsites)

How to get to Yellowstone

North Entrance - Near the gateway community of Gardiner, MT, the North Entrance is the only park entrance open to wheeled vehicles all year. November through April, the North Entrance provides the only access to Cooke City, MT. US Highway 212 east of Cooke City is closed to wheeled vehicles November through April. The road from Mammoth to Norris is open to wheeled vehicles from the third Friday in April through the first Sunday in November, and to commercially guided, tracked oversnow vehicles usually from about December 15 to the Monday of the first full week in March (weather and snowpack permitting). Closest airline service is Bozeman, MT. See the Operating Hours and Seasons for more information. Services are available year around. West Entrance - Adjacent to the town of West Yellowstone, MT, the West Entrance is open to wheeled vehicles from the third Friday in April through the first Sunday in November, and to commercially guided, tracked oversnow vehicles from December 15 to March 15, weather and snowpack permitting. Closest airline service is West Yellowstone, MT, Bozeman, MT, Idaho Falls, ID, and Salt Lake City, UT. See the Operating Hours and Seasons for more information. Services are available year around. South Entrance - Open to wheeled vehicles from the second Friday

of May through the first Sunday in November, and to commercially guided, tracked oversnow vehicles from December 15 to March 15, weather and snowpack permitting. Limited services are available near the South Entrance. Closest airline service to the South Entrance is Jackson, WY. See the Operating Hours and Seasons for more information. East Entrance - Open to wheeled vehicles from the first Friday of May through the first Sunday in November, and to commercially guided, tracked oversnow vehicles from December 22 to March 1, weather, snowpack, and avalanche conditions permitting. Limited services are available near the East Entrances. Closest airline service to the East Entrance is Cody, WY. See the Operating Hours and Seasons page for more information and the Road Construction Schedule for information about possible delays. Northeast Entrance - Near the gateway communities of Silver Gate and Cooke City, MT, this entrance is open year around for wheeled vehicle access to Cooke City through Gardiner, MT and the North Entrance. Opening dates for roads east of Cooke City vary from year to year, depending on the weather. The Beartooth Highway is open from late May/early June (weather dependent) to mid October. Storms occasionally temporarily close the Beartooth Highway during this "open" period. See the Operating Hours and Seasons and Road Construction Schedule for more information. Closest airline service is Billings, MT. Services are available year around. Airline and Bus Transportation Commercial airlines serve the following airports near Yellowstone National Park all year: Cody and Jackson, WY; Bozeman and Billings, MT, and Idaho Falls, ID. The West Yellowstone, MT airport is serviced from June to early September from Salt Lake City, UT. Bus service from Bozeman, MT to West Yellowstone, MT via Highway 191 is available all year. Bus service directly from Idaho to West Yellowstone is limited to the summer months. Commercial transportation from Bozeman, MT to Gardiner, MT is available during the winter and summer seasons. Commercial transportation to the park from Cody and Jackson, WY is available during the summer season. Train service is not available to Yellowstone National Park. The nearest train depots are in southeast Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah and northern Montana. Contact Amtrak for specific schedules.