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Within Yellowstone's 2.2 million acres, visitors have unparalleled opportunities to observe wildlife in an intact ecosystem, explore geothermal areas that contain about half the world’s active geysers, and view geologic wonders like the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
- Plan Your Visit
Millions of people visit Yellowstone annually to make...
- Lodging
Yellowstone National Park Lodges operates nine lodges...
- Fees
You are required to pay an entrance fee in order to access...
- Maps
We also have a printable full map (848 KB PDF) of...
- Current Conditions
The weather in Yellowstone can change quickly, especially...
- Webcams
The arch became known as Roosevelt Arch after President...
- Calendar
Throughout the summer, Yellowstone National Park has...
- Attend Indigenous Cultural Events
The center is a partnership between the National Park...
- Camp in The Backcountry
Hundreds of miles of trails facilitate travel throughout the...
- Fishing Bridge RV Park
National Park Service Search. Search This Site All NPS Open...
- Plan Your Visit
- 12 min
- No Vehicle Reservations Required. Vehicle reservations are not required to enter the park – just a park entrance pass. Save time at entrance stations by purchasing your pass online before you arrive.
- Check Road Statuses. Most park roads open to regular vehicles in mid-April and close to wheeled vehicles (cars, vans, motorcycles, etc.) in early November.
- Plan Ahead. All campgrounds and lodging require a reservation and are usually fully well in advance of your trip. Operating hours and service levels can change with little notice.
- Give Wildlife Room. Wild animals are dangerous if you get too close! People have been injured or killed by bears, bison, and elk. Always maintain a minimum of 25 yards (23 m) from all wildlife and 100 yards (91 m) from bears and wolves.
Yellowstone National Park is a national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.
May 23, 2024 · Yellowstone National Park is a wonderland of geothermal activity, stunning landscapes, and abundant wildlife. Steam hisses out of the ground along walking trails, bison stop cars in their tracks on the main park road, and technicolor hot springs never fail to amaze even the most seasoned traveler.
- Visit in Shoulder Season
- Book Accommodation Well in Advance
- Check That The Roads Are Open
- Keep Your Distance!
- Carry Bear Spray
- Practice Your Western Pronunciation
- Be Prepared For Limited Cell Phone Reception
- See The Most Popular Sights from A Different Perspective
- Make Use of Park Intel to Maximize Your Time
- Read Up on The Park
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 fabul...
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 Nation...
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 Jun...
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’...
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 co...
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 elder...
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 w...
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 Overlookin the Tower-Roosevelt area, for example, is most commonly accessed via an often-full roadside parking lot, but it’s possible to hike an h...
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 Centerin the north of the park detai...
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-...
Feb 5, 2024 · Yellowstone has something for everyone. Whether you delight in the challenge of a strenuous hike or prefer to sit quietly and watch the sunset, the park offers a great diversity of activities for you to enjoy.
Apr 12, 2019 · Everything to know about Yellowstone National Park. Here’s what to see and do in the world’s first national park. By Joe Yogerst. April 12, 2019. • 20 min read. Fast Facts. Location: Wyoming,...
