| They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have had good luck at the lower Hamilton store at Old Faithful. The cafeterias in the lodges are ok but you can easily spend as much as at the main dining rooms which are much better. The only place you can eat and watch Old Faithful erupt is the Old Faithful Lodge cafeteria and this fact alone makes me recommend it for lunch. If you do go there try to avoid the rush right after Old Faithful erupts. If you wait 20 minutes there is usually almost no line.
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There are a number of campgrounds in the park. You can ONLY camp at designated camp sites. Starting in 1995 three of the campgrounds are being turned over to TW Recreation Services, a park concessionaire. These three Madison, Grant Village and Canyon will take reservations starting April 1, 1995. You can make reservations by contacting TW at (307)344-7901 or (307)344-7311. Since this is a new procedure I do not know how it will work. A person at TW said that they would be taking and ENCOURAGING reservations. The policy will be to reserve all sites if possible; none will be held out for 'drop ins'.
Reservations for Bridge Bay can be obtained through MISTIX at 1-800-365-2267 and reservations at Fishing Bridge RV park (hard sided campers only because of bear habitat in the area) can be reserved from TW at (307)344-7311. Fishing Bridge campground is scheduled to be removed and when you read this it may already have been removed so, if you are planning to use this campground, you may want to call and find out if it is still open.
All other campgrounds in the park are run by the National Park Service on a first come first served basis. These campgrounds fill early so try to get to them by no later than 10:00 a.m. and even that might be too late.
Camp Ground | # sites |cost*| approx. dates open | Comments**
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Bridge Bay | 420 | $10 | late may-late sept |R,DW,FT,S,FG,DS,
Canyon | 280 | $8 | early june-early sept|R,DW,FT,S,FG,DS,
Fishing Bridge| 345 | $19 | late may-early sept |R, ,FT,S, ,DS,H
Grant Village | 403 | $9 | late may-late sept |R,DW,FT, ,FG,DS,
Indian Creek | 75 | $6 | early june-mid sept | ,DW,pt, ,FG, ,
Lewis Lake | 85 | $6 | mid june-late oct | ,DW,pt, ,FG, ,
Madison | 292 | $8 | early may-late oct |R,DW,FT, ,FG,DS,
Mammoth | 85 | $8 | all year | ,DW,FT, ,FG, ,
Norris | 116 | $8 | mid may-late sept | , ,FT, , , ,
Pebble Creek | 36 | $6 | mid may-early sept | ,DW,pt, ,FG, ,
Slough Creek | 29 | $6 | late may-late oct | ,DW,pt, ,FG, ,
Tower Fall | 32 | $6 | late may-mid oct | ,DW,pt, ,FG, ,
Price as of 1994 ** R -Reservations possible (See explanation at the top of this section) DW -Drinking water
FT -Flush toilet
pt -pit/chemical toilet
S -Showers (See note below)
FG -Fire grates
DS -Disposal site
H -Hook ups
Showers at Canyon, Fishing Bridge and Grant Village campgrounds and Old Faithful Lodge (not the Inn) and Mammoth Hotel (I have not used this one but have not had problems with the others) can be used by anyone at a small charge.
There are numerous free places to camp in the national forests around the park.
Camping in the backcountry requires a free permit. These permits can only be obtained in person not more than 48 hours prior to use. You can obtain permits at the ranger stations or visitor centers.
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Lodging in the park fills fast so try to make reservations early. Accommodations in the park range from very nice and modern with tub and shower to rustic cabins with only a sink to canvas walled structures with no plumbing. All lodging does have nearby access to restrooms and showers but none has televisions or radios. My favorite is the rustic Old Faithful Lodge cabins. It is relatively cheap (the park service regulates the prices so they are comparable to the surrounding communities) and centrally located to many of the sights in the park. I always enjoy seeing an eruption of Old Faithful on my way to the shower in the morning. The other lodging at Old Faithful also has the benefit of excellent location. Other good locations are at Lake, Grant Village and to a lesser extent Canyon.
If you can't find rooms in the park try the gateway towns. West Yellowstone is the closest to most of the sights and has over 50 motels. The unfortunate thing about the gateway towns and the lodging at Mammoth and Roosevelt is that they all are a long distance from most areas of interest in the park so you will be spending a lot of time driving just to see anything. But if this is all you can get don't worry too much because you won't notice the difference unless you've stayed in the park on a previous trip.
Motels in West Yellowstone and Gardiner Montana are listed at the travel Montana URL site:
http://www.mt.gov/commerce/travel/tmhome.htm Phone: 800-541-1447 or 406-444-2654
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The elevation along the roads of Yellowstone range from about 5500' near Gardiner to 8800' at Dunraven Pass. Most of the park is on a plateau ranging from 7000' to 8000'. On clear days in the spring and fall temperatures can range from freezing in the morning to near 80F in the afternoon or can be consistently cold. In the summer it can be hot or cold and conditions can change quickly (the summer of 1994 temperatures were commonly in the 80's, a couple of years ago it snowed on the Fourth of July). The best bet is to be prepared for wide temperature variations.
April, May and June have the most rain. July and August are the driest and warmest. September and early October are cooler but can be very nice.
No matter when you go take sun screen. The high elevation causes many to burn easily.
Recorded weather forecasts are available by calling the park headquarters at (307) 344-7381.
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Pamphlets
There are interpretive pamphlets that describe the Upper Geyser Basin, Canyon, Norris, Fountain Paint Pot, Mammoth and Mud Volcano areas. These pamphlets are available at the starts of the trails through these areas and at the visitor centers. You can keep the pamphlet for $.25 (1994) or just borrow it at the trail head for free if you return it. All of these pamphlets are worthwhile and will help interpret some of what you are seeing. They also make a cheap souvenir.
Tour books
One of the best tour books of Yellowstone that I have found that does not go into too much detail is 'Fodor's National Parks of the West'. Another good book that also contains information about the surrounding areas including some lodging in West Yellowstone and Gardiner Montana is Moon Publication's 'Wyoming Handbook'. The problem I have with the handbook is that it goes into way too much detail for my tastes. A guide devoted entirely to Yellowstone that not only has good information but also has many nice pictures is 'Hamilton's Guide to Yellowstone National Park'.
Other Books
A good book of trails is Mark C. Marschall's 'Yellowstone Trails'. The geyser reference book is T. Scott Bryan's 'Geysers of Yellowstone'. An interesting account of the first formal expedition into the park, at least after the first couple of chapters, is Nathaniel P. Langford's 'Discovery of Yellowstone National Park'. A good presentation of Yellowstone history before and after the parks formation is Aubrey L. Haines' two volume 'The Yellowstone. These and many other books of interest can be found at the visitor centers.
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Admission to the park costs $10 per personal vehicle or $4 per person for those entering on foot, bicycle or commercial vehicle. The pass is valid for seven days and covers both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. An annual pass valid for both parks costs $15. The Golden Eagle pass is an annual pass covering all national parks, monuments etc. (except tours such as Carlsbad Caverns). It can be purchased at the entrance gate for $25. Those over 62 and the passengers in their vehicle get into the park for free. This was called the Golden Age Passport but the park service has stopped issuing the card and now just looks at proof of age. The Golden Access Passport for disabled individuals also provides free access to the card holder and those in their vehicle. Those with Golden Age and Golden Access Passports are also eligible for a 50% reduction in campground fees. All prices are as of 1994.
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(14) Miscellaneous comments:
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The crowds are largest in Summer between about the third week of June and the end of August. Spring and Fall are less crowded than the summer and the weather can be nice. In Spring and Fall the crowds are the largest on the weekends especially on three day weekends. In the Summer the crowds are the largest during mid-week especially on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Other recommendations:
A nice SHORT WALK is out to Artist Paint Pots.
A nice BIKE RIDE is from Kepler Cascades to Lone Star geyser. It also makes a nice half day hike but the bike is better.
A 3 MILE LOOP HIKE that shows the affect of the 1988 fires is to Mystic falls and onto the Upper Geyser Basin overlook.
A nice RELAXING EVENING is dinner at Old Faithful Inn followed by sitting in front of the fire in the lobby.
My favorite PICNIC SPOT is at the end of Fountain Flat Drive past Goose lake. It is located between Feather lake and the Firehole river at the very end of the road. Other nice picnic spots are: across the Chittenden bridge just upstream from the canyon; across the road from Undine falls (between Mammoth and Tower) along Lava creek; on the south side of Dunraven pass; and many nice spots around Yellowstone lake.
West Yellowstone is the CLOSEST TOWN to most of the sights.
Prepare yourself for SLOW TRAFFIC at times. People that come prepared for the traffic usually handle the situation much better.
Try to get out onto a back country trail for some peace and quiet. The most IMPRESSIVE ENTRANCE to the park is the northeast entrance through Cooke City. This entrance traverses the Beartooth highway which has a maximum elevation of 10940' and goes through beautiful alpine scenery. It is not a fast road. Of course, the south entrance through Grand Teton National Park is also very impressive.
The BUFFALO BILL MUSEUM in Cody is considered one of the best museums of western art and artifacts in the world. Even avowed museum haters have said they liked this one.
Final Thoughts:
Definitely try to see Grand geyser erupt. It is bigger and lasts longer than Old Faithful and you are closer to it than you are to Old Faithful.
Be adventuresome. Use these recommendations to get started and then take your own advice and make the adventure your own.
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Disclaimer:
I have no affiliation with Yellowstone N.P. or any of the businesses mentioned above. All opinions are my own.
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David Monteith * *
dmonteit@eecs.wsu.edu * A watched geyser may erupt *
* Pullman Washington * *
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