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Yellowstone National Park
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PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
(307) 344-7381
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
(307) 344-7381
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
18 reviews for Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is possibly my favorite place on the planet. And while I have not been to all the places on the planet, I am not sure they will never be able to find their way into my heart and soul like Yellowstone.
It is kind of like a first love.
I have been to the park three times. Once in 1988 (before the fires and a kid view of the park), 2000 (for an extended stay as a park tour guide with the concessionaire, which provided me an opportunity to really take advantage of al the park had to offer, such as ranger lead talks, etc during my free time), and in 2009 (my friends family invited me along, possibly for my robust park knowledge, but maybe also cause I am just fun to be around).
I really feel for the people that try to do Yellowstone in a day, or even just two days. The park is just huge, and there is just so much diversity in the things to see, from wildlife to thermal features, dry sage brush flats, to deep wooded cover. And you don't need to be super outdoorsy type of person to enjoy the park. Besides the numerous boardwalks, ranger guided interpretive walks; there are also lots of very easy and short hikes. And even by walking as much as a mile on an easy to find path, you will feel like you have left everything behind as a whooping 95% of visitors to the park never leave a boardwalk.
That being said the park is a little bit of something for everything. There are hotels, where your meals and beds can be made for you. When I worked in the park I loved to overnight at the Lake Hotel because it meant an evening of a fantastic string quartet that played everything from the classics to Charlie Daniels. There are campsites with amenities such as showers, and general stores, and there are camp sites with a more roughing it appeal, in addition to the backcountry campsites that are available thru a permit thru the ranger station.
Not to plug the tour guides, but I really want to say they are top notch. Yeah I was one of them many years ago. But I can tell you from experience, they really care about the park, and they really care about giving you the best time, while providing accurate information. Spending free time, hiking trails, exploring new information, or just getting to know the park better, provides you with a better tour. If you can take a tour maybe you first day in the park, so then you will have a better idea of what you want to explore further when you are on your own. And now with the reintroduction of the touring coaches (the yellow "whites") there are shorter more area specific tours available if an all day long tour is too much (it is even too much for me when I go to other places and I have been a tour guide in a couple of places GIVING, those tours).
To get the most out of the park, get up early, and stay out late. Animals are most active in the twilight and dusk hours of the day, and they are generally least active in the middle part of the day. Which funny enough, is when the most park visitors are out. You can always go back to wherever you are staying, take a nap while everyone else is sitting in an elk jam because it is the only animals they have seen out in the last 3 hours. Animals are like us, they don't want to be in the heat either.
Wow this is getting long.
In summary Yellowstone is awesome, if I could give it an 11 I would. Go once, and then go again and again. The last time I visited I was only there for 4 days and I managed to see two wolves playing like two puppy dogs in a field. It was unreal considering there were 3 wolves in total (one still in the woods near by) and there were maybe 500 feet from the road, so no one needed a spotting scope to see them.
The park is always changing, always exciting, and always something new to see. Maybe that is why I am considering going back next year to work again.
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Amazing. Unique.
But shall I ever return?
I truly doubt it.
Life does not get any better when these things are happening:
--lying next to a burning campfire looking at a million glittering stars
--waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a pack of wolves howling
--having a group of eight buffalo (two babies!) cross six feet in front of where you're walking
--seeing the mist rise off a river at 7am
--watching a bear lumber slowly along the side of a road
--seeing everything from geysers to hot springs to waterfalls to snow-capped mountains to red rocks to open plains to dense forests in the span of a few hours
--a cheerful chipmunk greeting you as you collapse onto a log after a particularly grueling hike down to a spectacular waterfall
The only place I can imagine all of these beautiful and magical things coming together so harmoniously is Yellowstone. I could sit on the edge of one of the park's many tranquil rivers and watch elk grazing for the rest of my life and be happy camper.
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I love Yellowstone National Park with every bit of my soul, same goes for the Jackson area as well. Which is very ironic since I hate Wyoming! The north-west tip of Wyoming though is like a different state entirely. There are people from all over the world that visit here.
I have walked out most of the geysers that are on the well traveled paths and then some. Seeing the animals not being scared of you which gives you very close views of animals ranging from elk to bears is nothing short of astounding. The geysers and hot pools are beautiful and exotic. Watch out though with geyser water if it sprays you on your glasses, it will scratch them because of the minerals if you don't wipe it off right away. Yellowstone Lake is so huge it feels like you are at the ocean and the sunsets on the lake are wonderful. So many things to see while in the park. It is like a natural Disneyland really and a geologists dream with it's geological activity under the lake and the rest of the park. Truly a rare place. I give my highest amount of stars for this place. Sigh!
Without a doubt Yellowstone National Park is "the big one" - the granddaddy of all of our National Parks. At about 3,400 square miles, the park is massive. When I arrived, I felt so overwhelmed by everything to see (wildlife, thermal features, waterfalls, valleys, canyons, rivers, etc...), that I did not know where to start. From the very rich and diverse wildlife, including bald eagles, bears, bison, elk, etc... to the mind-blowing thermal features like geysers and springs that hiss and moan all day and night, it is one spectacular sight after another. As you turn a corner along the highway, you never know what surprise sight awaits you. Yellowstone is unique in that many of the park's features are accessible from the main road. Therefore, it is very possible to see many of the park's features without getting too far away from your car.
Yellowstone is the kind of place that requires return visits to see everything. It is a place that everyone should experience at least once during their lifetimes.
Countless literature exists on Yellowstone, but here are a few tips that I learned during a recent visit:
1. Probably the most important one - Go into the park with the frame of mind that you are not going to get to see everything on your first visit. With that in mind, pick your battles. Pick areas of the park that seem interesting to you, and see them in great detail. So many people come to Yellowstone and just "drive through" in a touch and go manner and see as much of the park as possible in a short amount of time. This is a mistake. Yellowstone is the kind of place that cannot be "seen," but rather experienced. Take the time to walk around the Upper Geyser Basin. Wait for some of the geysers to erupt. Similarly, don't just drive through the Lamar Valley, but rather slow down... park along the road. Wait. Watch the wildlife. See if an animal will interact with another animal. In other words, experience Yellowstone.
People who zoom past the sights will go home disappointed. Those who slow down to experience Yellowstone will be rewarded with one-of-a-kind lifetime memories.
2. Drive out to the Lamar Valley. Beautiful scenery, off the charts wildlife. This valley is often called America's Serengeti. Look for crowds of people off to the side of the road with telephotos and spotting scopes. You can bet there is something to see if they have this stuff out. People are generally friendly and will let you borrow their scopes if you don't have one. (see next tip) Be here early in the morning (around sunrise) and stay late for the best wildlife viewing.
3. Be sure to bring either a set of binoculars or a spotting scope. Some of the wildlife cannot be seen with the naked eye. The more binoculars or scopes you have in your party, the better, so you won't have to share as much. Cameras - telephoto lenses for the best wildlife photography.
4. Know realistically how long it's going to take to drive from point A to point B. The park's roads are nicely organized in that everything you need to see lies along the roads arranged in a figure eight configuration, with the park's entrances leading into points along the figure 8. But know that it can take 2-3 hours to travel from one end of the park to the other. The roads are steep and curvy in some places. Plus, sometimes you'll have to wait for the bison to finish crossing the road (seriously!), or you'll be stuck in miles long traffic because there is a bald eagle or bear to see up ahead.
5. Don't get annoyed at other drivers because they slow down to take a closer look at the grizzly off to the side of the road. It may be your one-millionth time seeing a grizzly, but to a child in a car that is slowing down, it may be his or her first time seeing one.
6. As you depart Yellowstone, try to leave through the South Entrance. This will take you through the scenic John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, and on to the beautiful Grand Teton National Park (see my separate review).
7. Watch your little ones around the thermal basins! Some kids run around, and they may slip and fall into a hot spring or fumarole that is boiling hot. This would be bad!
8. Know that some of the accommodations inside the park fill up quickly. Plan ahead. If you want to stay inside the park, it's never too early to start making reservations for next summer!
9. Speaking of accomodations, the most central places to stay inside the park are Roosevelt Lodge and anywhere in the Canyon Area. The Lake area is also centrally located, and probably has the most luxurious accommodations. Old Faithful Village has a beautiful Inn, but it might be too far away from some of the more scenic parts of the park.
10. September is not a bad time to visit Yellowstone. The crowds would have died down, and mating season is well underway. The elk rut takes place during this time, and it is possible to see some other great wildlife.
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Old faithful was not as amazing as u would think but everything else was!
so the last time i visited this place was when i was a young lad. it was at the ripe age of about 9. this was also in the middle of winter, and being a young lad from Southern California, it was also my first memory of seeing/playing in snow. it was during this time of my life that i had this thing against wearing pants. no, i didn't walk around flaunting my underdeveloped twig and berries, but i preferred wearing shorts most of the time because it never really got that cold in the suburbs of Los Angeles. i bring this up because during the several days that i was in Yellowstone as a boy, i only wore shorts, with about 3-4 feet of snow throughout the park. now the cold didn't really bother me, but what i didn't realize at the time, was that since the entire park was covered in snow, i couldn't really see what the park looked like.
i bring up these memories of my childhood because i had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone again this August. and because there wasn't snow anywhere to be seen, it was like visiting this National Park for the first time again!
i'm not going to go into all of the highlights of the trip, because you can easily find info on the same things that i saw there, which i found through pamphlets and brochures and such. but needless to say, the park is breathtakingly beautiful. my favorite photo spot had to be the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
the only bad part of our time inside the park was when we first got to the West entrance, the park ranger lady tried to charge us for a 15+ passenger vehicle (which meant $25 per person for 9 people). we ended up paying the regular rate, but she gave us a nasty scowl to go with it. apparently, rangers aren't trained for customer service. anyway, it could only get better from that point right? right.
This place is absoutely huge. Plan on spending a few days to see EVERYTHING. I guess I had really high expectations for Yellowstone before I actually saw it--my reason for the 4-star rating. It did not blow me away like I expectecd it to and having to drive so far for everything with the road construction really killed my excitement for this place.
However; all the things you see in the park are pretty amazing. The crazy amount of bison that you can't miss is awesome. Literally, they will walk across the road and just sit in front of our car--freaking hilarious. We went during mating season....so yeah....LOL
Then there is like a million of those hot springs everywhere and the whole park smells like rotten eggs. I don't really remember the names of any of them but the one right before Great Teton National Park on the south end was really cool. Especially since we caught two rainbows right over them!
Old Faithful....hmmm...to me, it wasn't really worth the 45 minutes to wait for it to burst. But I guess I can say I saw it. Turn on your water faucet and look at it upside down and you'll get the same effect. Haha. P.S. Make sure to get the ice cream and the little lodge because it taste amazing after a day in the park.
Let's see. What else. Go look at the waterfalls...you will def catch some amazing wildlife along the edges. We saw this really cool bird/hawk thing with its two babies...starts with an A...god I suck at naming things.
God, there is so much to see. Just go look at it yourself :) Haha.
There is no question that Yellowstone is the Crème de la Crème of National Parks. I'm not a nature guy, and I thought I was only going to be there to see Old Faithful, but there are infinitely more thing to see and do. The ultimate place to camp! You can read about my experience at http://KananAcrossAmer...
I went here when I was a kids (long ago), and the memories are still fresh in my mind. This is one National Park you should plan to see in your lifetime. The awesomeness of nature in its finest. The sulfuric smell can get to you after a while, but the sights you will see through out the entire park is well worth spending the $$$ to see.
Note: I know you have a camera on your phone, but if you can get your hands on a REAL digital camera, one with multiple lens (telephoto, wide angle, and basic shots) do so, because you could definitely get some calendar shots here.
The big daddy of all our National Parks.
There are some bigger, some more exotic, but this is definitely the most famous and there are some popular things you have to see.
Old Faithful. Actually a bit of a let down once you see it, because people make such a big deal about it and its really just nature's water fountain put on a timer.
Wildlife. (Bison tastes pretty good.)
Paint Pots. (They smell)
The connivance of staying in the car, if you not so outdoorsy, or strapping up and trekking out if you so choose is a big plus.
It gets crowded, which sucks.
Bring your movie camera as well as your picture one.
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Located at the corner of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, I took a car trip out here to view a bit of the majesty that is nature. The caldera of an exploded volcano, you can see that it's been quite some time since the last eruption -- the trees there that have grown for decades, and the ashes from some of the recent forest fires can attest to time since any serious eruptions.
The park itself has well-defined trails and paths - avoid straying from them, as you could easily find yourself in a hot spring, geyser, or other natural phenomenon without warning. Areas of the earth have also been known for mild earthquakes (rarely felt), and smelly gases (sometimes nearly overpoweringly so, with all the sulfur in the area).
Vast open ranges of space allow for viewing of animals as diverse as what it might have been back in the days before the European sweep across the continent - but don't feed the animals, especially the bears! It's against the rules and also endangers you.
With classics like Old Faithful, Steamboat Geyser, the Sylvan Lake, Upper Falls, Yellowstone River, Mammoth Hot Springs, Prismatic lake and countless other geologic and geographic features, young children will delight in viewing various phenomena up-close. One of my favorite areas were the walkways over the flatter areas of the hot springs, filled with colorful bacteria and deep blue waters. Careful, though - it can be hot, you don't want to put your finger in!
Plenty of park information signs as well as park rangers available on the main trails and paths. If you want to explore outside of the heavily tourist-filled areas, you'll find deer paths, bison, and more. You can definitely see how artists found plenty of time to paint and photograph the basin including Ansel Adams famous series of photographs in the National Archives in DC.
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Nothing like tent camping in grizzly country! Lots of wildlife, even if I didn't see any bears. I did glimpse a wolf though...we just missed the pack by a few minutes. Lots of cool geological sites to see, too. I plan on another trip in the future!
Have you never been here? Go! It's the best thing about three states: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. If I was going to live in Wyoming, it would have to be somewhere nearby Yellowstone.
See Old Faithful if you must but truly the most impressive geysers are the ones that every passing tourist isn't hoping to see erupt. Seek out alternatives because there are awesome geysers all over the park.
Also, don't tell Arizona, but they have their very own Grand Canyon! (http://www.answers.com...) I've seen it and it's impressive.
If you wake up early you can drive to an area where Grizzlies are rumored to gather early in the morning. Sadly, there is no sleep-back guarantee.
As an added bonus, it's only a hop, skip and a jump away from the Grand Tetons National Park as well, which offers some truly breathtaking views of the Tetons.
The definitive National Park in my book. I've been to plenty but this one slays the competition.
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I'm not outdoorsy, I don't camp, nor do I fish, and I was drug to Yellowstone as a kid on one too many family road trips. However, I will admit that Yellowstone is truly beautiful, and quite an astonishing feat of nature.
But when I seek refuge in the Wyoming Rockies, I look for peace and tranquility. Sure, there's a lot of peace and tranquility in secluded portions of Yellowstone. But there are also swarms of tourists at Old Faithful who will elbow you out of a good viewing spot as if you've cut them off trying to board an overfull train in Delhi. There are also traffic jams stretching for miles when a poor bison who only wants to be left alone gets surrounded by tourists donning telescopic camera lenses. And just wait until they spot a bear--time comes to a screeching halt for everyone to get their perfect snapshots.
Nonetheless, Yellowstone makes up the fabric of America. Every American ought to experience it at least once. Wait for Old Faithful, if you're patient. Walk through the bubbling Mammoth Hot Springs. Look out at the breathtaking view over the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone". Keep your eyes open for elk, goats, bison, and even those elusive bears.
And for the most peace and tranquility, visit Yellowstone during early summer (May) or late summer (end of August).
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Yes, porn scenery for sure!
It's hot, it's steamy, it smells like sulfur and geysers erupt and blow their load at a predictable time.
Incredible beauty, no doubt!
Get away from Jackson Hole yupies, and spend your stay in one of the many cabins that line the foothills of the Teton National Park.
The drive from Jackson Hole to Yellowstone is breathtaking. It really is, the mountains in the far background appear to be a beautiful oil painting that move with you.
Can you believe the entire Yellowstone park is a huge volcano crater?
We drove out and across Yellowstone on a bright moon-lit night, and the steam rising all around us was quite majestic.
OH! Don't fucken stop in the middle of the road to take a picture with a Bison! Idiot!
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The park is much more than Old Faithful. It is impressive for its massive caldera, about 34 by 45 miles across, formed by the Yellowstone super volcano which eruped, most recently, about 640,000 years ago. The caldera is filled from one end to the other with geysers, boiling mud pots, ponds of scalding water and stinking fumeroles. However, once you've seen one geyser or stinking fumerole, you've seen them all, and the caldera itself is, in large part, rather flat and uninteresting.
Can't believe I'm the first to rate this!!!! I've traveled the world and have never seen such beauty. This is scenery porn at it's finest. The sheer magnitude of the mountains and forests and the ease of escaping the tourist masses make this a vacation that will set your defintion of tranqulity for life. Having a four wheel drive and a sense of adventure will help you punch your adventure card multiple times... Take a few side roads/trails and you will find your happy place. I am truly overwhelmed at the variety of terrain and choices of activities available. See this before you become an invalid. Bring some good optics invest in a pair of quality binoculars it will be worth it.