Yellowstone

Yellowstone has survived for 150 years. Mineral exploitation, logging and poachers were the most serious threats between 1872 and 1916. In the 'The Act of Dedication' (1872), Yellowstone was "set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people". As of October 2021, Yellowstone has already received more than 4 million visitors. The threat to Yellowstone National Park today is primarily heavy visitor usage/footprint and Climate Change.

Best Practices

- all suggestions are meant as general advice when possible and appropriate to your trip planning and schedule

1) Book accommodations months in advance 

2) Stay inside the park (splurge or suffer later)

3) Visit only during weekdays

4) Minimum 2 nights, 3 days

5) Start early 6am to 8am

6) Rest during midday

7) Enjoy heavy visitation areas at dusk

8) Don't be the cause of traffic congestion (don't stop for wildlife unless they are crossing)

9) Buy a National Park Pass ($80) 

10) Be prepared (refillable water container, binoculars, high-zoom camera, etc)

Being an iconic 150 year old park will inevitably include plenty of Historic sites that should not be ignored.

"Yellowstone National Park’s National Historic Landmarks include the Old Faithful Inn, Obsidian Cliff, Fort Yellowstone, Lake Hotel, the Northeast Entrance Station, and the trailside museums at Norris Geyser Basin, Fishing Bridge, and Madison." - Yellowstone Quarterly

Yellowstone fully met and exceeded my expectations during my …

In 1806 when the Lewis and Clark expedition returned through what is now the state of Montana, one of its members broke off early to continue exploring, and encountered what he described as a hellscape, a place of "fire and brimstone" that is now known as Yellowstone National Park. His descriptions inspired more expeditions to survey this land of geothermal activity, where mud boiled, hot water erupted in geysers, and travertine terraces grew on hillsides. In turn, explorers and early environmentalists campaigned to the US government to purchase the land around Yellowstone, creating a national park for the "benefit and enjoyment of the people". In 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park in the United States, and arguably, the world. Almost a century later, it became one of two US sites in the inaugural World Heritage Site cohort in 1978.

I visited Yellowstone for the first time five years ago, in late summer 2015. Summer is very busy at Yellowstone, and lodging can sometimes be challenging, so a friend of mine and I ended up camping in two of the several campgrounds available throughout the park and eating at the many restaurants found in hotels and villages throughout the park. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota had just finished the week before, and summer vacations were finishing up, so there were a lot of fellow visitors. Still, the park was large enough that it didn't feel too crowded once getting away from premier tourist sites such as Old …

We traveled to Yellowstone during the height of tourist season but this did not deter us from seeing the many impressive features that the part has to offer. We also had our young children with us (ages 8 and 5) and this was a wonderful experience for them! Our first order of business was to visit the Albright Visitor Center at Mammoth Hot Springs, where we signed up the kids for the Junior Ranger program (worth it if you are traveling with kids) and where the WHS plaque is located. I suggest that you leave your car parked in the visitor center's parking lot and then walk the short distance to the Mammoth Hot Springs, which is an interesting thermal feature. There are also lots of elk roaming around the town, especially at dusk.

The diversity in animal life is fantastic. Head to the Lamar and/or Hayden Valley to see herds of bison and pronghorn. Twice we experienced a bison bull walking right beside our car. It's mating season so the bulls are on a mission and it's not uncommon to see them walking on the roads. We also saw a wolf at Lamar Valley, much to our delight! Near Mount Washburn, we spotted our only grizzly bear. Our biggest mistake was not bringing any binoculars on this trip. A very kind couple had a telescope set up on a tripod on the side of the road and allowed our family to take turns to see the bear. This was …

I went in 2011/12 during mid-winter. It was cold, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Inn was closed, due to a lack of heating, but it was beautiful to play in the deep snow banks. We sat for hours watching the geysers, and made snowmen. The information center is interesting with Bison pelts and casts of the size of Wolf feet. it truly is beautiful. We went cross country skiing, and saw many Elk, Coyotes, and Bison. I am in love with this place and will definitely visit again.

I planned to make a road trip in US for quite a while, after a lot of information gathering, my travel teammates decided to go to Rocky Mountains and one of our prime destinations was Yellowstone National Park. After many breathtaking views along the way from Utah, like Logan Pass, Bear Lake and Grand Teton National Park, we finally reached Yellowstone almost twilight. The first place we decided to stop was the Duck Lake to enjoy the view of last sunlight on the lake surface, and then we continued to the historic Old Faithful Inn which we booked for three nights. The inn's seven stories lobby was an incredible sight with sophisticating design of countless wooden beams. The next day we saw the famous Old Faithful geyser. The geyser was definitely one of the highlights for me, sadly that my friends already went to Iceland and New Zealand and saw the more impressive one and found Old Faithful quite tamed, not surprised that the comparison with Iceland or New Zealand had always happened in this trip!

Then we saw many hot spring pools and numerous small geysers, many pools had beautiful colors made by bacteria, so it was a brilliant day for photo; the granddaddy of all pools was the Grand Prismatic Pool, this large one had many beautiful colors almost like rainbow, and its bacteria cascades was very interesting to see. The next day we visited the northern part of the park, along the way we …

Simply magnificent!

Natural World Heritage Sites are not really my specialty; however when one is as impressive as this it really has an effect. This was WHS number 200 for me and I couldn’t have picked a better place to celebrate the milestone. Not only is the park full of a vast array of natural wonders but its designation as arguably the world’s first ‘national park preserved for the good of the citizens and generations to come’ is what has eventually led to this list of UNESCO’s that I spend so much time on.

We visited over two, very cold, days in late October. The majority of the parks amenities had closed down, this did limit our eating options a little, but it did mean that there were fewer people in and around the park, and many times it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The only time when there were crowds was for the eruption of Old Faithful, but this was to be expected.

The night before our visit we were having dinner at our friend’s home and they stated that the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was their distinct highlight of the park. I’m really glad they did, up until then it was something that I only had earmarked as a ‘maybe’ however we made it the basis of our first day in the park and I was exceptionally happy we did. The two waterfalls at its western end were magnificent and being so close to …

Yellowstone is an amazing park! It is unlike anything else you have ever experienced. that first look at Old Faithful going up sends chills through you. The beauty of the park lies not only in its' geological uniqueness but but its' rolling plains where you can see bison, deer, wolves, bear....The geysers are beautiful both in their silence and their explosions. Looking into some of those blue pools is like looking into eyes. I happened to experience a sunset by the Old Faithful area. It was one of the most amazing experiences. the sky was a dark orange and the smoke of the geysers intertwined with it. There is so much to do in Yellowstone and a variety of choices on where you can stay. due to its' location; we combined it with a trip to the Tetons.

My family has been to Yellowstone twice, camping on both occasions. In addition to the stunning beauty and remarkable geology, it is simply the best place to watch animals in the United States. None of us will ever forget the morning we woke up with a very large bull bison in the campsite next to ours!

Yellowstone Park is a true treasure. It is my favorite

national park in the USA. The combination of seeing

big game animals and geothermic activity makes for an

extremely memorable experience. The only downside

to Yellowstone is people. It gets hordes of tourists.

My visit coincided with the devastating forest fires of 1994, but not to worry, this is all part of the cycle. The park is so big that there was plenty of unravaged alpine beauty around. The geothermic activity provided an interesting albeit smelly change in scenery. Plus, wildlife is ever-present, especially the very large, very free-roaming buffalo.

I visited Yellowstone National Park in Summer 2001, It is one of the most remarkable natural wonders I have ever seen. The surraounding cliffs of upper Yellowstone Water Fall is actually

Yellow, and emerald color bubbling hot water pools were scary but gushing Old Faithfull is really astonishing.The freely wondering Buffalo and other park animals and evergreen trees brings the nature so close to our hearts. Yellowstone is simply great. Glad I went there.

I have not visited Yellowstone for the past 39 years, but the memories are vivid! No one can write an adequate review of a place like this. It makes you feel as if you're on another planet, with its bubbling hot springs and geysers, spectacular waterfalls, huge lake, rugged mountains, and array of wildlife. Moose, elk, and buffalo are fairly easy to find, and forty years ago, brown bears, or shall I say ignorant or simply stupid tourists, were a problem along the roads! You can hear coyotes in the distance in the summer evenings. This is also a bird lovers' paradise. 39 years of time gone by make it impossible for me to review accomodations, but nature promises to more than accomodate all of your thirst for all that is rugged, raw, and wild. I know I shall not have the privilege of visiting WH sites on other continents, so I know I'll miss a lot, but if you live in North America, and do not take advantage of any opportunity to visit Yellowstone before you leave the earth, you are truly a tragic person!!! :-)