Yellowstone National Park is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone, the first National Park in the U.S. and widely held to be the first national park in the world, is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.
This is definitely a trip any nature lover should take, you could easily spend a week in the park if you are a hiker, but even if you don’t like to stray too much from your vehicle it would take a couple of days to see all the main sights. There are two main loops in the park, much like a figure 8 with most of the geothermal events being on the lower loop and the waterfalls and scenic vistas on the upper loop. The animals, well, they go wherever they want, so drive carefully, keep your eyes peeled and your camera handy. One word of caution, on certain days trucks are allowed to transit through the park so make sure you pull fully off the road into a designated turnout if you are stopping to enjoy nature.
Bozeman, MT
Bozeman is a small town in Montana that has a lot to offer with a nice main street with plenty of restaurants and bars. The airport is small but modern with all the conveniences you would expect. The surrounding area is absolutely beautiful and I was lucky enough to be there in the fall when the leaves were turning.
Cody, WY
Cody is smaller than Bozeman and aimed more towards visitors to Yellowstone National Park and tries to keep up the “small town U.S.A.” feel complete with a wild west theme and rodeo. The town is small enough that you can easily walk the main street, do plenty of shopping and find some great places to eat. Great steak and rib restaurants, and yes, you can even get bison burgers in a number of places.
Yellowstone National Park
This is truly a great park for so many reasons. Some people will like all the geothermal activity (geysers, mud pots, etc.) others the waterfalls, for me, it’s all about the animals. Definitely something for everyone in this park and it is well equipped to handle the crowds with plenty of restaurants and places to enjoy the scenery, however many of the popular sites do have limited parking and although many of the animals are accustomed to humans and our vehicles, we do need to keep our distance. These are wild animals and unpredictable, they don’t know your intent, so keep your distance and help keep the animals wild. Together everyone (animal and human) can enjoy everything the area has to offer.
There are many books and maps for Yellowstone but most of what you will need can be found on the U.S.A. National Park service pages for Yellowstone. They also have one of the better maps I have seen which has a good balance between detail and ease of reading.
The U.S.A National Park Service Yellowstone website: https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm
The U.S.A National Park Service Yellowstone map website: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/maps.htm
The below pictures are from my trips in late September 2007 and mid-July 2016.
Logistics
I have been lucky enough to go to Yellowstone National Park twice.
The first time, in October 2007, I was in Bozeman, MT, for business and stayed an extra day to make a day trip to the park. The west entrance of the park was a 90 minute drive, I cannot say how scenic it as I left Bozeman well before the sun came up and didn’t leave the park until sunset that night, to maximize my time in the park.
The second trip, in July 2016, was a pleasure trip, with the only goal being to see the park. It was a four-day trip, with days 1 and 4 being reserved for flights to and from Cody, WY. Don’t think big jet planes, as most of the airports that serve Yellowstone are small and only handle small commercial jets. Cody is about 50 miles from the eastern entrance of the park. Cody is a smaller town than Bozeman but is ready for the tourists visiting the park and has enough to keep your interest if you decide to stay in town for the day. You might even find mule deer wandering through town.
Yes, you will definitely need a rental car regardless of which airport you fly into, unless, of course, you drove to the area. Remember to drive carefully as there are plenty of animals in the area and they don’t know what park boundaries are. 🙂
Cheers, Nigel
Kristi
Great shots!!!! Love the animals! Kristi
Karl
Fabulous photos! Great pics of wildlife and the geysers.
DonaLeigh
great pictures! you’ve re-inspired me to put Yellowstone back on my short list of vacations
Nigel
It’s definitely a wonderful park with the geothermals for the landscape fans, all the animals for the nature lovers, and all the modern conveniences for the general tourist. 🙂
Bruce Dunn
Beautify Nigel – thanks for sharing these. I appreciate the blog info too…