 Yellowstone National Park
Getting To Yellstone NP
The principal airport serving Yellowstone is the Jackson Hole Airport located inside Grand Teton National Park. Other airports can be found in Billings and Bozeman in Montana, and in Cody.
The park has 5 entrances. The nearest cities to each entrance are given. Most are within 5 miles of the park boundary.
- North - Accessed from Gardiner (which is reached via route 89 from Livingston) - This entrance leads to the park headquarters at Mammoth Hot Springs, 5 miles inside the park boundary. This entrance road is open all year.
- Northeast - Accessed from Silver Gate and Cooke City via route 212. This entrance road is open all year, though you cannot use route 212 in winter.
- East - Accessed from Cody, East Yellowstone and Wapiti Valley. This entrance is closed in winter (early November to early May).
- South - Accessed via Grand Teton National Park. This entrance is closed in winter (early November to early May).
- West - Accessed via route 20 from West Yellowstone. This entrance is closed in winter (early November to late April).
Getting Around in Yellowstone
By car
Most visitors use private vehicles to get around inside Yellowstone National Park. There is no public transportation available within the park. Roads can become very crowded whenever people stop to view wildlife; use pullouts, and be respectful of other motorists to help avoid bear-jams.
By bus
Xanterra Resorts provides bus tours within the park during the summer season. The Lower Loop Tour departs from locations in the southern part of the Park only. The Upper Loop Tour departs from Lake Hotel, Fishing Bridge RV Park, and Canyon Lodge to tour the northern section of the park only. The Grand Loop Tour departs from Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to tour the entire park in one day. During the winter season snowcoach tours are provided from various locations. Call (307) 344-7311 for information or reservations.
In addition, during the summer season, commercial businesses offer tours originating from many area towns and cities. During the winter season, some businesses provide snowcoach tours for most park roads or bus transportation on the Mammoth Hot Springs to Cooke City road.
By bicycle
Cycling in the park can be a very rewarding experience, but due to the great distances in the park some additional planning to ensure that lodging is available each night. The park reserves a number of campsites for cyclists, but during the busy summer season it is probably best to reserve sites in advance wherever possible.
|
