Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park offers extraordinary recreation — watching Old Faithful and exploring the geyser basins and hot springs (the Upper, Midway and Lower basins, Grand Prismatic Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs), gazing into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and its waterfalls, watching wildlife in the Lamar and Hayden valleys (bison, wolves, bears, elk), hiking the backcountry, boating and fishing Yellowstone Lake, scenic driving the Grand Loop, camping, and ranger programs. Taking in the geothermal wonders and the wildlife are the signature draws. The combination of geysers, canyon, lake and abundant wildlife makes Yellowstone a premier and unforgettable destination.

Summer (roughly June through August) is the prime season, with all roads and services open, the best access, and active wildlife — though it is the busy peak. Spring and fall bring fewer crowds, baby animals (spring) or the elk rut and fall color, and good wildlife viewing, though weather is variable and some facilities are seasonal. Winter transforms the park into a snowy wonderland (with steaming geysers and wildlife), accessible mainly by snowcoach, snowmobile or ski (most roads close). Summer for full access, spring and fall for wildlife and fewer crowds, and winter for solitude are highlights.

Yellowstone holds a monumental place in history as the world’s first national park, established by an act of Congress in 1872 — a revolutionary idea that the wonders of nature should be preserved for all people, which inspired national parks around the globe. The region had been home to Native peoples for thousands of years, and its geothermal wonders, reported by trappers and confirmed by expeditions, astonished the nation. The park’s creation launched the national park movement. Yellowstone preserves the geothermal wonders, the wildlife and the wild landscape, a treasured and historic birthplace of the very idea of national parks.

Yellowstone sits atop one of the world’s largest active volcanic systems — a ‘supervolcano’ fueled by a hotspot deep in the Earth, whose massive eruptions (the last great one some 640,000 years ago) formed the vast Yellowstone Caldera. This volcanic heat, close to the surface, powers the park’s extraordinary geothermal features: the geysers (where superheated water erupts), the hot springs (like the rainbow Grand Prismatic, colored by heat-loving microbes), the mudpots and fumaroles — the greatest concentration on Earth. The Yellowstone River also carved the spectacular, colorful Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The living volcano and its heat make Yellowstone a geological wonder.

Yellowstone hosts one of the greatest concentrations of large wildlife in the lower United States — vast herds of bison (the park has the nation’s largest wild population), elk, grizzly and black bears, gray wolves (famously reintroduced in 1995, now thriving), coyotes, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, moose, and a rich community of birds, including trumpeter swans, bald eagles and ospreys. The Lamar and Hayden valleys are renowned for wildlife watching. Yellowstone is one of the finest places in America for watching wild animals, with the bison, the wolves, the grizzlies and the great herds among the unforgettable highlights of this wild ecosystem.

Yellowstone National Park is the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact temperate ecosystems on Earth, where forests, sagebrush valleys, rivers, lakes, geothermal areas and alpine country support an extraordinary abundance of wildlife and a nearly complete native fauna, including the restored gray wolf and the grizzly bear. The geothermal features harbor unique heat-loving microorganisms (extremophiles) found in few other places. The reintroduction of wolves famously reshaped the ecosystem. Protecting this vast, intact ecosystem — its wildlife, its geothermal wonders and its wild landscape — sustains a globally significant natural treasure.

Yellowstone National Park holds a treasured and monumental place as the world’s first national park and the birthplace of the national park idea, a concept it gave to the world. Its geothermal wonders, its abundant wildlife, and its vast wild landscape have inspired awe, science and conservation for over 150 years, drawing millions from around the globe. Sacred and significant to Native peoples and central to the American conservation movement, Yellowstone embodies both the wonder of the natural world and the revolutionary idea of preserving it. It is a cherished icon of America and one of the great natural wonders on Earth.

Yellowstone National Park is in northwestern Wyoming (extending into Montana and Idaho), with five entrances reached via gateway towns — the South (from Grand Teton/Jackson), West (West Yellowstone, MT), North (Gardiner, MT), Northeast (Cooke City, MT) and East (Cody) entrances — about an hour from Jackson and accessible from regional airports. An entrance fee applies. The park offers visitor centers, lodges, campgrounds, the Grand Loop Road, geyser basins, the canyon and the wildlife valleys. Most roads and services are seasonal (summer); winter access is by snowcoach/snowmobile. Check the National Park Service for road status, lodging and conditions before visiting.

The National Park Service protects the geothermal wonders, the wildlife, the canyon, the lake and the vast wild ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park. Visitors help by staying on boardwalks and trails in the geothermal areas (the thin crust and scalding water are deadly), keeping required distances from wildlife (at least 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 from others — never approach or feed them), storing food properly in bear country, not throwing anything into the features, packing out everything, and following permits and Leave No Trace. Protecting the geothermal features, the wildlife and the intact ecosystem sustains this globally significant treasure.

Yellowstone is wild and dangerous — in the geothermal areas, stay strictly on the boardwalks and trails (the thin crust can break, plunging you into scalding, acidic water that has killed people; never touch or enter the features). Keep far from wildlife: bison and elk gore and kill careless visitors every year, and bears are dangerous — stay at least 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 from bison and elk, never approach or feed them, carry bear spray in the backcountry, and store food. Watch for sudden mountain weather and altitude. Respect the geothermal hazards, the wildlife and the wilderness above all.

An entrance fee applies. Stay strictly on boardwalks and trails in geothermal areas; do not touch, enter or throw anything into the features. Keep required wildlife distances (100 yards from bears/wolves, 25 from others); never approach or feed wildlife. Store food in bear-proof storage; carry bear spray in the backcountry. Backcountry camping and boating require permits. Camp only in designated areas. Pets are restricted. Drones are prohibited. Collecting is prohibited. Pack out all trash. Most roads are seasonal. Check the National Park Service for permits, road status and current rules before visiting.

Grand Teton National Park lies just to the south (connected by the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway), with the gateway towns of Jackson (and Jackson Hole), West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Cody, the surrounding national forests of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and the Beartooth Highway in the region. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem defines the region. Yellowstone, with adjacent Grand Teton, anchors the premier wilderness region of the Northern Rockies, a centerpiece of an American national-park journey to the birthplace of the park idea and one of the wildest landscapes in the lower United States.

Watch Old Faithful erupt and explore the geyser basins and the rainbow Grand Prismatic Spring (staying strictly on the boardwalks, as the crust and scalding water are deadly), gaze into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and — above all — watch wildlife in the Lamar and Hayden valleys at dawn and dusk (bison, wolves, bears, elk), keeping a safe distance and carrying bear spray. Visit in summer for full access (booking lodging far ahead), spring/fall for wildlife and fewer crowds, or winter for the snowy wonderland. Pair Yellowstone with adjacent Grand Teton.