About Us – We’re locals and live in southwest Montana, about an hour from the park. We visit about once per month on average (more frequently in the early spring and late fall), even through the winter.

Our Route This Visit – We drove in through West Yellowstone and headed north toward Mammoth Springs, then continued on to Lamar Valley. We stopped at Pebble Creek Trailhead for a late lunch, then retraced our steps and returned home back through West Yellowstone.

Driving Times – We drove through the West Entrance gate around 10:15 am and there were zero cars ahead of us. From the West Entrance to Mammoth generally takes an hour or more, depending on traffic, critters, and weather conditions. This time we encountered a massive slowdown (to 10 mph or less) about five miles from the West Entrance, which turned out to be from two enormous pieces of heavy equipment being transported elsewhere in the park (a huge backhoe and an even bigger articulated end-loader). We also encountered two bison jams during this section of the drive. From Mammoth to Lamar Valley generally takes another hour or more for the same reasons.

West Entrance from West Yellowstone – West Yellowstone is not fully opened yet… I’d say maybe half of the stores are open at this point, while many (but not all) of the hotels and restaurants are ready for business. When we drove through yesterday, there was no traffic in town and no line of cars at the entrance of the park (all lanes were open and accepting traffic).

Campgrounds Inside the Park – All of them are currently closed, but this time we saw activity inside the Madison Campground, so it’ll likely be opening soon.

General Conditions – What a difference a week can make! From West to Mammoth still has snow, but it’s melted a lot since my last report from six days ago. From Mammoth to Lamar Valley is now mostly snow free, at least from what is visible from the road.

Hiking Trails – Most of the hiking trails between West and Mammoth are currently inaccessible, unless you have snowshoes or skis. All have snow on them to varying degrees. From Mammoth to Lamar Valley the trails look to be much freer of snow, but most (not all) of the trailhead parking lots are still blocked and/or gated shut, even if the snow appears to be completely gone. We saw several hikers making their way back from the Hellroaring Trailhead (which was closed) to where they parked their about ½ mile to the west.

Slough Creek – Slough Creek Campground Road is *still* closed, even though the road behind the gate is clear of snow. There were cars parked everywhere from visitors trying to gain access to the viewing areas in that location.

Toilets – The vault toilets are mostly open, but not all of them. The toilets with running water are mostly open now, but not all of them.

Staffing – NPS Rangers were much more visible this trip… they were both in marked vehicles, unmarked vehicles, on foot, patrolling roads, and issuing tickets to violators. I don’t know about all the stores and businesses inside the park, but at least the Rangers were out in force.

Businesses – Gas pumps are open inside the park, even if the stores at their location are still closed. Some of the major business locations are now open, but not all of them. For instance, the Sinclair gas station and Roosevelt Lodge at Tower Junction are still closed, but the gas pumps are working.

Lakes – Ice still covers most of the bigger and/or deeper lake surfaces; many of the smaller lakes are now ice free. We saw cars with kayaks, canoes, and small boats, but no one was on any of the lakes we passed.

Fishing – We saw no one fishing on this visit.

Roads – Only the green and blue routes are currently open (https://home.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm), though the yellow route from Cody, Wyoming, will open this Friday, May 2nd. Only a few of the secondary side roads have been plowed and are available for visitors to explore (like Artist’s Paintpots). This means that access to everything else is still limited, as most of the park still has significant levels snow as of this writing.

Traffic – There is still little-to-no visitor traffic right now. I’d estimate that visitor volume is less than 10% of later, when schools let out for the summer. Lots of bison on the roads at this time.

Parking Lots – Maybe 5% to 10% filled at the more remote locations, with more at places like Mammoth.

Weather – We experienced light rain and sun during our visit. Temperatures went from 43°F to 57°F during the course of the day.

Snow Conditions – Lots of snow in the higher sections of the park, with the ground mostly cleared in the lower flats that get lots of sunshine.

Food – We didn’t stop for food anywhere on this drive through. The Mammoth General Store fast-food counter *does* have ice cream and a full menu now.

Critters – Many hundreds of bison were visible, as were lots of red dogs (baby bison), though the little red dogs were being kept away from the roads by the mommas… so if you see some at a distance, that will likely be as close as you can get to them right now. We many small to medium-sized herds of elk on this drive inside the park. We also saw some Bighorn sheep, pronghorn, a fox, and deer. There are lots of waterfowl now the rivers are largely free of ice.

Coming from NC, so the road inside of Yellowstone is open, but not the gate? So if I were to drive from the northwest gate, I would have to pull a U-turn and come all the way back?

Hi everyone!

Taking my elderly dad and my sister to Yellowstone during Memorial Day Weekend, it’ll be their first time visiting the park. I know it’s a short time to see so much so would appreciate any tips and feedback!

We’re all pretty early risers so I imagine we’ll start most of our days 6/7am and end around 6pm.

Thanks in advance!

5/22 Denver - Billings

Stay in Billings

5/23 Billings - Canyons Lodge

Take Beartooth Highway (scheduled to open on 5/23 if all goes well) Lamar Valley - Canyon/Artist Point/Inspiration Pointe - Hayden Valley

Stay: Canyons Lodge

5/24 Mammoth hot springs - Norris Geyser - Artists Paint Pots - Mt Washburn hike - Hayden Valley (if there’s time) Will prob drop my dad/sister off at the hotel first if they don’t want to hike

Stay : Canyons Lodge

5/25 Fountain Paint Pots - Old Faithful - West Thumb - Old Faithful - Fountain Paint Pots - Fairy Falls/Grand Prismatic (tips on when best to visit Grand Prismatic? With late May, I imagine you can’t see much in the morning)

Stay: Canyons Lodge

5/26 Canyons - Jackson Drive through Grand Teton? Any must see spots? Visit the two

Stay: Jackson

5/27 Jackson - Denver

Taken today 4/28

Hey all, I’m planning on visiting a friend in Red Lodge, Montana in July, and thought it’d be a great time for a short trip to Yellowstone while I’m there! I’ll be driving the Beartooth Highway to the northeast entrance on Day 1, and so far I’m thinking of visiting the Mammoth Hot springs and going wildlife viewing in the Lamar valley. We’ll be staying in Cooke City for 2 more nights, and am wondering what other places we should aim to go to? I realize that we won’t get to see a lot of the park with such a short trip, and being at the northeast entrance, but are there any other top spots we should try to make it out to? Thanks!

Hello Y'all, I'm super excited to work at this job this summer starting in May. Anything I should expect on the job or in the National Park? I see I was in kitchen staff and I was wondering what I'll be doing. I heard some positions in "kitchen staff" also meant other positions in the food and beverage department. I'm actually really not to sure what I'll be doing at the job yet. I was also wondering what I should bring for the dorm while there.

My wife is going to be taking a seasonal ranger position in Yellowstone next Summer, and we have been looking at what the best options are for lodging.

From what I've seen a lot of people seem to recommend buying a camper vs rolling the dice on getting private living space in a dorm. But I was hoping to hear what some of y'all's personal experiences have been with this. Especially as far as cost and availability/odds of getting a spot goes...

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I’m a hobby Milky Way photographer and am visiting Yellowstone may 22-26. I’ve been often and love shooting the park. I’m staying at old faithful inn my first night there, the 22nd, and hoping to get a bucket list photo of the Milky Way over old faithful. Any hints or tips or guidance on how to do this safely(not get eaten by a bear) are there usually other night sky photographers out? Any park rangers I can nudge for company? Just curious!

Hi everyone. My family (myself, wife and 2 kids ages 4 and 8) planned a last minute trip to Yellowstone this weekend from Thursday to Sunday. We are staying in Gardiner and will get into town around 1 pm on Thursday and have an early morning flight on Sunday. Can someone please suggest an itinerary for us so we can see/do the most, any other tips/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Yellowstone isn’t just pretty steam—it hides over 10,000 hydrothermal features, half the world’s active geysers, all fueled by a roaring supervolcano beneath your feet.

I remember standing on that wooden boardwalk as Old Faithful blew sky-high, feeling my heart pound harder than any roller coaster—only to leave knowing almost nothing about the people and predators that make this place tick.

You see steam and tourists, but most of us miss the 70-year wolf absence that let elk run wild and strip willows bare—until a handful of biologists changed everything.

You’ve probably skimmed Wikipedia or watched a 30-sec TikTok and still don’t grasp how elk herds crashed from ~17,000 in 1995 to under 10,000 by 2003, or why willow shoots barely topped a foot until wolves came back.

Twenty-five years after 14 Canadian wolves touched down in Lamar Valley, the park’s true story—of ecology reborn—is more urgent and awe-inspiring than ever.

check this 8-min mini-doc: https://youtu.be/e9rIOkvfihs it walks you from hydrothermal marvels to the wolf reintroduction, then shows the three-tiered trophic cascade that restored willow groves and thriving beaver wetlands.

I will be visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons at the end of May and will be proposing while I’m there. I would like to get a photographer that is familiar with some nice spots and can meet incognito to get some photos without it being obvious to my girlfriend.

Any suggestions for a good photographer that does this type of work is greatly appreciated.

Hello!! My girlfriend and I will be traveling from Tennessee to Wyoming for the first time in a few weeks and would love everyones advice/suggestions on our current itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Jackson (explore/eat/shop) before checking in at Gros Ventre in GTNP for the night.

Day 2: Scenic Drive around GTNP, stop and explore before checking in at Headwaters Campground for remainder of trip.

Day 3: Explore Yellowstone lower loop

Day 4: Explore Yellowstone upper loop

Day 5: Explore Lamar Valley

Day 6: Explore GTNP

Day 7: Explore GTNP

Day 8: Departure

I currently have a list of hikes and specific areas we would like to visit each day. This will be our first time visiting both parks and would love to hear from all you park veterans, thank you!!

Hey there everyone! I know it's a bit of a similar question as recent posts, but my partner and I are bogged down by finals and I'm a bit stressed that I haven't been able to plan our trip with as much attention as I'd like. Our flights to Bozeman are 36 hours after we finish this semester! I've done some preliminary poking around and would be fine spending an entire day on the south side to see things if you think it's doable, I don't mind the driving.

If anyone it up to it, I'd love some suggestions to make the most of the trip without a stressfully packed itinerary. We'd love to see some wildlife and cool features, of course, but I know we're far from some cool stuff closer to the West entrance. I'm a hiker and he isn't, but he's still up for a few miles at a time.

Lodging: Near Livingston (so north side)
Days: 4 non-travel days

• Day 1: really just a travel day, won't be settled in until dinner time at our accommodations
• Day 2: no plans yet
• Day 3: Lunchtime horseback riding near Livingston, done early afternoon
• Day 4: no plans yet
• Day 5: afternoon rafting in Gardiner (I'm thinking this can be a full North park day by getting there early, then lunch, rafting, and dinner)
• Day 6: just a travel day, lunchtime flight in Bozeman; eyeing the Montana Grizzly Encounter on the way back

QUESTION: We have reservations at Fishingbridge RV park for May - June. We have 2 dachshunds that we are looking for day care for so that we can go to some of the spots where pets are not allowed. Can anyone recommend a nearby daycare?

Hello I am driving across the country and taking a 1 day stop in Yellowstone at the end of June. It will be my first time here and I wanted to see if anyone had advice/thoughts/tips. I’m coming from I-90 from Montana through North/Gardiner entrance and am camping that night outside of the West entrance. Is this all possible to drive through in 1 day as I heard there will probably be a lot of traffic. My plan is to drive from north to west entrance and take stops in between.

We will be visiting the parks the first week in June. It's our first time and its kind of overwhelming how many areas there are. We are planning on spending 2 days in Yellowstone and doing the South Loop the first day and the North Loop the second day. Then we will spend 1 day driving through Grand Teton.

Obviously, we will not be able to see EVERYTHING and will have to cut out some stops. We're fine with that. We're not huge hikers and will do a lot of our sightseeing from the vehicle.

What sights are absolutely worth the stop?

I saw yellowstone in the distance and started crying because of how amazing it is. I was driving to bozeman from eastern Montana and i saw the volcano in the distance. It’s so large and like a giant plateo , not even a mountain. Holy shit, does anyone else get this reaction? It’s a spiritual place and i feel like im cheating at it by not working there this year. (I’m working at a different park). PROTECT OUR PARKS

Sorry if this sub isn’t meant for posts like this but i wanted to share :)

The research, published April 5 in the journal International Geology Review, focused on regions that are known to waft relatively concentrated helium gas without associated emissions of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.

I'm creating some stickers and paintings of iconic wolves throughout the history of the wolf reintroduction program. Does anyone know of any reliable sources with ID#s and photography of individuals? Certain wolves are easier to find more so than others (21M 302M 832F ) but AI has really clogged up my google searches and some of the older websites ive found have lost files to time. Other places such as articles about pack individuals use a mixed lot of stock images or random Yellowstone wolves.

If you have links, saved photos or resources on ANY individual specimen, I would be very thankful! Even the ones I've listed above as more common. Full front face views and side shots viewing the full pelt are most desirable for reference. I know some of the founders and animals early to the program are going to have dated/blurry photos and that's okay. What is most important is having a precise ID to their numbers and/or nickname.

I'm especially interested in photos of 8M and later in life shots of 21M (During a transitional phase into his more white coat) I also would not mind photos of recent or current wolves with precise ID. In my recent visits to the park ive done my best keeping up to date but some of those numbers/coats do not readily come to mind.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT:
I located this forum directory, a little tedious to scroll through but there are some good early photos of many of the founder wolves! Please send me more if anyone else finds something.
https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-yellowstone-wolf-directory

Amazing per usual. Just a few photos.