Side Trips

Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are accessible from all four points of the compass. One of the biggest decisions facing you will be where to commence your journey and base yourself while you're in the area, if you choose not to stay in one of the parks themselves.

Cooke City, Montana

Near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park

Mining gold and platinum and other precious metals pumped intermittent life into Cooke City for 100 years, but now there is only park tourism. Fewer than 100 residents live year-round in the town today, and Silver Gate, right next to the park entrance, is even smaller.

Contact the Colter Pass/Cooke City/Silver Gate Chamber of Commerce at P.O. Box 1071, Cooke City, MT 59020 (tel. 406/838-2495; www.cookecitychamber.org), for information. The chamber operates a visitor center at 109 Main St. that is open daily from 11am to 6pm in summer.

A room for the night will be less expensive than in other gateway towns, typically from $60 to $120 a night. The Soda Butte Lodge, 209 Main St. (tel. 406/838-2251; www.cookecity.com), is the biggest motel in Cooke City, and it includes the Prospector Restaurant and a small casino; or, you can go to the cheaper, bare-bones Alpine Motel, 105 Main St. (tel. 888/838-1190 for reservations or 406/838-2262; www.cookecityalpine.com). The newest property is a woodsy Super 8, 303 Main St. (tel. 877/338-2070 or 406/838-2070; www.cookecitysuper8.com). For a bite to eat and a great selection of beers, try the funky Beartooth Cafe (tel. 406/838-2475), also on Main Street. I also like the sandwiches and barbecue plates at Buns 'N' Beds, 201 Main St. (tel. 406/838-2030). In Silver Gate, the Log Cabin Café and B&B (tel. 406/838-2367) is a rustic-meets-refined eatery specializing in trout dinners.