Exploring the Area

You can scratch the surface in a day or two, or you can devote an entire summer to digging deeper. One trip, however long, never feels adequate; there's always a road not traveled. You can focus on the roadside highlights or venture deep into the backcountry. You can enjoy the old-style park hotels or pitch your own tent. You can learn about the geology and flora and fauna in visitor center exhibits or take an in-depth class with expert naturalists.

There are 310 miles of paved roadways in Yellowstone, with a figure-eight loop at the center that takes you to some key attractions: You can cover that ground in one long day. This is a common strategy, but it doesn't do Yellowstone justice. Ultimately, those who embark on it are selling the park short.

I recommend you give yourself at least 3 days. Despite the crowds, you should check the famous sites because they're deserving of all the attention: Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Fishing Bridge, and Mount Washburn. If you're seeking knowledge, take a class at the Yellowstone Association Institute, or follow one of the rangers on a nature hike. If you want solitude, go early in the morning up one of the less-traveled trails, such as Bunsen Peak or Mystic Falls.

Access/Entry Points

Yellowstone has five entrances. The north entrance, near Mammoth Hot Springs, is located just south of Gardiner, Montana, and U.S. Hwy. 89. In the winter, this is the only access to Yellowstone by car.

The west entrance, just outside the town of West Yellowstone, Montana, on U.S. Hwy. 20, is the closest entry to Old Faithful. Inside the park, you can turn south to Old Faithful or north to the Norris Geyser Basin. This entrance is open to wheeled vehicles from April to November.

About 64 miles north of Jackson, Wyoming, the south entrance, on U.S. Hwy. 89/191/287, brings visitors into the park from Grand Teton National Park. On the way to Yellowstone, drivers get some panoramic views of the Teton Range. Once in the park, the road winds along the Lewis River to the south end of Yellowstone Lake, at West Thumb and Grant Village. It's open to cars from May to November and to snowmobiles and snowcoaches from December to March.

The east entrance, on U.S. Hwy. 14/16/20, is 53 miles west of Cody, Wyoming, and is open to cars from May to September and to snowmobiles and snowcoaches from December to March. The drive up the Wapiti Valley and over Sylvan Pass is especially beautiful, when not marred by road-repair delays.

The northeast entrance, at Cooke City, Montana, is closest to the Tower-Roosevelt area, 29 miles to the west. This entrance is open to cars year-round, but beginning October 15, when the Beartooth Highway closes, until around Memorial Day, the only route to Cooke City is through Mammoth Hot Springs. When it's open, the drive from Red Lodge to the park is a grand climb among the clouds.

Regardless of which entrance you choose, you'll be given a good map and up-to-date information on facilities, services, programs, fishing, camping, and more.

Visitor Centers

There are five major visitor and information centers in the park, and each has something different to offer. Unless otherwise indicated, summer hours are daily from 8am to 7pm.

The Albright Visitor Center (tel. 307/344-2263), at Mammoth Hot Springs, is the largest and is open daily, year-round. It provides visitor information and publications about the park, has exhibits depicting park history from prehistory through the creation of the National Park Service, and also houses displays on wildlife.

The Canyon Visitor Center (tel. 307/242-2550), in Canyon Village, completed in 2007, is the place to go for books and an informative display about the park's geology, with a focus on the underlying volcanism. It's staffed with friendly rangers used to dealing with crowds.

The Old Faithful Visitor Center (tel. 307/545-2750) is in a temporary facility until the Park Service opens a new, state-of-the-art building in 2009. A film on Yellowstone's thermal features is shown throughout the day in an indoor auditorium. Rangers dispense various park publications and post projected geyser-eruption times here.

The Fishing Bridge Visitor Center (tel. 307/242-2450), near Fishing Bridge on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake, has an excellent display that focuses on the park's bird life. You can get information and publications here as well.

The Grant Visitor Center (tel. 307/242-2650) has information, publications, a video program, and a fascinating exhibit that examines the role of fire in Yellowstone.

Park literature and helpful staff are also found at several small information stations: the Madison Information Station (tel. 307/344-2821); the Museum of the National Park Ranger (no phone; summer daily 9am-5pm) and the Norris Geyser Basin Museum and Information Station (tel. 307/344-2812; summer daily 10am-5pm), both at Norris; the West Thumb Information Station (no phone; summer daily 9am-5pm); and the Public Lands Desk at the West Yellowstone Visitors Information Center, 100 Yellowstone Ave. (tel. 406/646-4403; summer daily 8am-8pm, limited hours the rest of the year). In Gardiner (but also within Yellowstone boundaries) is the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center (tel. 307/344-2664), housing a library, archives, and other resources available to the public. It is open 9am-4pm year-round, but is not equipped to handle standard visitor inquiries.

Entrance Fees

A 7-day pass costs $25 per automobile and covers both Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. A snowmobile or motorcycle pass costs $20 for 7 days, and someone who comes in on bicycle, skis, or foot will pay $12.

If you expect to visit the parks more than once in a year, buy an annual pass for $50. And if you visit parks and national monuments around the country, purchase an Interagency Annual Pass for $80 (good for 365 days from the date of purchase at nearly all federal preserves). Anyone age 62 or older can get an Interagency Senior Pass for a one-time fee of $10, and people who are blind or who have permanent disabilities can obtain an Interagency Access Pass, which costs nothing. All passes are available at any entrance point to Yellowstone. While the Interagency Senior and Interagency Access passes must be purchased in person (to verify age or disability), Interagency Annual Passes are also available online at www.store.usgs.gov/pass.

Camping Fees

Fees for camping in Yellowstone range from $12 to $17 per night, depending on the number of amenities the campground offers. The RV Campground at Fishing Bridge charges $35 per night and has full hookups; while other campgrounds have sites suitable for RVs, this is the only one with hookups, and only RVs are allowed here. Flagg Ranch, just outside the south entrance, also has an RV camp with hookups.

It is possible to make advance reservations at some campgrounds in both parks.

Special Regulations & Warnings

More detailed information about the following rules can be requested from the park rangers or at visitor centers throughout the park or at www.nps.gov/yell.

• Bicycles: Bicycles are not allowed on the park's trails or boardwalks, but there are some designated off-pavement bicycling areas -- contact the park for more information. Helmets and bright clothing are recommended because of the narrow, winding nature of park roads and the large recreational vehicles with poor visibility.

• Camping: In any given year, a person may camp for no more than 30 days in the park, and only 14 days during the summer season (no limits at Fishing Bridge RV Park). Food, garbage, and food utensils must be stored in a vehicle or container made of solid material and must be suspended at least 10 feet above the ground when not in use.

• Climbing: Because of the loose, crumbly rock in Yellowstone, climbing is discouraged throughout the park and is prohibited in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

• Defacing park features: Picking wildflowers and collecting natural or archaeological objects is illegal. Only dead-and-down wood can be collected for backcountry campfires, and only when and where such fires are allowed.

• Firearms: Firearms are not allowed in either park. However, unloaded firearms may be transported in a vehicle when cased, broken down, or rendered inoperable, and on certain trails for access to areas outside the park, with a special permit. Ammunition must be carried in a separate compartment of the vehicle.

• Littering: Littering in the national parks is strictly prohibited -- remember, if you take it in, you have to take it out. Throwing coins or other objects into thermal features is illegal.

• Motorcycles: Motorcycles and motor scooters are allowed only on park roads. No off-road or trail riding is allowed. Operator licenses and license plates are required.

• Pets: Pets must always be leashed and are prohibited in the backcountry, on trails, on boardwalks, and in thermal areas. If you tie up a pet and leave it, you're breaking the law.

• Smoking: No smoking is allowed in thermal areas, visitor centers or rangers stations, or any other posted public areas.

• Snowmobiling: In late 2007, Yellowstone officials released a final winter use plan that will limit snowmobiles entering the park to 540 a day as of 2008-09.

• Swimming: Swimming or wading is prohibited in thermal features or in streams whose waters flow from thermal features in Yellowstone. (One exception is Boiling River near Mammoth, where visitors can take a warm soak between dawn and dusk except during spring runoff.) Swimming in Yellowstone Lake is discouraged due to the cold water and unpredictable weather.

• Wildlife: It is unlawful to approach within 100 yards of a bear or within 25 yards of other wildlife. Feeding any wildlife is illegal. Wildlife calls, such as elk bugles or other artificial attractants, are forbidden.