Getting There

If interstate highways and international airports are the measure of accessibility, then Yellowstone is as remote as Alaska's Denali National Park. But three million people make it here every year, on tour buses, in family vans, on bicycles, and astride snowmobiles -- even from the other side of the world.

The Nearest Airports

The closest airport to Yellowstone is the West Yellowstone Regional Airport (tel. 406/646-7631) in Montana, where the airport sits just 1 mile north of town (and the west entrance) on U.S. Hwy. 191. The airport has commercial air service seasonally, June through September only, on Delta Connection/SkyWest (tel. 800/453-9417; www.skywest.com).

Visitors can land right in Grand Teton National Park when they fly to Jackson, Wyoming, and will be only 56 miles of scenic driving from the southern entrance of Yellowstone. American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental (tel. 800/523-3273; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), and United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com) all have flights to and from Jackson Hole Airport (tel. 307/733-7682; www.jacksonholeairport.com).

To the north, Bozeman, Montana, is 87 miles from the West Yellowstone entrance on U.S. Hwy. 191. Or you can drive east from Bozeman to Livingston, a 20-mile journey on I-90, and then south 53 miles on U.S. Hwy. 89 to the northern entrance at Gardiner. Bozeman's airport, Gallatin Field (tel. 406/388-8321; www.gallatinfield.com), provides daily service via Delta, Northwest, and United, as well as Horizon (tel. 800/547-9308; www.horizonair.com) and Big Sky .

Also to the north, Billings, Montana, is 129 miles from the Cooke City entrance. Billings is home to Montana's busiest airport, Logan International (tel. 406/247-8609; www.flybillings.com), which is 2 miles north of downtown. Daily intrastate service is provided by Big Sky Airlines (tel. 800/237-7788 or 406/245-2300; www.bigskyair.com), and regional daily service is provided by Allegiant Air (tel. 702/505-8888; www.allegiantair.com), Delta, Frontier (tel. 800/432-1359; www.frontierairlines.com), Horizon, Northwest, and United. From Billings, it's a 65-mile drive south on U.S. Hwy. 212 to Red Lodge, and then 30 miles on the Beartooth Highway to the northeast entrance to the park.

From Cody, Wyoming, it's a gorgeous 53-mile drive west along U.S. Hwy. 14/16/20 to the east entrance of the park. Cody's Yellowstone Regional Airport (tel. 307/587-5096; www.flyyra.com) serves the Bighorn Basin as well as the east and northeast entrances of Yellowstone National Park with year-round commercial flights via Delta and United.

Airfares to the small airports surrounding the parks can be pricey, so if you like to drive, consider flying in to Salt Lake City, Utah, and driving about 300 miles to Grand Teton National Park, a drive that has some nice scenic stretches. Even Denver, a drive of roughly 500 miles, is an alternative, although the route is not nearly as scenic.

Renting a Car

Most of the major auto-rental agencies have operations in the gateway cities. Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131; www.hertz.com) has operations in Billings, Bozeman, Cody, and Jackson. Thrifty (tel. 800/847-4389; www.thrifty.com) is in Cody and Jackson. Alamo (tel. 800/462-5266; www.alamo.com) and National (tel. 800/227-7368; www.nationalcar.com) have locations in Bozeman, Billings, and Jackson. Avis (tel. 800/230-4898; www.avis.com) has locations in Billings, Bozeman, West Yellowstone, and Jackson. Budget (tel. 800/527-0700; www.budget.com) serves Billings, Bozeman, Cody, West Yellowstone, and Jackson.