Yellowstone National Park Lodging Guide

Yellowstone National Park Lodging

Lodging within Yellowstone National Park is limited to six (6) main areas:

These lodging areas are managed at this time by the park concessionaire Xanterra. Lodging in the park is very limited and usually books a year in advance, although there are cancellations just about every day during the main tourist season of mid June to early September. We have been able to find lodging during the main season by calling early in the morning when reservations open and asking what they have available through folks canceling.

Lodging facilities in Yellowstone are older historic buildings. These facilities range from suites with all the amenities to western or rustic cabins with just beds. Some rooms have bathrooms and other amenities, but a lot do not and you have to share a common restroom and shower facilities. You will have to discuss what amenities are available for each area and room with the reservation folks.

We have always enjoyed staying in the park rather than outside for the following reasons: One, you are there, no driving long distances. Two, there is almost always road construction which causes delays and sometimes road closures which make it difficult to get around the park. Three, the maximum speed limit in the park is 45 mph. Four, there are usually what is known as animal jams (bison, elk, bears, etc.), on or near the roads which bring traffic or travel to a halt.

We have also found it easier to both see and enjoy the park by staying close to the areas we are interested in visiting. So we spend a day or two in the north at maybe Roosevelt or Mammoth and a day at Lake and a day or two at Old Faithful. This limits time on the road and gives us more time to stay and enjoy and see all there is in each area of Yellowstone. The park is large, over 2.2+ million acres, or 3,472 square miles (larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined ), with 370 miles of paved roads, and over 1,200 miles of trails. You will need some time to be able to really see and enjoy the beauties and wonders of Yellowstone.

There is lodging available outside the park at the gateway towns of:

North Yellowstone Bed and Breakfast and Cabins

Crevice Mountain Lodge

There is also lodging available at towns that are close to the park, but not located at the entrances, such as:

Cody is about sixth-four (64) miles / one-hundred-four (104) kilometers, and Jackson is about seventy nine (79) miles / one-hundred-twenty-seven (127) kilometers from the park. Cody is located on the east side of Yellowstone and Jackson Hole is located south of Yellowstone.

Have fun and enjoy your visit to the world's first national park and we believe the greatest national park - Yellowstone.

Milage Chart from Gardiner, Montana

Yellowstone National Park's North Entrance