Local Attractions and Businesses in West Yellowstone, Montana - Comfort Inn

Biking

Considering the vast expanse of real estate that the parks cover, the challenging terrain, and the miles of paved roads and trails, a cyclist might conclude that the parks are prime areas for biking, on or off the roads.

It looks good on paper, but the reality is more harrowing. The roads are narrow and twisty; there are no bike lanes, so bikers continually fight for elbowroom with wide-bodied RVs and trailers, some of which have side-view mirrors designed to decapitate bicyclists. Off-road opportunities are limited because of the small number of trails on which bikes are allowed.

Nevertheless, plenty of bicyclists take the challenge. The following trails are available, but you'll be sharing them with hikers. The Mount Washburn Trail, leaving from Old Chittenden Road, is a strenuous trail that climbs 1,400 feet. The Lonestar Geyser Trail, accessed at Kepler Cascade near Old Faithful, is an easy 1-hour ride on a user-friendly, partly paved road. Near Mammoth Hot Springs, Bunsen Peak Road and Osprey Falls trails present a combination ride/hike: The first 3 miles travel around Bunsen Peak; getting to the top requires a hike. A hike down to Osprey Falls adds another 2.8 miles to the journey.

Bike rentals are available in the gateway towns of West Yellowstone at Yellowstone Bicycles (tel. 406/646-7815) and Jackson at Hoback Sports (tel. 307/733-5335). Rental fees for a full-suspension mountain bike are about $20 to $40 a day.

Boating

The best place to enjoy boating in Yellowstone is on Yellowstone Lake, which has easy access and beautiful, panoramic views. The lake is also one of the few areas where powerboats are allowed. Rowboats and outboard motorboats can be rented at Bridge Bay Marina (tel. 307/344-7311). Cost for rowboats is $43 per day or $9.50 per hour; an outboard, with room for six, rents for $45 per hour. Sea kayakers and canoeists should stay close to the shore on Yellowstone Lake because of high winds that can easily capsize a small craft. Motorboats, canoes, and kayaks can be used on Lewis Lake as well.

Fishing

Seven varieties of game fish live in the parks: native cutthroat, rainbow, brown, brook, lake trout, grayling, and mountain whitefish. Of the trout, only the cutthroats are native, and they are being pressured in the big lake by the larger lake trout. As a result, you can't keep any pink-meat cutthroat caught anywhere in Yellowstone, and you must keep every single lake trout. This catch-and-release policy has done little to discourage fly-fishing purists who are more interested in the sport than in its spoils.

The Yellowstone season typically opens on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and ends on the first Sunday in November. Yellowstone Lake has a slightly shorter season, and the lake's tributaries are closed until July 15 to avoid conflicts between humans and grizzly bears, both of which are attracted to spawning trout.

Many fine anglers come to Yellowstone, and they are well informed about which seasons are best on which stretches of river. In June, try the Yellowstone River downstream of Yellowstone Lake, where the cutthroat trout spawn. In July, fish the Madison River near the west entrance, and fish again in late fall for rainbow and some brown trout. In late summer, you can try to hook the cutthroats that thin out by September on the Lamar River, in the park's beautiful northeast corner.

Fishing on Yellowstone Lake has been popular until recent years, when regulations designed to bring back the waning population of cutthroat trout began to send some of the trolling powerboats elsewhere. The problem is the introduced lake trout, which compete with, and eat, the cutthroat. If you catch a lake trout, you must kill it, and if you catch a cutthroat, you must throw it back. Certain areas of the lake, such as the southeast arm, are closed to motorized boats -- this makes the Yellowstone River inlet a wonderful area to canoe, camp, and fish.

You can fish the Yellowstone River below the Grand Canyon by hiking down into Seven-Mile Hole, a great place to cast (not much vegetation to snag on) for cutthroat trout from July to September. You'll have the best luck around Sulphur Creek.

Other good fishing stretches include the Gibbon and Firehole rivers, which merge to form the Madison River on the park's west side, and the 3-mile Lewis River Channel between Shoshone and Lewis lakes during the fall spawning run of brown trout.

There is access on the Madison River for anglers with disabilities, 3 1/2 miles west of Madison Junction at the Haynes Overlook, where you'll find a wheelchair-accessible fishing platform overhanging the river's edge along 70 feet of the bank.

Suggested Reading -- Two reference guides present excellent information about park fishing opportunities and requirements: Fishing Yellowstone National Park, by Richard Parks (Falcon Press, 2003), and The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide, by Craig Mathews and Clayton Molinero (Lyons Press, 1997). Both can be purchased from the Yellowstone Association (tel. 307/344-2293).

Permits -- Park permits are required for Yellowstone anglers ages 16 and older; the permit costs $15 for 3 days, $20 for 7 days, and $35 for the season. Youths 12 to 15 years of age also must have a permit, but it's free. Children younger than 12 years old may fish without a permit. Permits are available at any ranger station, any visitor center, Yellowstone General Store, and most fishing shops in the gateways. The season usually begins on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and continues through the first Sunday in November. Exceptions to this rule are Yellowstone Lake, its tributaries, and sections of the Yellowstone River.

Supplies & Fishing Guides -- If you need supplies or a guide in Gardiner, stop at Parks' Fly Shop, 202-A Hwy. 89 (tel. 406/848-7314). In West Yellowstone, check Bud Lilly's Trout Shop, 39 Madison Ave. (tel. 406/646-7801). Full-day trips typically cost about $375 for two people.

Also, several Jackson, Wyoming-based fishing guides lead trips into Yellowstone.

Horseback Riding

People who want to pack their gear on a horse, llama, or mule must either get permits to enter the Yellowstone backcountry or hire an outfitter with a permit. Other visitors who want to get in the saddle but not disappear in the wilderness can put themselves in the hands of the concessionaire, Xanterra Parks & Resorts (tel. 307/344-7311). Stables are located at Canyon Village and Roosevelt Lodge. Choices are 1- and 2-hour guided trail rides (the prices are $35 and $54, respectively) aboard well-broken, tame animals. Wranglers refer to these as "nose-and-tail" tours, and an experienced rider is likely to find them awfully dull.

If you're looking for a longer, overnight horse-packing experience, contact the park and request a list of approved concessionaires who lead backcountry expeditions. Most offer customized, guided trips, with meals, horses, and camping and riding gear provided. Costs run from $250 to $500 per day per person, depending on the length of the trip and number of people. In Livingston, at the north entrance to the park, Wilderness Pack Trips (tel. 406/333-4655) offers horseback-riding trips in the park for groups of four or more; rates begin at $240 per day for guided day rides, more for overnight trips. Another good outfitter is Rockin' HK Outfitters (tel. 307/333-4505), offering 3- to 10-day trips for about $450 per person per day.

Winter Sports & Activities

The average snowfall in a Yellowstone winter is about 50 inches, creating a beautiful setting for sightseers and a wonderful resource for outdoor winter recreation. The steaming hot pools and geysers generate little islands of warmth and clear ground, attracting not just tourists but wildlife as well. Nearby trees are transformed into "snow ghosts" by frozen thermal vapors. Bison become frosted, shaggy beasts, easily spotted as they take advantage of the more accessible vegetation on the thawed ground. Yellowstone Lake's surface freezes to an average thickness of 3 feet, creating a vast ice sheet that sings and moans as the huge plates of ice shift. But the ice is thinner where hot springs come up on the lake bottom, and you'll see otters surfacing at the breaks in the ice. Waterfalls become astounding pieces of frozen sculpture. Snow-white trumpeter swans glide through geyser-fed streams under clear-blue skies of clean, crisp mountain air.

Only two of the park's hostelries, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, provide accommodations from December to March. The only road that's open for cars is Mammoth Hot Springs-Cooke City Road. Most visitors these days come into Yellowstone in winter from the west or south by snowcoach or snowmobile.

For additional information on all of the following winter activities and accommodations, as well as snowcoach reservations, contact Xanterra Parks & Resorts (tel. 307/344-7311). There are also many activities, outfitters, and rental shops in the park's gateway towns.

The Yellowstone Association Institute (tel. 307/344-2294) offers winter courses at various park locations. Past offerings have included 3-day classes devoted to wintertime photography in the park, cross-country skiing, and the ecology of wolf reintroduction.

Cross-Country Skiing

There are 64km (40 miles) of cross-country trails in the Old Faithful area, including the popular Lonestar Geyser Trail, a 13km (8-mile) trail in a remote setting that starts at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and the Fern Cascades Trail, which winds for 5km (3.1 miles) through a rolling woodland landscape on a short loop close to the Old Faithful area. In the Mammoth area, try the Upper Geyser Basin and Biscuit Basin Trail (about 10km/6.2 miles), which some say is the best in Yellowstone, although it might take an entire day to negotiate.

Equipment rentals (about $15 per day), ski instruction, ski shuttles to various locations, and guided ski tours are all available at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, the park's two winter lodging options. Discounts are available for multiday rentals of skis or snowshoes. Ski instruction costs around $30 per person for a 2-hour group lesson; a full-day guided excursion costs $65 to $115 per person (lunch may or may not be included). Guided snowshoe trips are about $30 and 3 hours.

Ice-Skating

The Mammoth Hot Springs ice rink is located behind the Mammoth Hot Springs Recreation Center. On a crisp winter's night, you can rent a pair of skates ($1 per hour, $4 per day) and glide across the ice while seasonal melodies are broadcast over the PA system. It's cold out there, but there's a warming fire at the rink's edge. Plans for an Old Faithful rink were in the works when this guide was published. Call tel. 307/344-7311 for more information.

Snowcoach Tours

It is possible to enjoy the sights and sounds of Yellowstone without raising a finger -- except to write a check or sign a credit card voucher -- by taking one of the scenic snowcoach tours that originate at the south and west entrances, as well as at Mammoth and Old Faithful. One-way and wildlife-watching trips range from $35 to $70, while round-trips cost about $100 to $130.

If you've never seen a snowcoach, you're in for a treat. Don't be fooled into thinking that this distinctively Yellowstone mode of transportation is merely a fancy name for a bus that provides tours during winter. Imagine instead an Econoline van with tank treads for tires and water skis extending from its front, and you won't be surprised when you see this unusual-looking vehicle. The interiors are toasty warm, with seating for a large group, and they usually allow each passenger two bags. They aren't the fastest, smoothest, or most comfortable form of transportation; but they do allow large groups to travel together, and they're cheaper and warmer than snowmobiles. They're also available for hire by groups at many snowmobile locations. Guides provide interesting and entertaining facts and stories of the areas as you cruise the park trails, and they give you opportunities to photograph scenery and wildlife.

For snowcoach information, contact Xanterra Parks & Resorts (tel. 307/344-7311). Out of West Yellowstone, Yellowstone Vacations (tel. 800/426-7669 or 406/646-9564; or visit their website) and Yellowstone Alpen Guides (tel. 800/858-3502 or 406/646-9591) provide service as well.

Snowmobiling

This is an excellent way to sightsee at your own pace, but note that the courts are still debating long-term snowmobile policies for the parks. A driver's license and guide are required for rental at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel or Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Day tours cost $215 for a single rider or $235 double; custom tours are also available, but considerably more costly. A helmet is included with the snowmobile, as is a clothing package for protection against the bitter cold. Warming huts are located at Mammoth, Indian Creek, Canyon, Madison, West Thumb, and Fishing Bridge. They offer snacks, a hot cup of coffee or chocolate, and an excellent opportunity to recover from a chill.

Snowmobile rentals are also available in the gateway communities of Gardiner, Cooke City, and West Yellowstone. In West Yellowstone, try Yellowstone Arctic/Yamaha, 208 Electric St. (tel. 406/646-9636), or Yellowstone Adventures, 131 Dunraven Ave. (tel. 800/231-5991 or 406/646-7735). Most rental shops accept reservations weeks in advance, so reserving at least 2 weeks ahead of time is a good idea.

For snowmobile rentals in Jackson, contact Leisure Sports, 1075 S. Hwy. 89 (tel. 307/733-3040), which charges $145 and up per day. For a guided trip, call Wyoming Adventures, 1050 S. Hwy. 89 (tel. 800/637-7147 or 307/733-2300), which offers three different loop trips through Yellowstone for $230 to $300.

Winter Road Conditions

Due to the high elevation and the abundance of snow, most of the roads in Yellowstone are closed to all wheeled vehicles during winter. The only major park area that is accessible by car is Mammoth Hot Springs; cars are allowed to drive in the village at Mammoth Hot Springs. Signs will alert you as to how far south into the park you can actually go from here (usually to Tower Junction, 18 miles away). From Tower Junction, it's another 29 miles to the northeast entrance. This entrance is open but not accessible from Red Lodge, Montana, and points east (because the Beartooth Hwy. is closed in winter). You can go only as far as Cooke City, Montana, and the roads are kept open specifically so that the folks in Cooke City aren't totally stranded during the long winters. Snowmobiles, snowcoaches, and cross-country skiers, however, use park roads regularly throughout the winter season. For up-to-the-minute information on weather and road conditions, call tel. 307/344-7381.

Basing yourself in West Yellowstone is another option. From the West Yellowstone entrance, you're only 14 miles to the Madison Junction, which presents opportunities to head south to Old Faithful or north to the Grand Canyon and Mammoth Hot Springs. Because this is the most popular way to access the park, plan on making reservations early.

Especially for Kids

You might find that several of the ranger programs will appeal to kids. Yellowstone has a Junior Ranger Program for kids ages 5 to 12. For $3, you get a special activity paper, Yellowstone's Nature. (Sign up at any visitor center.) Kids get a Junior Ranger badge for completing certain activities.

There's also a unique residential-education program for kids in fourth through eighth grades at Yellowstone called Expedition: Yellowstone! This residential program takes place in the spring and fall, with sessions lasting 4 to 5 days. For more information, write Expedition: Yellowstone! Coordinator, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168.