Lodging and accommodations inside Yellowstone National Park aren’t just places to stay, they are monuments to a long-standing ideal that special places should be set aside and preserved for future generations. Staying in Yellowstone is the best way for visitors to experience everything the park has to offer. With nine lodging facilities offering over 2,000 rooms in the summer, accommodations in Yellowstone are plentiful for those wishing to experience the national park in its summertime glory. In the winter we open two lodges for exploration of a winter wonderland. From the most famous lodging facility in a national park—the Old Faithful Inn—to the ol’ western rustic cabins of Roosevelt Lodge, guests will find an incredible variety of places to bunker down for the night.
Historic Old Faithful Inn welcomes guests at dusk with an eruption of the Old Faithful geyser.
Once you arrive in Yellowstone, you’ll never want to leave—and since you’ll be staying in the park you won’t have to! By not wasting time commuting into the park, you’ll have more time to explore 3,500 square miles of Yellowstone wilderness, from mountains and forests to colorful hot springs, mud pots, and geysers. You’ll have more time to spend enjoying park activities both on land and on water. And once the day-trippers have left, the park remains for the in-park lodgers—your own private Yellowstone!
Here’s why staying in Yellowstone, rather than nearby, can help you make the most of your park visit this summer:
Wake up to Wildlife
Don’t spend your morning driving to Yellowstone, wake up to wildlife instead. Dawn is the best time to search out the wild animals in Yellowstone; this is when the park’s wildlife is most active. Yellowstone is home to more free-roaming wildlife than almost anywhere else in the Continental U.S. Visitors have the opportunity to see varied species of animals: gray wolves, bison, bears, otters, bald eagles, deer, elk, moose, ravens, foxes, raccoons, squirrels and many more.
Frost sprinkles the top of a bison on a fall morning in Lamar Valley.
Lamar Valley in Yellowstone’s Northern Range is one of the best places for spotting wildlife. Its broad vistas provide great opportunities to spot wildlife grazing along the Lamar River and on the open hillsides. If the wildlife is lying low, the spectacular scenery is sure to please!
Have a seat and marvel at the beauty of the Lower Falls from Artist Point in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Yellowstone is at Your Doorstep
Not only will you be able to cut out the commute to spend more of your time enjoying park activities, but you’ll also beat the majority of the visitors. The boardwalks and trails of the park’s major attractions are less used in the early mornings and in the evenings after all of the day-trippers have gone. By staying in Yellowstone you’ll get a 24/7 park experience, sort of a behind the scenes pass.
Castle Geyser erupts against the night sky.
Stargazing
Far from the city lights, you can look up to the night sky and see the Milky Way in all of its glory, the heavens filled with constellations, glittering stars beyond count and even comprehension.
Stargazing is a unique experience often only enjoyed by those who lodge within Yellowstone. Since the park focuses on minimizing light pollution, you won’t have to go too far from any developed area or lodge to find a truly dark location from which to enjoy “the show.”
Historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel at dusk.
Sleep in an American Icon
In these fast-moving times, reinvention and making room for the ‘new’ has become a way of life, but with Yellowstone National Park Lodges you’re able to be sleeping in history—with modern conveniences, of course.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Lake Yellowstone Hotel first opened its doors to guests in 1891. In June 2014, the hotel went through an extensive interior renovation to restore it back to its Colonial Revival style.
Lobby of the Old Faithful Inn
Designed by architect Robert C. Reamer and opened to the public in June 1904, Old Faithful Inn is one of Yellowstone’s most famous lodging facilities. It was constructed from local logs and stones and is considered to be the iconic symbol of rustic architecture in national parks.
Roosevelt Lodge welcomes you to the northern range.
Roosevelt Lodge Cabins were built in 1920 near an area favored by President Theodore Roosevelt in Yellowstone’s Tower Fall area of the northern range. Grant Village was built in 1984 and named after former President Ulysses S. Grant, who signed Yellowstone into law on March 1, 1872, making Yellowstone, the world’s first national park.
Reception desk at Lake Yellowstone Hotel
Yellowstone National Park Lodges’ staff live in Yellowstone
Knowledgeable staff can help make the most of your Yellowstone experience; Xanterra’s in-park operations are staffed with people who live in the park. You’ll be able to access insider tips and tricks on the best times and places in the park to visit. And with easy access to park tours and activities, combined with friendly staff, you’ll have an advantage over most visitors to Yellowstone. So next time you are ordering food in one of our dining facilities or buying a gift at one of our retail shops, be sure to ask the staff for their insider tips.
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