I’ve been helping Yellowstone visitors plan their time in the park since 1987–first at the Old Faithful Inn and the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, then back home with friends and family and even people I’ve met on the internet. Here are a few favorite places and tips for mapping out a satisfying Yellowstone vacation.
What’s true on the trail is true in life: Planning a trip to Yellowstone might be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just take it one step at a time.
The Yellowstone Guides
Let’s go to Yellowstone!
Yellowstone’s Explosion & the Landscape of Everyday Life
This summer one of Yellowstone’s thermal features had a moment. Headlines featuring the word explosion will do that. At the end of July, Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin didn’t just erupt. It exploded. Something happened in the unstable ground below it or maybe...
When is the Best Time to Go to Yellowstone?
When is the best time to go to Yellowstone? I get this question a lot. Here’s the simple answer: Whenever works best for you. While simple is good, you may want something a little more, shall we say, helpful. Here it is: There is no bad time, no wrong time to go to...
Yellowstone in Spring | What to Expect
It took just one trip to Yellowstone for my husband to discover that my beliefs about its weather are--in a word--delusional. It began the night before our first vacation. The next morning, as soon as he finished his last exam of his senior year, we aimed to head...
How to Plan a Winter Trip to Yellowstone
Yellowstone in winter is an adventure in comparatives. It’s more majestic and less crowded than in other seasons. It’s more difficult to get around. (Even the animals take the road.) It’s also more difficult to do simple and necessary tasks. (Consider a visit...
One Surprising Reason to Visit Yellowstone
Leaning against the stone stairway of the historic Fort Yellowstone building, I watched the autumn scene unfold. A massive bull elk stood sentry over his painstakingly collected harem. His occasional bugles rang through the settlement—reminding the cows that he was a...
There’s No Guarantee of Your Safety in Bear Country
It wasn’t until the third hike of our week in Yellowstone that we found the dreaded bear frequenting area sign planted in the dirt at the trailhead. I sighed. Every time I see this sign I’m not only frustrated that it gives absolutely no useful information, I’m left...
Where to Stay in Yellowstone
Back when I worked in Yellowstone, I enjoyed desk duty at the Old Faithful Visitor’s Center (now the Visitor Education Center). Even back when park visitation was 2.5 million (as opposed to today’s approximately 4 million), the crowd pushing against the counter and...
Yellowstone Weather: What You Need to Know
Yellowstone can deliver extreme weather—in any season, without warning, and sometimes on the same day. That is the number one weather reality to keep in mind when packing for a trip to Yellowstone. Here are some others: For every season, prepare for it to be colder...
How to Plan Your Yellowstone Vacation
Planning a trip to Yellowstone? Consider these 10 things to help you plan your Yellowstone vacation. Make a plan--one that includes a plan A, and a plan B, and possibly a plan C. Bison choose their own crosswalks and cross the road slowly. In herds. Wildlife block the...
How to Prepare for Your Yellowstone Vacation
After a season of working in Yellowstone, a lifetime of return weeklong visits, and years of talking with friends about their upcoming or completed trip to the park, I’ve figured something out: There is a difference between planning a trip and preparing for one. A...
“There is a great deal of good to be learned from what we see every day, if we would but consider it.” ~ Matthew Henry
