Yellowstone National Park

Explore Yellowstone National Park
Beat the July crowds and visit the Park now
By Laura Bell

After four months of declining or near flat visitation, Yellowstone saw a dramatic increase in visitors in May.

Over 260,000 people visited Yellowstone in May, up over 20 percent from last year’s levels. For the first five months of the year, nearly 360,000 people came through the park gates, a nearly 11 percent increase over the same period in 2008. Visitation figures for the first five months of the year are also up compared to the five-year average of just over 340,000 visitors.

Most of the park is inaccessible by automobile during the winter and early spring. May represents the first month most major park roads are open to wheeled visitor traffic and when visitor services begin to reopen for the busy summer season.

The park’s East Entrance saw the greatest increase in visitation, up nearly 21 percent in May compared to the previous year. The West Entrance remains the park’s busiest, with nearly 115,000 visitors passing through the gate in May, up nearly 17 percent from 2008. The South and North entrances also showed impressive increases compared to last year’s levels.

Nice spring weather like the park experienced in May is typically reflected by stronger visitation numbers. An analysis of past visitation trends also indicates park visitation typically rebounds as the country begins to pull out of an economic downturn.

The winter and spring seasons represent a small but important portion of
the park’s annual visitation, which topped the 3 million mark the last two years. In comparison, as many people will visit the park during two weeks in July as typically enter during the entire first five months of the year.

If you are headed to the park in the next few weeks, please keep in mind that several road construction projects will take place this year that will affect travel within Yellowstone National Park.
The biggest project will be on a segment of the park’s Grand Loop Road between Madison and Norris through Gibbon Canyon.
Visitors can expect up to 30-minute delays on the road through the Gibbon Canyon throughout the summer. This section of road will also be closed to travel between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. every night through August 16.
There will be no construction delays or night time closures during the Independence Day holiday weekend.
This section of road will be completely closed to all travel between Artists Paint Pots and the Tuff Cliff Picnic Area beginning August 17. The closure is needed in order to remove an existing bridge and build a new span across the Gibbon River. This section of road will remain closed until it reopens to snowmobile and snowcoach travel in December.
These actions are illegal in the park:
Possessing a firearm or weapon, including state-permitted;
Concealed weapons, except: Unloaded firearms may be transported in a vehicle when rendered inoperable or are packed, cased, or stored in a manner that prevents ready use;
Speeding (radar enforced)—except for a portion of U;S; 191, all roads within the park are posted at 45 mph or slower;
Driving while intoxicated (open container law enforced);
Leaving detachable side mirrors attached when not pulling trailers;
Traveling off-road by vehicle or bicycle; (bicycling rules and riding locations are listed in a free brochure at visitor center.)
Improperly storing food
Fishing, boating, or using a float tube without a permit Violating camping regulations & rules
Camping outside of designated camping areas
Camping in the backcountry without a permit
Driving or riding in a vehicle without your seatbelt fastened. Each vehicle occupant must have a safety belt or child restraint system fastened when the vehicle is in motion;
Having pets off leash or on trails and boardwalks; Pets are prohibited on all trails, in the backcountry, and in hydrothermal basins; Where allowed, pets must be leashed and must remain within 100 feet (30 m) of a road or parking area; Do not leave a pet unattended or tied to an object; Boarding facilities are available outside the park;
Littering;
Swimming in hydrothermal pools
Diving or jumping off cliffs in the Firehole swim area on Firehole Canyon Drive;
Traveling off boardwalks or designated trails in hydrothermal areas;
Removing or possessing natural (antlers, etc;) or cultural (arrowheads, etc;) features;
Spotlighting (viewing with artificial light) elk, deer, or other animals;
Calling in elk by imitating their calls or using buglers;
Imitating wolf howls and using electronic equipment capable of tracking wildlife; and willfully remaining near or approaching wildlife, including birds, within any distance that disturbs or displaces the animal.
One of the best ways to ensure life-long memories of a vacation is to learn something new, and the non-profit Yellowstone Association Institute offers dozens of value-priced educational Field Seminars.

The seminars are taught by experts in each field including college professors, research scientists, park staff and other instructors. Most of the field courses are limited to 13 participants and are based at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch, where simple and comfortable log cabins are available for $30 per person per night. Participants bring their own food and cook it in the ranch’s community building which serves as classroom, kitchen and gathering place. Association members receive a discount on the seminars. Some courses are based at the Yellowstone Association’s new headquarters in Gardiner, Mont., at the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Participants in those courses stay at area lodges where rooms have been set aside. Lodging is not included in the price of field seminars.

“Travelers will find incredible value in these field seminars – both the intrinsic kind and the kind that affects the bottom line,” said Jeff Brown, education director of the Yellowstone Association. “Plus, there are no hidden fees. Bison, wolves and bears don’t expect a tip after you take their picture.”

Staying at the Yellowstone Association Institute’s Buffalo Ranch field campus is an experience on its own. The ranch is located in the heart of “America’s Serengeti,” so-called because of the abundance of wildlife often seen in this quiet northeastern corner of the park. Since the ranch is so secluded, it is common for students to hear the howls of wolves at dawn or dusk or to find a herd of bison lumbering around near the cabins, according to Brown.

“Many vacationers try to ‘do’ Yellowstone in a day or two but they never really experience or understand its many dimensions or its vast and diverse geography,” said Brown. “Our field seminars provide vacationers with a chance to begin to delve deeply into one aspect of the park at a time while staying within an extremely reasonable budget.”

This year’s field seminars explore a broad range of topics. Examples include: “Day Hiking in the Wild Yellowstone: Lake Area,” July 8-11; “Writing Inspired by Landscape,” Aug. 31-Sept. 3; “Behind the Scenes of Wolf Management and Ecology,” Sept. 2-4; and “Autumn Wildlife Watching,” Oct. 7-9.

The Institute also offers backpacking courses, private tours and lodging and learning programs. Backpacking Courses are wilderness experiences that allow participants to visit remote areas of the park under the guidance of professional outdoor leaders and Yellowstone experts. Private Tours are ideal for families and other small groups that want an introduction to Yellowstone wildlife or geology. The eight-hour trips focus on the diverse and abundant wildlife of Yellowstone’s Northern Range, natural history and geology in the Canyon and Lake Yellowstone areas or the thermal features in the Old Faithful area. Lodging & Learning programs combine field experiences with a YAI naturalist/guide during the day and comfortable lodging in park hotels at night.

To make reservations for a Field Seminar, Backpacking Course or Private Tour, call 406-848-2400; for Lodging & Learning program reservations, call 866-439-7375. Yellowstone Association members receive a $10 discount on all courses, and family memberships begin at just $35 per year. For more information on any Institute program, go to www.YellowstoneAssociation.org.