Where to Stay

Though amateur and pro photographers are chomping at the bit to implement high-technology aerial photography in national parks, don’t expect drones in Yellowstone National Park any time soon — or ever.

Yellowstone National Park’s South Entrance and the road between West Thumb and Old Faithful over Craig Pass opens today, with all five entrances now open for the season.

The end of the worlders say a Yellowstone eruption is imminent as the government quietly evacuates cities in the area, but the experts say the Yellowstone volcanic system is indeed larger than previously assumed, but also a lot more stable.

Yes, we know most of you haven’t yet hit Yellowstone National Park this year, but now’s the time to plan your 2015 Yellowstone trip, as lodging reservations are now on sale.

An overhaul of visitor facilities in the Jenny Lake area of Grand Teton National Park has been approved by National Park Service officials, with the Grand Teton National Park Foundation leading the fundraising.

The Yellowstone East Entrance is still scheduled to open Friday, May 2 at 8 a.m., but National Park Service officials are warning about the potential of heavy, wet snow slides that could halt traffic.

It's always best to reserve rooms at Yellowstone National Park as early as you can, but that's not always possible. Here are some tips for staying in the Yellowstone area during an impromptu July or August visit.

We are not going to lead you astray and tell you the hotel rooms at Grant Village are high on our list of favorite places to stay in Yellowstone National Park. Truth be told, they're our least favorite. They lack any sort of character; no standard-issue Yellowstone lodge furniture. The exteriors look like they could be anywhere in the northern United States; no echoes of parkitecture here. Above all, they don't feel like they are part of Yellowstone. The six buildings with 50 units apiece are utterly interchangeable and fairly anonymous.

Back when Yellowstone National Park was first starting out, most of the tourists coming out to see the park were those who could afford the trip out there. That is why places such as the Lake Hotel aren't just humongous log cabins. Lake Hotel was built for the cultured (i.e. rich) tourists who were coming out to the Park. Lake Hotel's Ionic columns and sense of elegancy reflects this (it's also the most expensive hotel in the park).

A wide variety of rooms are available at Canyon Lodge and Cabins. While they are not especially rustic and can be a little noisy, Canyon's various lodging options are billed as being the most centralized in the Park. That's probably true, and if you want to spend any time from the madding crowds descending on the western geyser fields, then Canyon is for you.