What to see

Lake Yellowstone Hotel Renovations Near Completion

Lake Yellowstone Hotel

The two-year Lake Yellowstone Hotel renovations are close to completion, as last year’s improvements are being followed up this spring with more room overhauls and other enhancements.

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Touring the New Visitor Education Center

Old Faithful Visitor Education Center exterior

Old Faithful Visitor Education Center exterior

There is no doubt the dedication of the new Visitor Education Center at Old Faithful was the biggest event of the Yellowstone National Park calendar this year, as dignitaries both local and national showed up to hail the opening of a building afforded a prime location next to some of the most historic and noteworthy landmarks in America. Does the new building measure up to its august company?

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What to See

Artist Point

Sightseeing isn't the only thing to do in the Yellowstone Region; but it's way ahead of whatever is in second place. Even people who come to the area to do things like fishing or hiking will spend a portion of their time seeing (or re-seeing) the sights. So, the question "What's to see?" has got to be very important for making plans. Besides, the Greater Yellowstone Region is one of the most beautiful and scenic in the United States; sightseeing goes with the territory.

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The Sightseeing Table

The table below is a great planning tool in selecting places to visit and things to see while going to and from Yellowstone Park. It covers things both inside Yellowstone National Park and outside the park but within the Greater Yellowstone Region. This is a checklist approach to seeing the greater Yellowstone area. There is obviously subjective judgment involved, and as they say, your mileage may vary. Planning with this kind of listing is certainly not the only appropriate way to visit the park. There are many other approaches, including completely random wandering. Depending on your interests, you can concentrate on things like seeing wildlife, taking pictures, studying geology, or just driving around to soak up the scenery. There are so many ways to see a place as rich and diverse as the Yellowstone region.

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Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Buffalo Bill Historical Center – It may sound like a local dust catcher. It’s not. It’s a world-class museum and interpretive center, or more correctly, five museum centers: Cody Firearms Museum Whitney Gallery of Western Art Buffalo Bill Museum Plains Indian Museum Draper Museum of Natural History. There is no better place to get an overview of the Greater Yellowstone …

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The Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge to Cooke City, Montana is one of the most spectacular and renowned mountain roads in the United States. It traverses some of the largest of high plateaus in North America, crosses the Beartooth Pass at 10,974 ft / 3,345 m, and provides awe-striking vistas of deep canyons and snow covered mountains. It is an official “All …

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Grand Teton National Park

Few mountain ranges anywhere in the world rise more dramatically than the Grand Tetons from Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park is, of course, a major destination in its own right and certainly a ‘must see’ for those going to or from Yellowstone from the south. This is some of the most photographed scenery in the country and the backdrop for …

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Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake doesn’t have the drama of an erupting geyser, nor the force of the waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but it holds the third position in things to see in Yellowstone by its sheer scope and majestic surroundings. It’s the second largest lake in the world at high elevation and the only one that isn’t ‘civilized’. …

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Must See

Every guide and visitor has their own notion of the most important things to see in and around Yellowstone National Park. In fact, you probably have your own list. Still, if you've never been to the Yellowstone region or you're not sure what you've seen before, a Must See list may be helpful. Ours is very short, just six items: Old Faithful Geyser, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake,  the Beartooth Highway, the Grand Tetons, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Each of them is described below.

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The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River is breathtaking, and it really is made of ‘yellow stone’; but that’s not what sets this ‘must see’ apart. It’s a magnificent canyon with not one but two great waterfalls: The Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. The Lower Falls (308 ft/ 94m) is the largest in the Rocky Mountains. The falls …

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