TRIPS INTO HISTORY

West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana. The town has existed since the early 1900’s serving as a gateway to the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

The town of West Yellowstone offers a great variety of lodging, RV parks, camping areas, gift shops, fishing shops with guide services, Yellowstone National Park information for travelers as well as a good selection of restaurants.

Whether you’re visiting the Yellowstone area during the summer or winter, the town of West Yellowstone is an ideal place to begin your Yellowstone adventure.

Museum of the Yellowstone

The Union Pacific Railroad once offered passenger service directly to West Yellowstone. At the time of the first passenger arriving on June 11, 1908, today’s West Yellowstone was called Riverside. Rail passenger service ended after the 1960 tourist season. The historic Union Pacific Depot which served the town and welcomed thousands upon thousands of passengers still remains and today is home to The Museum of the Yellowstone.

west yellowstone museums — West Yellowstone Museum of the Yellowstone

The Museum showcases the town local history as well as the history of transportation and the history of Yellowstone National Park, our nation’s first national park.

You’ll see many displays that include stage coach and railroad companies which were necessary to bring tens of thousands of visitors to the Yellowstone.

Additionally there are numerous historic artifacts, weekly educational programs, guest speakers, films, and guided walking tours of the historic district. The Museum of the Yellowstone is a must stop and is open daily from the middle of May through the middle of October.

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is a not-for-profit wildlife park and educational facility opened in 1993 that is located in West Yellowstone, Montana at 201 S Canyon St. The center is open 365 days a year. Your admission is good for two consecutive days which allows you to leisurely explore the entire venue.

It’s a small but excellent facility. Two to three hours would allow you enough time to see the bears and wolves feeding/interactions.

West Yellowstone Fishing

West Yellowstone offers excellent fishing all year long. You’ll experience top notch trout streams that surround the town. It’s the heart of fly fishing in the Rocky Mountains and you’ll enjoy blue-ribbon trout streams that have welcomed fishermen from around the world. Species include brook, brown, cutthroat, lake and rainbow trout, along with grayling and whitefish. Excellent fishing is found in and outside the national park. Fishing permits for fishermen 16 years of age and older are available at the Yellowstone General Stores located throughout the park.

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Getting to West Yellowstone

Other than driving your personal or rental vehicle to West Yellowstone there is also a shuttle service offered. Shuttle service to West Yellowstone is available year round from the Bozeman, MT airport, and seasonally from Idaho Falls (connecting to Salt Lake City) and Jackson Hole.

Seasonal air service is also available. Delta Connection offers flights to the airport from Salt Lake City.

Once in West Yellowstone be sure to check out private tour companies which offer some very scenic van and bus tours of the national park.

For all of these travel options be certain to check current dates and schedules with each carrier.

(Photos copyright Trips Into History)

The historic Old Faithful Inn is a must stop for anyone visiting Yellowstone National Park located in the northwest part of the state of Wyoming.

old faithful inn pics — Old Faithful Inn

The Old Faithful Inn was constructed during the winter of 1903-04, within Yellowstone National Park. The structure was built using materials from within the park and cost over $165,000 to complete. The Old Faithful Inn was designed by Robert C. Reamer. The inn was constructed in three phases. Those being in the years of 1903, 1913, and 1927.

The Old Faithful Inn is a National Historic Landmark and is one of the few remaining log hotels in the United States.

As a national historic landmark,Old Faithful Inn is the most popular lodging facility within Yellowstone. The interior lobby area is large and unique to say the least. The inn combines rugged materials and organic motifs that expresses both frontier sensibilities and elegance.The towering lobby features a very large stone fireplace and a hand crafted clock made of copper.

The Old Faithful Historic District

The Old Faithful Historic District is historically important because of its rustic timber architecture and its role in the development of concessions to accommodate growing tourism in the early 1900s. The Old Faithful Lodge which is located near the Inn had several changes to it’s original design and what is seen now is where the last construction was completed in 1928. The design for the Old Faithful Historic District was done by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, a famous architect.

The historic district consists of the Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Lodge, three stores, two service stations, five dormitories, ten support buildings as well as the guest cabins behind the Old Faithful Lodge and the Snow Lodge. The Snow Lodge with it’s large timber construction was completed in 1999 and is the newest of the park’s full service hotels. The Snow Lodge is open from about mid December to the first week of March and then from about the end of April to the end of October. Check with the lodge for exact dates.

The Old Faithful Geyser

old faithful geyser photos — Old Faithful Geyser

The very popular Old faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is situated directly across from the Old Faithful Inn.

Approximate times that the geyser erupts is posted on a sign outside the Inn. The second floor of the Inn has a deck on the second floor where visitors can relax with refreshments and watch Old Faithful Geyser Erupt.

You’ll also find a raised walking trail outside the Old faithful Inn and adjacent to Old Faithful Geyser where you’ll see various hot springs and other smaller geyser eruptions on your trek. The geology of the area is amazing and is found in only a few other places on earth.

Yellowstone Hiking

Yellowstone National Park has some 1,100 miles of hiking trails, Yellowstone’s trails can be enjoyed by day hikers of all abilities. Some of these are short boardwalk trails to popular geothermal attractions. There are plenty of trails also in Yellowstone’s back country. Explore past the developed areas and you’ll see wondrous and beautiful mountainous, landscape that offers various trails for all hiking skill levels. Many types of wildlife including grizzly bears reside in Yellowstone and it is highly recommended that hikers bring along bear spray for protection. Bear spray is available for purchase in many stores within the park.

Related Trips Into History articles are found on the links below…

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Yellowstone Fishing

Another very popular activity in Yellowstone National Park is fishing. Yellowstone has a long tradition of fly fishing. This sport has been popular their for over one hundred years. Fishermen have the choice of Lake Yellowstone which is a deep lake with abundant trout and other smaller lakes.

August is the best time for lake fishing in the Park. Also a large number of rivers. Included in these rivers is the Madison, Firehole, Yellowstone, Gardiner and Slough. When in the area of Yellowstone be sure to check out the fishing stores and guide services.

Visit West Yellowstone, Montana / The Gateway to Adventure

Visit the Historic Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone