Because of the wide variety of of Yellowstone National Park Lodging, I decided to dedicate an entire post to it for convenience. Before I visited, all the options were a bit overwhelming– how to choose, what to choose?
You should definitely reserve Yellowstone lodging as early as possible, if you have an exact preference. However, I booked a campsite just a few weeks before an August visit, since I was flexible with exact dates and location.
Table of Contents – clickable
Yellowstone Hotels
There are also several Yellowstone National Park hotels within the park, which means you don’t have to drive outside of the park each day. Additionally, there are many hotels near Yellowstone National Park. The next sections describe both.
One more note: Search Airbnb for Yellowstone. There seem to be condos for rent, mainly in West Yellowstone. If it’s your first time using Airbnb, click here for $40 off your first rental.
Yellowstone National Park Hotels and Yellowstone Cabins
My absolute favorite is the historic Old Faithful Inn. The history is amazing, and you definitely must take a tour to learn about the design and architecture!! It’s a historic lodge directly next to all the geysers, so you can stroll over to Old Faithful any time– day or night. Also, it’s a short drive from here to Artists Paintpots and Grand Prismatic. Alternatively, right next to the Inn are the Old Faithful cabins.
Take the free tour and learn how all those branches holding up the beams were selected by hand over 100 years ago.
Watch Old Faithful geyser erupt every hour from the 3rd story deck of Old Faithful Inn.
Chart of Hotels and Cabins in Yellowstone
Keep in mind that not all of the park’s hotels are open year round, as indicated in this chart.
| Name | Hotel | Cabins | Summer | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Cabins | Yes | Yes | May 11 - October 8, 2018 | No |
| Canyon Lodge & Cabins | Yes | Yes | May 18 - October 14, 2018 | No |
| Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel & Cabins | Yes | Yes | Hotel: April 27, -September 3, 2018 Cabins: April 27, - October 14, 2018 | Closed for renovations Winter 2018-2019 |
| Old Faithful Inn | Yes | No | May 4 - October 7, 2018 | No |
| Old Faithful Lodge Cabins | No | Yes | May 11 - September 30, 2018 | No |
| Old Faithful Snow Lodge & Cabins | Yes | Yes | April 27 - October 21, 2018 | December 16 - March 3, 2019 |
| Grant Village | Yes | No | May 25 - September 30, 2018 | No |
| Lake Lodge Cabins | No | Yes | June 10 - September 23, 2018 | No |
| Roosevelt Lodge & Cabins | No | Yes | June 1- September 3, 2018 | No |
Hotels Near Yellowstone National Park
Towns with hotels near Yellowstone National Park have restaurants and more. Most tourism occurs during the summer months, but of course locals live there year round.
One is West Yellowstone, Montana. It’s (obviously) to the west of the park and a great place to stock up on any food or supplies you may need. While there, be sure to visit the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. It’s a very informative place, partly museum and partly animal sanctuary. The hourly schedule lets you observe animal behavior, including feeding and more. They also have a kids program, where they visit ‘backstage’ to see the bears in their living quarters. Adults only get to observe the bears in the public area. And, the wolves are really neat! I saw them howling, and it is such a peaceful sound.
Another town with hotels is Gardiner, Montana to the north of the park. The chain hotels include Best Western and Comfort Inn. There are also some local hotels.
I would not suggest staying in towns any further away, or you’ll spend a large portion of each day driving to and from the park entrance gates. For example, Grand Teton National Park is to the south of Yellowstone, and to the east are other wild spaces.
Yellowstone Camping
Click here for Yellowstone camping information, as well as backcountry camping.
Read More
An overview of all the places in Yellowstone you’ll want to visit.
Coming soon: Yellowstone Packing List – whether you’re staying on paved roads or getting into the backcountry, there are some things you’ll definitely want to bring along.
Your phone camera is great for most things, but for Yellowstone, you’ll probably want a camera with some decent zoom and maybe a few other features that phones don’t offer. Here’s a camera comparison chart for your perusal.