yellowstone lake

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‘Glamping’ on Yellowstone Lake: Roughing it in style in remote backcountry

I loved arriving and simply finding my tent already set up - it's one reason my husband and I shifted from tent camping to a pop-up camper years ago. The tents provided for this trip were large enough to stand up in, and were furnished with a rug, a cot with a comfy sleeping pad and sleeping bag as well as a night stand with a lantern. I slept very well both nights. And at the end of the trip, they took care of the packing up as well. Continue Reading →

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Cruising Yellowstone Lake ‘The Wylie Way’ in 1903

The ZIllah was a boat used by the Wylie tour company to take early Yellowstone Park visitors on scenic cruises on Yellowstone Lake. (NPS photo - click to enlarge)

In 1903, Hester Henshall traveled by train from Bozeman to Yellowstone Park with her husband, Dr. James Henshall, who was director of the Bozeman National Fish Hatchery. Dr. Henshall was a physician, but he made his name as an angler and fish biologist. His Book of the Black Bass, published in 1881, is still in print The Henshalls toured Yellowstone “The Wylie Way.” That is, with Wylie Permanent Camping Company, which offered tourists a comprehensive package that included transportation, food and lodging in tents that were put up in the spring and left up for the season. The tour included a steamboat cruise across Yellowstone Lake. Here’s Hester’s description of her cruise. Continue Reading →

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Kayak trip to remote shores of Yellowstone Lake

If you have visited Yellowstone National Park several times, you're probably pretty familiar with the most popular sights and attractions along the paved roads. If you've taken hikes or overnight trips into the backcountry, you've seen a part of the park that only a small fraction of visitors ever get to witness. But odds are, you've never taken a kayak along the remote shores of Yellowstone Lake. Thanks to a fun, engaging and beautiful video made by Scott Baxter and Scott Campbell, you can tag along for a 10-minute highlight reel of their 5-day kayak trip to the southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake, into some of the most rugged and remote country in the park — or anywhere, for that matter. Continue Reading →

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Park Service approves long-term plan for Yellowstone Lake area

The National Park Service has approved a modified version of the preferred alternative proposed by Yellowstone Park managers for long-term development and management of the Lake area. A finding of "no significant impact" for the plan was signed April 17 by the National Park Service Intermountain Region Director. An environmental assessment that analyzed three alternatives for guiding development around Lake Village, Fishing Bridge and Bridge Bay was released for public review and comment in February 2012. Continue Reading →

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Wildlife Watching 101: Grizzly Bears in Yellowstone National Park

For wildlife watchers, the area around Yellowstone Lake is prime spring grizzly habitat. Because Lake-area thermal features keep much of the hillsides free of lingering snow, this is a favorite early season haunt for Yellowstone’s grizzlies. When scouting this area for bears, Steamboat Point and Sedge Bay are two locations not to be missed. Although still snow-covered in spring, Hayden Valley is another grizzly favorite. Be sure to bring your binoculars so you can glass the hillsides for grizzlies and other wildlife foraging for succulent spring grasses. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone ‘lake music’ remains mystery a century after written reports

Some Yellowstone National Park visitors have reported hearing odd sounds in the skies above Yellowstone Lake on clear days in the early mornings. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

Yellowstone Lake and the rugged backcountry that surrounds it is a place where millions go seeking solitude and silence. Yet it in a well-documented but rarely discussed phenomenon, some visitors to the Lake area have experienced remarkable celestial sounds of unknown and unexplained origin. There are several descriptions in the historical record — as well as many more from popular anecdotal accounts — of strange sounds or "lake music" coming from the skies around Yellowstone Lake and Shoshone lake. Continue Reading →

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