tourism

Recent Posts

Cody Chamber drops support for Spring Into Yellowstone wildlife festival

After four seasons, the future is uncertain for a spring wildlife festival that was created to build early season tourism traffic, and focus on Cody as a travel destination for nature lovers who wanted a sneak peek of Yellowstone National Park before the summer crowds. The Cody Country Chamber of Commerce will no longer take a leading role in organizing Spring Into Yellowstone, executive director Tina Hoebelheinrich said, but it will assist in a transition to any credible group that wants to take over the nonprofit event. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , ,

Yellowstone Lake Hotel celebrates 125 years of hosting park visitors

The National Park Service is observing its centennial this summer, but it was a grand old hotel 25 years older than the Park Service that kicked off the season's festivities in Yellowstone National Park on Friday. Dozens gathered at Yellowstone Lake Hotel to celebrate the structure's designation last year as a National Historic Landmark, and to mark 125 years since the hotel opened to the public in 1891. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

Space still available for many Spring Into Yellowstone events

Wildlife and nature lovers looking to avoid the summer crowds have a chance this week to join expert guides on tours of some of the most scenic and inspiring spots in Yellowstone National Park and nearby public lands. Organizers of Spring Into Yellowstone say space is still available for many of the tours, lectures and workshops scheduled from Wednesday through Sunday in and around Cody and Yellowstone Park. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , ,

Government report advises Yellowstone visitors against bison selfies

Visitors to Yellowstone National Park risk injury when allowing bison or other wildlife to approach within 25 yards. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

People visiting Yellowstone National Park this summer should follow some simple advice to avoid being injured by wildlife: keep your distance, and no bison selfies. That's the conclusion of a report issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that examined five separate incidents leading to injuries caused by bison in the park last summer. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , ,

Record crowds push Yellowstone managers to plan for 2016

Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk has been making the rounds to gateway communities to discuss the ups and downs of the park's record summer visitation. The good news is that more people are coming to Yellowstone than ever. Which is also the bad news. Or more specifically, that so many autos and buses are rolling through the park. "We saw more vehicles in Yellowstone National Park than we've ever seen before," Wenk said last week in Cody during an informal meeting with tourism industry leaders. Wenk has also met with similar groups as part of what he called "listening sessions" in the Montana towns of Gardiner, West Yellowstone and Cooke City, as well as in developed areas in the park. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

Yellowstone sees busiest year on record with 3.8 million visitors so far

More people visited Yellowstone National Park last month than any other September on record, and the park has set a new annual visitation record, with nearly three months still remaining before the end of the year. More than 3.8 million people have visited Yellowstone through the end of September, according to figures compiled by the National Park Service. That shatters the previous annual record of 3.6 million visitors in 2010. And if October follows recent trends, Yellowstone could log more than 4 million visitors by the end of 2015. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , ,

July sets record as busiest month ever in Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park managers are looking for ways to more effectively deliver safety messages about watching bears, wolves and other wildlife at roadside traffic jams.

If things seemed a little crowded last month during your visit to Yellowstone National Park, it wasn't just you. It was the million other people who picked July to visit Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Mammoth Hot Springs and the park's other top attractions. July was the busiest single month ever in Yellowstone, according to numbers posted online by the National Park Service. Yellowstone saw 980,702 recreational visitors last month, a 14 percent increase over July 2014, when 858,857 recreational visitors toured the park. That's 2 percent higher than June 2010, which had been the busiest month on record until now. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , ,

‘Sidesaddles and Geysers’ offers look at women’s early travels in Yellowstone

Any visit to Yellowstone National Park comes with at least some sense of adventure. And packing the car for even a short family trip through the park can be a logistical challenge. But the next time you're flummoxed by packing for a Yellowstone weekend in the RV with the kids, consider Eleanor Corthell. Corthell spent two months in Yellowstone in the summer of 1903. With her seven children. Traveling by horse-drawn wagon. Camping out the entire time. Writing about her trip, Corthell recalled that her husband, a prominent attorney in Laramie, Wy., "offered strenuous objection, of course, to the crazy project, but could only fizz and fume and furnish the wherewithal." Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Spring Into Yellowstone tours cover wildlife, science and even ‘time travel’

Archaeologist Larry Todd, kneeling, shows dozens of artifacts marked with small flags in the Shoshone National Forest during a July field trip sponsored by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate - click to enlarge)

The Spring Into Yellowstone Birding and Wildlife Festival returns next week, offering tours of some of the most scenic and inspiring spots in Yellowstone National Park and public lands to the east of the park. The growing festival is entering its third year, but many of the places highlighted in its tours and events have been popular with wildlife and people for thousands of years. Archaeologist Larry Todd will lead a tour of the Dead Indian Creek campsite area in Sunlight Basin, a favorite spot for modern campers that has been popular with people and animals for centuries. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

Tourism insiders expect strong summer as Yellowstone’s East Gate set to open Friday

With the East Gate to Yellowstone National Park scheduled to open Friday, tourism industry insiders are reporting strong advance bookings in anticipation of a solid summer travel season. Positive economic indicators like fall unemployment rates and the potential for low- and middle-income wage growth may be contributing to the optimistic travel outlook, along with gasoline prices that remain well below where they have typically been in recent years. Continue Reading →

Filed under: , , , , , , ,