Yellowstone National Park
Visitor Services
All park facilities are open from mid-June to late August. Before and after those dates, services are limited at some locations. Check the park newspaper or www.nps.gov/yell for current dates and hours of operation.
Banking Services
Automated teller machines are located at Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Grant Village, Canyon Lodge and general stores throughout the park. There are banks in Gardiner and West Yellowstone in Montana, and in Jackson and Cody in Wyoming.
Camping Supplies
Yellowstone General Stores has camping and fishing equipment, film, groceries, sundries and souvenirs. The Mammoth Hot Springs store is generally open year-round. The Fishing Bridge RV Park also carries a limited stock of RV supplies. For general information about camping, see pages 66—67.
Dining and Lodging
Xanterra's park hotels, restaurants, cafeterias and quick service outlets, as well as Yellowstone General Stores, offer food service. While visiting the park, ask for a free Dining and Shopping Guide at any Xanterra Parks & Resorts® facility. This guide features a park map with the picnic areas marked, as well as locations of gift shops and restaurants. Kids Activity Books are also available at all Xanterra Parks & Resorts® dining rooms. This book is full of Yellowstone games and puzzles, and valuable coupons for parents!
Emergencies and Medical Service
Dial 911 for emergency, fire, medical or ranger assistance or to report accidents or injuries. To contact a park ranger, call (307) 344-7381. The NPS emergency medical technicians and park medics are on duty 24 hours a day, year-round.
Medcor, Inc. operates three patient-care facilities within the park. Patients requiring advanced medical care are transported to area hospitals or medical centers.
The Mammoth Hot Springs Clinic is open weekdays, year-round and seven days a week from June to September. Please call (307) 344-7965 for more information. The Old Faithful Clinic is open from early May to mid-October, and periodically during the winter season. For appointments or assistance, please call (307) 545-7325. Lake Clinic, located at the north end of Yellowstone Lake, is open during the summer. For more information, call (307) 242-7241.
Gift Shops
Unique gift shops are located throughout the park at all lodging facilities and at Yellowstone General Stores. Xanterra's Fred Harvey Trading Company stores, located in the hotels, sell apparel, a wide array of distinctive gifts and Yellowstone souvenirs. Inspired by nature and shaped by history, exclusive products reflect the park's rich heritage. Convenience items such as film, videos, sundries and regional books are also available.
Regional items, including pottery, carvings, gourmet foods and art prints, focus on the Yellowstone lifestyle. At Old Faithful locations, artists-in- residence display their work, which is available for purchase.
Book signings, food tastings and artist demonstrations are scheduled at various locations throughout the summer. Visit a Fred Harvey gift shop and take home your own special memory of Yellowstone. Pick up a Dining and Shopping Guide for a list of stores and their locations in Yellowstone.
Lost and Found
You can turn in or trace lost and found articles at any visitor center or ranger station. Call (307) 344-5387 to report or retrieve items lost in lodging facilities; call (307) 344-2109 to report or retrieve items lost in other parts of the park.
Postal Services
The park's main post office, a historic 1930s building, is located at Mammoth Hot Springs. During the summer, post office facilities are also available at Old Faithful, Lake Village, Canyon Village and Grant Village.
Public Showers and Laundry
During the summer, Grant Village Campground, Fishing Bridge RV Park, Canyon Village Campground and the Old Faithful area have coin laundries and pay showers. Lake Lodge and Old Faithful Snow Lodge have laundry facilities only and Old Faithful Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs have showers only. During the winter, Old Faithful Snow Lodge offers guest laundry facilities.
Religious Services
Religious services are held at numerous in-park locations as well as in neighboring communities during the summer and on religious holidays. For times and locations of in-park services, check at visitor centers or lodging front desks.
Service Stations
The Yellowstone Park Service Stations, Inc. operates seven full- service gas stations and four auto- towing and repair shops in the park. Gas, auto accessories, tire repairs, oil changes and routine maintenance are available only during summer. LP propane gas bottle-filling plants are located at Grant Village and Fishing Bridge. Towing and repair facilities are located at Old Faithful, Grant Village, Fishing Bridge and Canyon Village. Call (406) 848-7333 or (307) 344-7381.
Special Services -
Pick up a free brochure listing facilities, scenic areas and features accessible to guests with disabilities at any entrance station or visitor center. For trip planning information, contact the Park Accessibility Coordinator, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190; (307) 344-2017.
Yellowstone In Depth
News from the Parks
Gettysburg Address to Return for Visitor Center Grand Opening
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
Anglers Wary of North Cascades Plan to Limit Fishing
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
Bison Advocates Go for Space
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
Rapid Climate Change Threatens to Thaw Icy Wonderland of Alaska
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
Park Seeks Construction Comment
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
