West Yellowstone Museums

(West Yellowstone, Montana - MT, USA)

There are really only two museums of any significance within West Yellowstone, although they do their job well and provide plenty of information about the history and wildlife of the Yellowstone National Park territory. The Yellowstone Historic Center is the town's main museum and resides within the former Union Pacific Railroad Depot, on the corner of Canyon Street, where it explains why visitors have been coming here for almost 150 years.

Often known as simply the YHC and established by a local organization in 1998, the Yellowstone Historic Center remembers how the fortunes and popularity of this national park changed dramatically, following the introduction of the railway service in 1908, and even contains an original railroad car, which traveled around the region some 50 years ago. Look out for the portraits of famous Indian chiefs, the collection of old Indian relics, the US Cavalry artifacts, memorabilia from the hoards of past gold prospectors, historic stagecoaches, and even some old arrowheads from mountain men, who once lived within the Yellowstone National Park many years ago.


The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone serves as a museum, education center and zoo, all in one package. Home to a collection of live bears and wolves, who have often been rescued as young cubs from around West Yellowstone and are now housed in large enclosures, the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center also features a museum area.

Here you will find a number of interactive exhibits, folklore displays, more than 25 different stuffed grizzly bears and landscape dioramas, and the largest teddy bear that you will likely ever see, which serves as a backdrop for many a photograph.

Yellowstone Historic Center (YHC)

Address: 104 Yellowstone Avenue, West Yellowstone, Montana (MT), USA
Tel: +1 406 646 1100
The town's Historic Center is hard to miss, with its prominent bronze bear statue standing at the front, on the lawn, close to stagecoaches and a yellow water wagon. Exhibits include the story of the region's airport, which dates from the 1930s, together with information relating to the arrival of the railway and native wildlife, such as elk, grizzly bears and wolves.
Open hours: mid-May to mid-October, daily - 08:00 to 22:00
Admission: charge, concessions available

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

Address: 201 South Canyon Street, West Yellowstone, Montana (MT), USA
Tel: +1 800 257 2570
Open hours: daily - 08:00 to dusk
Admission: charge, discounts for seniors and children under 13 years old, children five years old and under are free

Information about museums in Jackson Hole.