Yellowstone National Park

(West Yellowstone, Montana - MT, USA)

Known for its volcanic activity, spouting geysers and 1,200 miles / 1,930 km of hiking trails, the Yellowstone National Park is mainly sited within Wyoming, with parts extending into both Idaho and Montana. The park is without question the number one reason why so many people come to West Yellowstone every single year, particularly during the summer months. The town itself lies on the westerly outskirts of the park and next to the Highway US-191 / 287.

Also known as the Grand Loop Road or the West Entrance Road, the Highway US-191 / 287 marks the western entrance and leads through the heart of Yellowstone National Park, passing Riverside and heading southwards, passing many spectacular attractions along its route before ultimately reached the neighboring Grand Teton National Park. These attractions include Old Faithful, the Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb and Lewis Lake. However, do bear in mind that the West Entrance Road is usually closed between November and April, due to snowfall.

General Information, Activities and Attractions

The Yellowstone National Park boasts many fascinating records and is actually home to no less than 50 percent of all the geysers in the entire world. Interestingly, the park also contains the highest concentration of native wildlife in lower mainland America, with innumerable Alpine lake, fast-flowing rivers, meandering streams and a number of dramatic cascading waterfalls.

Each year, literally millions of people visit the Yellowstone National Park, with up to 30,000 visitors arriving on a daily basis, many of which pass through West Yellowstone. The park itself was founded to preserve the area's rather unique and special geothermal activity, geological structures and fossil forests, and covers an areas of almost 3,500 square miles / 9,065 square kilometers.

The main regions within the Yellowstone National Park are the:

• Canyon Country
• Geyser Country
• Lake Country
• Mammoth Country
• Roosevelt Country

There are five different entrances to the Yellowstone National Park, although all but one only open between May and October. The arched Northeast Entrance, close to Gardiner (Montana) remains open throughout the year. Many sights stand out and are not to be missed, such as the fossil forests at the Mammoth Hot Springs, and also the Norris Geyser Basin, which has long been the most active geothermal area in the whole of North America.

Both of these attractions reside within the Mammoth Country, while in the Roosevelt Country, highlights include the Absaroka Mountains, the Lamar River Valley and the Tower Falls.

Lake Country is where you will encounter the simply vast Yellowstone Lake, which is amongst the largest in existence. However, it is Geyser Country where most tourists head, to catch a glimpse of the world-famous Old Faithful geyser, which spurts up to 8,500 gallons of water into the air, often reaching a height of 125 meters / 200 feet, roughly every one and a half hours.