Home

Want to Comment on Yellowstone Winter Plan? Here's Your Chance

The National Park Service is seeking input as it develops yet another Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone National Park, and now's the time for you to suggest alternatives to the existing temporary plan.

Yellowstone Earthquake Swarm Comes Back, Albeit Briefly

The 2010 Yellowstone Earthquake Swarm saw a slight resurgence of activity Tuesday, but has been quiet since then, with no activity at all Wednesday and Thursday morning.

More:

Basics/FAQs

Destination Yellowstone

If you told your friends or family that you were going to spend some of your vacation in an active volcano, they might think you were crazy. Yet every year more than three million people do exactly that. Yellowstone National Park is a volcano. Almost everything that is special in Yellowstone is the result of being one of the world’s largest active volcanoes, in fact, a super-volcano. Fortunately, Yellowstone’s current volcanic activity is limited to hot water and earthquakes -- no eruptions, flowing magma, or cataclysmic explosions. Yellowstone did the cataclysmic explosion thing about 640,000 years ago and is resting for a possible encore in some more tens of thousands of years. Yellowstone the volcano is not going to erupt anytime soon.

Welcome to Yellowstone Insider 3.0!

Welcome to the third version of Yellowstone Insider! You’ll find some old faces and new voices as we continue to bring you the Internet’s definitive guide to America’s oldest National Park. We think you'll be happy with the many, many changes we've made in a complete overhaul of the site.
Read more...

More:

Issues

Wolves in Yellowstone: About Wolves

No other animal says northern wilderness like the gray wolf. The distant piercing howl of a wolf pack can send shivers up the spine of almost every vertebrate, including humans. In appearance and behavior wolves remind us of man’s best friend, the dog, as they should; dogs are descendants of wolves. However, in the wild, wolves are a far cry from the domestic dog. Wolves are surrounded by myths and legends, most of them dark, forbidding -- scary. Whether their frightening reputation fits the facts...that’s been a subject of controversy, probably since the dawn of human time.

Wolves in Yellowstone: A Short History

Seen as a circle of snarling, long-fanged killers closing in on the prey; or as a curious, dog-like face with fluffy white rimmed fur -- either way, wolves get our attention. Wolves are smart. They are persistent and fierce predators. They hunt in groups, as a pack. Pack hunting by wolves stimulates fear in the human imagination almost more than any other large predator, excepting the great cats (tigers, lions, cougars). Wherever wolves exist, they become the subject of mythology, and the present day is not excluded (think werewolf). Wherever there are wolves, there are people who fear them, hate them, respect them, and venerate them. This is another way of expressing that wherever there are wolves and people, there is potential for conflict and controversy.

More:

Plans

Planning a Winter Trip to Yellowstone? Here's What to Expect

A visit during the winter season shows a completely different -- and refreshing -- side of the Park. Parts of the Park are dormant, as many species retreat into dens and nests for hibernation. But other parts seem even more majestic than during the summer months.

Reader Request: A Good, Pleasant Four-Day Itinerary

A reader writes: I am looking for a good plan while in Yellowstone, entering at the West Entrance. We are staying two nights at Old Faithful Inn, two nights at Canyon, and heading to Jackson for two nights. We would like a plan that is not totally hectic, would like to do some easy hiking, a boat ride on the lake, horseback riding. Can you help?

More:

Kids

Joining the Junior Rangers in Yellowstone

In Yellowstone, kids who are between 5 and 12 can participate in the Junior Ranger Program, which is intended to show them all the wonders and beauty of Yellowstone, and how they can help preserve it. All that is needed to participate is the $3 needed to buy a 12-page activity book. Read more...

Must-do items for the younger set

Keeping a kid occupied in Yellowstone National Park is a breeze. Here's our list of the top five all-time greatest things for kids to do in Yellowstone.

More:

History

Yellowstone Restoration: A Year-Round Process

Most of Yellowstone National Park may be closed for the winter, but that doesn't mean the job of preserving the Park's historic buildings ends. Here's a look at how restoration efforts go on in the offseason.

Yellowstone Icons: The Roosevelt Arch

By Sean Reichard

There are many icons in Yellowstone National Park, in and of itself one of the most iconic places in the United States. Old Faithful Geyser, Castle Geyser, Morning Glory Pool, Old Faithful Inn, a herd of bison, a lone elk standing proudly on a hill as the sun rises.

More: