Latest / Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival / #011 - Yellowstone, Part 3: Where to Stay | The Old Faithful Inn, Lamar Lodges & Camping

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#011 - Yellowstone, Part 3: Where to Stay | The Old Faithful Inn, Lamar Lodges & Camping · Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival

• 0:09
  The Old Faithful Inn was built in the winter
• 0:12
  of 1903 and 1904. Think about that for a second.
• 0:17
  Workers hauled lodgepole pine from the surrounding
• 0:21
  forest through deep snow in temperatures that
• 0:24
  regularly dropped below zero. and assembled a
• 0:26
  building seven stories tall with a lobby so large
• 0:29
  that the geyser outside looks almost appropriately
• 0:31
  scaled to it. The man who designed it, Robert
• 0:35
  Reamer, was 29 years old. He had never designed
• 0:38
  anything like it. Nobody had, because nothing
• 0:41
  like it had ever existed. I have walked into
• 0:45
  that lobby more than once, and it does the same
• 0:47
  thing every time. You come through the door and
• 0:51
  the scale of it stops you. logs the size of small
• 0:54
  trees rising to the rafters, balconies spiraling
• 0:57
  upward around the central fireplace, which is
• 1:00
  15 feet across, light coming down through the
• 1:03
  upper windows. The whole thing feels like it
• 1:06
  grew here rather than was built. And outside,
• 1:10
  a few hundred yards away, Old Faithful erupts
• 1:13
  on schedule the way it has for longer than anyone
• 1:15
  has been watching. That is where you sleep if
• 1:18
  you stay at the inn. Steps from one of the most
• 1:21
  famous geysers on Earth in a building that is
• 1:24
  itself one of the great pieces of American architecture.
• 1:27
  There are worse places to spend a night. This
• 1:32
  is Wildlands. I'm Sean. Know the land before
• 1:35
  you reach it. Yellowstone Part 3. Where to stay.
• 1:39
  Yellowstone has nine in -park lodges with more
• 1:42
  than 2 ,000 rooms. That is more in -park lodging
• 1:46
  than most national parks have combined. and it
• 1:49
  still books up months in advance for summer.
• 1:51
  The reservation system opens on a rolling 13
• 1:54
  -month calendar, which means if you want July,
• 1:57
  you can book it the previous June. That is not
• 2:00
  early for a suggestion. That is the actual window.
• 2:04
  The lodges are managed by a single concessioner,
• 2:07
  Yellowstone National Park Lodges. Book through
• 2:10
  their website or by phone. And no, going in that
• 2:14
  peak summer dates, particularly July and August
• 2:17
  weekends, require either early planning or patience
• 2:21
  with cancellations. They happen. And the cancellation
• 2:25
  list is worth watching if you missed the initial
• 2:27
  window. The nine lodges are spread across the
• 2:31
  park in a way that matters for your experience.
• 2:36
  Because Yellowstone is big enough that where
• 2:39
  you sleep changes what is practical to do each
• 2:42
  day. Staying near Old Faithful gives you the
• 2:45
  thermal basins. Staying near Canyon puts you
• 2:48
  in the middle of the park with access to both
• 2:50
  loops. Staying near Mammoth puts you at the north
• 2:53
  end, close to Lamar Valley. Staying at Roosevelt
• 2:56
  Lodge puts you right at the door of it. So the
• 2:59
  decision is not just about the room, it is about
• 3:02
  what kind of trip you are building. Let's start
• 3:06
  with the inn itself, because it deserves its
• 3:08
  own section. The Old Faithful Inn is the most
• 3:10
  requested lodging in the park and one of the
• 3:12
  most famous hotels in any national park in America.
• 3:16
  National Historic Landmark. Built in the parkitecture
• 3:19
  style, meaning it uses local materials and matches
• 3:21
  the scale and spirit of the landscape rather
• 3:23
  than imposing on it. The lobby alone is worth
• 3:26
  coming to see even if you are not staying there.
• 3:29
  Grab a meal in the dining room. Sit by the fireplace.
• 3:32
  Watch an eruption from the upper deck. The hotel
• 3:35
  is open May through mid -October. Rooms range
• 3:40
  from shared bath budget rooms in the original
• 3:42
  wing to private bathrooms in the newer wings.
• 3:46
  The older wing rooms are smaller and more basic,
• 3:49
  but they sit in the original 1904 building, the
• 3:52
  one with the log architecture and the balconies
• 3:55
  over the lobby. There is something about sleeping
• 3:57
  in the original building that the newer wings,
• 4:00
  comfortable as they are, cannot replicate. If
• 4:04
  the budget allows, the old house wing is worth
• 4:08
  asking for. The dining room serves breakfast,
• 4:11
  lunch, and dinner with a full menu. The bear
• 4:15
  paw deli handles quick service, and the bear
• 4:18
  pit lounge has the kind of bar that feels exactly
• 4:20
  right after a day on the trails, dark wood, stone,
• 4:24
  the fire going, and through the windows, the
• 4:26
  steam from the geyser basin drifting past in
• 4:29
  the last of the evening light. I have had worse
• 4:32
  evenings. Right across from the inn, a short
• 4:36
  walk toward the geyser, is the old faithful snow
• 4:39
  lodge. The Snow Lodge is the newest of the in
• 4:43
  -park full -service hotels, opened in 1999, and
• 4:47
  it is, in my view, the best place to stay in
• 4:50
  the park if you are prioritizing comfort and
• 4:52
  location together. Modern rooms, real amenities,
• 4:57
  the Obsidian Dining Room which does a rotating
• 5:00
  menu with bison and elk and local sourcing that
• 5:03
  is a step above what you usually find in a national
• 5:05
  park, the Geyser Grill for faster options. But
• 5:10
  the Snow Lodge's real distinction is winter.
• 5:13
  It is one of only two in -park lodges open when
• 5:16
  the roads close, the other being Mammoth Hot
• 5:20
  Springs Hotel. In winter, the only way to reach
• 5:23
  it is by snow coach or snowmobile from the west
• 5:26
  entrance. The park in January is a different
• 5:29
  planet, bison ghosting through the geyser steam,
• 5:31
  no crowds anywhere, wolves active in Lamar, the
• 5:35
  thermal features more dramatic in the cold air
• 5:37
  with the steam rising high. If you have ever
• 5:40
  thought about visiting Yellowstone in winter,
• 5:42
  and you should, the Snow Lodge is where you do
• 5:45
  it. Up in the northeast, near Tower Fall and
• 5:50
  the Lamar Valley, is Roosevelt Lodge, and this
• 5:54
  is the one I recommend most often to people who
• 5:57
  want wildlife and a connection to the older version
• 6:00
  of this park. Roosevelt Lodge was built in 1920
• 6:04
  near a site where Theodore Roosevelt himself
• 6:07
  camped during a visit to the park in 1903. It
• 6:12
  is rustic in the way that word actually means
• 6:14
  simple. Wood, no air conditioning, no television,
• 6:18
  no phone in the room. Frontier cabins, some with
• 6:21
  private baths and some without. A main lodge
• 6:24
  with a big stone fireplace and a porch that looks
• 6:27
  out toward the northeast and the Absarokas. The
• 6:31
  kind of place where people sit in chairs after
• 6:34
  dinner and do not look at their phones. That
• 6:38
  is a feature, not a limitation. The location
• 6:41
  is the whole point. Lamar Valley is close. Morning
• 6:45
  Wolf watches are practical. You can be at a pullout
• 6:48
  with your binoculars before the light fully arrives.
• 6:51
  The park's northeast corner is the quietest part
• 6:54
  of the road system, and from Roosevelt you can
• 6:57
  move through it all day without fighting the
• 6:59
  crowds that stack up around Old Faithful and
• 7:01
  the Grand Canyon. Roosevelt Lodge is open early
• 7:04
  June through early September. Book it early,
• 7:06
  it is small, and it fills. On the eastern shore
• 7:11
  of Yellowstone Lake sits the oldest hotel in
• 7:14
  the park. Lake Yellowstone Hotel, open since
• 7:18
  1891, is a National Historic Landmark and a genuinely
• 7:22
  elegant place by park standards. The architecture
• 7:25
  is colonial revival, which looks somewhat incongruous
• 7:29
  out here among the lodgepole pines, but the building
• 7:32
  has a certain grandeur that grows on you. The
• 7:35
  sunroom facing the lake is where you want to
• 7:37
  spend a morning white wicker chairs, floor -to
• 7:40
  -ceiling windows, and Yellowstone Lake stretching
• 7:42
  away in three directions. In the evening, string
• 7:46
  quartets sometimes play in the lobby. It is not
• 7:51
  the old Faithful Inn. but it has a quiet, unhurried
• 7:54
  quality that I find more restful. The dining
• 7:56
  is the best in the park. The Lake Yellowstone
• 8:01
  Hotel Dining Room is the place to make a reservation
• 8:03
  for a proper sit -down dinner. The menu is more
• 8:07
  ambitious than anything else in the park, and
• 8:09
  the lake views from the dining room make it worth
• 8:12
  the effort to book. It is open mid -May through
• 8:16
  mid -October. Canyon Lodge is the most practical
• 8:20
  choice if you want central access to both loops
• 8:23
  and modern facilities, and it is the largest
• 8:26
  in -park lodging operation with more than 500
• 8:29
  rooms and cabins. The original buildings were
• 8:32
  replaced in a major redevelopment completed in
• 8:35
  2016. Five new LEED -certified lodges, sustainably
• 8:39
  built, with an interior color palette based on
• 8:42
  Thomas Moran's paintings of the canyon. Canyon
• 8:46
  Lodge is not going to give you the historic inn
• 8:48
  feeling of the Old Faithful Inn or the rustic
• 8:51
  simplicity of Roosevelt. What it gives you is
• 8:54
  comfort, reliability, dining options, and a location
• 8:58
  that puts you in driving distance of everything
• 9:01
  in the park. For families, for people who want
• 9:03
  consistent amenities, for anyone who needs to
• 9:07
  be able to access both the northern and southern
• 9:09
  sections of the park on the same trip, Canyon
• 9:11
  is the answer. Now, the part that I think is
• 9:15
  actually the best way to experience Yellowstone,
• 9:19
  if you are willing and equipped, 12 campgrounds,
• 9:23
  over 2 ,000 sites. The range goes from large,
• 9:29
  developed campgrounds with flush toilets and
• 9:32
  nearby amenities all the way down to primitive
• 9:34
  sites along a creek in a meadow that the Wolf
• 9:37
  Watchers have been driving past at four in the
• 9:39
  morning for years. The key thing to understand
• 9:42
  is that these campgrounds split into two categories
• 9:45
  by who manages them, and that determines how
• 9:48
  you book them. Five of the main campgrounds,
• 9:52
  Bridge Bay, Canyon, Grant Village, Madison, and
• 9:58
  Fishing Bridge RV Park, are managed by the park's
• 10:01
  lodging concessionaire and booked through Yellowstone
• 10:03
  National Park Lodges by phone or on their website.
• 10:07
  Reservations open 13 months in advance. and Madison
• 10:10
  and Canyon fill within hours of that window opening
• 10:13
  in peak season. I am not exaggerating. Hours.
• 10:18
  Set a reminder. Know your dates and be ready.
• 10:23
  The other campgrounds are managed by the National
• 10:25
  Park Service and most book through recreation
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  .gov. Mammoth is the only one that runs year
• 10:31
  -round and first -come, first -served open sagebrush
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  hillside. Windy. Not the prettiest campground
• 10:38
  in the park. But it is always open, and it puts
• 10:41
  you right next to Mammoth Hot Springs and the
• 10:44
  Hot Spring Terraces. Indian Creek and Lewis Lake
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  are smaller NPS campgrounds with a quieter feel,
• 10:50
  booked through Recreation .gov. Tower Fall is
• 10:55
  in a good central position near the northeast
• 10:57
  corner and takes reservations through Recreation
• 11:00
  .gov as well. Two campgrounds worth special attention,
• 11:04
  Slough Creek and Madison. Slough Creek is a 16
• 11:09
  -site primitive campground tucked at the end
• 11:12
  of a two -and -a -half -mile dirt road, sitting
• 11:14
  in a meadow at the western edge of Lamar Valley.
• 11:17
  No flush toilets, hand -pump water, vault facilities.
• 11:23
  In every other respect, it is one of the best
• 11:26
  campsites in the national park system. Wolves
• 11:29
  move through the valley in the morning. Bison
• 11:32
  graze in the meadow around you at dusk. The fishing
• 11:35
  in Slough Creek is exceptional. The site fills
• 11:38
  fast and the drive -in keeps some people away,
• 11:41
  which is exactly why it has the quality it does.
• 11:44
  Book it the moment the window opens. Madison
• 11:47
  Campground sits along the Madison River, where
• 11:50
  it runs toward the west entrance. Tall lodge
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  poles, river sounds, the A -loop sites backing
• 11:55
  up to the elk meadows. It is close to the Lower
• 11:59
  Geyser Basin and Norris. The best position in
• 12:02
  the park if your priorities are the thermal features
• 12:04
  and a good campsite at the end of the day. Two
• 12:08
  practical notes. Norris and Pebble Creek campgrounds
• 12:12
  are both closed in 2026, so plan around their
• 12:15
  absence. And all campground nights in Yellowstone
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  are cold even in July. Temperatures drop to the
• 12:21
  30s overnight at altitude. Bring a real sleeping
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  bag, not the one you bought for car camping in
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  August. A real one. If the in -park lodging and
• 12:32
  campgrounds are full and in peak season, they
• 12:35
  often are. The gateway towns give you real options.
• 12:39
  Two are worth knowing in detail. Gardner, Montana
• 12:43
  sits right at the north entrance, with the Roosevelt
• 12:46
  Arch, the original stone entrance to the park
• 12:48
  from 1903 marking the boundary. It is a real
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  town, small but functional, with lodging in a
• 12:57
  range of prices, a handful of good restaurants,
• 13:00
  gear shops, grocery, gas. The proximity to the
• 13:05
  north entrance means you can be in the park and
• 13:07
  at Mammoth Hot Springs quickly, and Lamar Valley
• 13:10
  is accessible in about 45 minutes from Gardner.
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  The Absaroka Hotel is the classic stay here right
• 13:17
  on the main street. Been there in various forms
• 13:20
  since the park's early days. Iron Horse Bar and
• 13:23
  Grill is the spot after a long day. Good burgers,
• 13:26
  cold beer, a bar that fills with guides and rangers,
• 13:29
  and the kind of people who actually know the
• 13:31
  park. West Yellowstone, Montana is at the west
• 13:35
  entrance and is the larger of the two gateway
• 13:37
  towns. More lodging options, more restaurants,
• 13:42
  more everything. It has the feel of a tourist
• 13:46
  town built specifically for the park, because
• 13:49
  that is exactly what it is. The west entrance
• 13:52
  road puts you quickly at Madison Campground,
• 13:55
  the Lower Geyser Basin, and Old Faithful. For
• 13:58
  people whose primary focus is the thermal features,
• 14:02
  West Yellowstone is the most practical base outside
• 14:05
  the park. Look gateway by Marriott, the Holiday
• 14:09
  Inn, or any of the smaller independent lodges.
• 14:12
  The Running Bear Pancake House is the local breakfast
• 14:15
  institution. Enormous portions, early open, consistently
• 14:19
  busy. Beartooth BBQ does smoked meats that are
• 14:23
  worth seeking out for dinner. A third option
• 14:27
  worth mentioning for people combining this trip
• 14:29
  with Grand Teton Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About
• 14:32
  90 miles south via the south entrance, it is
• 14:35
  a long commute to the main Yellowstone features,
• 14:38
  but pairs naturally with a grand Teton visit.
• 14:41
  Teton Village, downtown Jackson. The Elk Refuge
• 14:45
  Jackson has enough on its own to justify being
• 14:47
  a base. If your trip includes both parks, Jackson
• 14:50
  as the southern anchor and Gardner or West Yellowstone
• 14:54
  as the northern anchor, splitting your nights
• 14:56
  between them is a logical structure. More on
• 15:00
  Grand Teton when we get to that series. A few
• 15:04
  things about how to pack for Yellowstone that
• 15:06
  matter regardless of season. The temperature
• 15:08
  swing here is serious and unpredictable. Daytime
• 15:13
  temperatures in July can reach the 80s on the
• 15:16
  valley floor. Nighttime temperatures at the same
• 15:19
  campsite can drop below freezing. A day that
• 15:22
  starts sunny and warm can turn into a hailstorm
• 15:25
  by 2 in the afternoon. Layers are not a preference.
• 15:29
  They are the only rational strategy. Base layer,
• 15:32
  mid layer, waterproof outer shell. Bare spray
• 15:36
  on your hip whenever you are away from a developed
• 15:39
  area. Binoculars. Even if you do not consider
• 15:41
  yourself a wildlife watcher, Yellowstone will
• 15:44
  change your mind. And binoculars are the difference
• 15:47
  between seeing something and seeing it well.
• 15:49
  Download the NPS app and all your maps before
• 15:52
  you enter. Because cell service inside the park
• 15:55
  is unreliable everywhere. except Mammoth, Canyon,
• 15:59
  and Old Faithful. A paper map from the entrance
• 16:02
  station is not a bad backup. If you are camping,
• 16:07
  your sleeping bag needs to be rated for at least
• 16:11
  25 to 30 degrees. Not optimistically rated, actually
• 16:16
  rated. Even in July, Yellowstone nights at elevation
• 16:20
  in a tent are cold. and a bag that was fine at
• 16:23
  a campground in Virginia will leave you awake
• 16:25
  and miserable at 7 ,000 feet in Wyoming. Food
• 16:28
  storage is not optional. Bear boxes are provided
• 16:31
  at campgrounds, and you use them not because
• 16:33
  it is required, though it is, but because leaving
• 16:36
  food in a tent in a park with a functional, grisly
• 16:40
  population is a decision you will not get to
• 16:43
  make twice. So, the shape of it. For the historic
• 16:48
  experience, the Old Faithful Inn book it early
• 16:51
  and ask for the Old House Wing. For comfort and
• 16:54
  a strong location, the Snow Lodge. For wildlife
• 16:57
  access and the older version of the park, Roosevelt
• 17:00
  Lodge near Lamar. For elegance and the best dining,
• 17:04
  Lake Yellowstone Hotel. For central access and
• 17:07
  modern amenities, Canyon Lodge. For camping with
• 17:10
  the best wildlife position in the park, Slough
• 17:14
  Creek at the edge of Lamar Valley if you can
• 17:16
  get it. for the most practical campground that
• 17:18
  balances thermal access and livability Madison.
• 17:22
  And if the in -park options are full, Gardner
• 17:25
  for the north end of the park, West Yellowstone
• 17:27
  for the thermal features in Old Faithful. Whatever
• 17:30
  you choose, plan it further in advance than feels
• 17:34
  necessary. The park is two and a half million
• 17:37
  acres, and it still runs out of beds in July.
• 17:40
  The people who get the rooms and the campsites
• 17:42
  they want are the ones who booked them months
• 17:44
  ago. Everything for the Yellowstone series is
• 17:47
  at wildlandsnews .com reservation links, current
• 17:50
  campground status, seasonal road schedule, and
• 17:52
  the NPS app download. I'm Sean Spanauer. This
• 17:59
  has been Wildlands. Know the land before you
• 18:01
  reach it. See you Thursday.