Yellowstone National Park

While only a small portion of Yellowstone National Park is with in Montana, 3 of the 5 Yellowstone park accesses are in Montana. The entrance fee into Yellowstone for the 2010 season is $25 for a private noncommercial vehicle, $20 for each snowmobile or motorcycle or $12 for each visitor 16 or older entering by foot or bike. The entrance permit is good for 7 days and proof of payment is your admission receipt. The admission receipt is required each time you enter the park so be sure to save it. The permit is good in both the Yellowstone National park and the Grand Teton National Park.

If you plan on visiting one of the parks more than twice in the year it would be better to buy the Annual Park pass. The price is $50 and is good for 12 months from the date of purchase.

If you are planning on visiting other Federal parks in the same year you might consider the "Interagency Annual Pass". This pass is available for $80 and is good for 12 months after the date of purchase

An "Interagency Senior Pass" is available to seniors 62 and older for $10. This pass is a lifetime pass and does not have to be renewed each year. To qualify for this pass you must be 62 or older and a US citizen or a permanent resident. This pass can only be purchased in person at the front gate or at the visitors center.

There is also an "Interagency Access Pass". This pass if free to US citizens or permanent residents of the US who are blind or permanently disabled.

These passes replace the earlier issued Golden Eagle, Golden Age and Golden Access passports as well as the National Parks Pass.

All of the passes can be purchased at the park's entrances and some online.

There are 5 entrances to Yellowstone National Park, 3 in Montana and 2 in Wyoming:

Cooke City, Montana: You get to Cooke City, Montana by Highway 212 and the Beartooth pass. This route takes you from Billings through Red Lodge to Cooke City. The second route is to go to Columbus and take highway 78 to Absarokee through Roscoe and Red Lodge to Cooke City. Cooke City is the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone.

Gardiner, Montana: The Yellowstone entrance at Gardiner is open year round and is the North entrance to the park. The park headquarters is located at this entrance by Mammoth Hot Springs. To reach this entrance you take Interstate 80 past Boseman Montana and take highway 89 South at Livingstone to Gardiner. The stone arch you will pass through was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903.

West Yellowstone Montana: This is the west entrance to the park. West Yellowstone is the largest of the towns making up park entrances. You will find a wide selection of stores, hotels and pretty much anything you are looking for here. This is also the closest town to the famous Old Faithful geyser and the other smaller geysers. There are two main routes. The first is Interstate 80 to Boseman and then highway 191 to West Yellowstone. Or from the south you can take highway 20 out of Idaho Falls, Idaho to reach West Yellowstone.

Cody, Wyoming: On the east side of Yellowstone is the Cody, Wyoming park entrance. From Cody you take Highway 20 (also called 14 and 16), the Buffalo Bill Cody scenic byway. This route takes you through the North Fork of the Shoshone River and through the Wapiti valley. Cody is famous for it?s Buffalo Bill Museum and nightly rodeo and tours.

Jackson Wyoming: Jackson is the town closest to the south entrance of Yellowstone park. Like Cody it is a bit of a distance from the actual park entrance, somewhat over an hour away. To get to Yellowstone park from this direction you first pass through the Grand Teton National Park.