Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [397]
From Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, an easy detour on the way to or from Yellowstone, take I-90 south from the monument into Wyoming about 50 miles to Exit 9, and then follow U.S. 14 west about 190 miles to Yellowstone's east entrance (closed in winter).
The Nearest Airports. You can fly into Bozeman's airport, Gallatin Field (☎ 406/388-8321), which handles daily service on Delta, Northwest, and United as well as Horizon (☎ 800/547-9308) and SkyWest (☎ 800/453-9417) commuter flights. The West Yellowstone Airport (☎ 406/646-7631), U.S. 191, 1 mile north of West Yellowstone, provides commercial air service seasonally, from June through September only, on Delta's commuter service, SkyWest. The airport in Billings, Logan International (☎ 406/238-3420), is the busiest in Montana; it's on the rimrocks 2 miles north of downtown. Daily intrastate service is provided by Big Sky Airlines (☎ 800/237-7788 or 406/245-2300). America West, Delta, Horizon, Northwest, and United provide regional daily service. Cody's Yellowstone Regional Airport (☎ 307/587-5096) serves the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park with year-round commercial flights on SkyWest, United, and Frontier. Most of the major car-rental agencies operate in the gateway cities. For toll-free numbers for airlines and car-rental agencies, see the appendix (p. 660).
INFORMATION
To receive maps and information before your arrival, contact Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 (☎ 307/344-7381; www.nps.gov/yell).
Information regarding lodging, some campgrounds, tours, boating, and horseback riding in Yellowstone is available from Xanterra Parks & Resorts, P.O. Box 165, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 (☎ 307/344-7311; www.travelyellowstone.com).
For information regarding educational programs in Yellowstone, contact the Yellowstone Association, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 (☎ 307/344-2293; www.yellow stoneassociation.org), which operates bookstores in park visitor centers, museums, and information stations, and oversees the excellent Yellowstone Association Institute. The institute conducts a varied curriculum at the old Lamar Buffalo Ranch in the park's northeast corner and at other locations. Its catalog of publications is available by mail.
The following books are interesting and informative. If you cannot find them in your local bookstore, you can order many of them by mail from the Yellowstone Association (see above). Look for Yellowstone Trails, Mark Marschall (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: The Yellowstone Association) if you're a hiker. If you're traveling with kids, pick up An Outdoor Family Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Lisa Gollin Evans (The Mountaineers). For a more comprehensive guide, look for Frommer's Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks, by the author of this chapter.
VISITOR CENTERS
There are five major visitor and information centers in the park, and each has something different to offer. The Albright Visitor Center (☎ 307/344-2263) at Mammoth Hot Springs is the largest. It offers visitor information and publications about the park, exhibits depicting park history from prehistory through the creation of the National Park Service, and a wildlife display on the second floor.
The Old Faithful Visitor Center (☎ 307/545-2750) is another large facility. An excellent short film describing the park's thermal features shows throughout the day in an air-conditioned auditorium. Rangers distribute various park publications and post projected geyser eruption times here. Once fund-raising efforts net $15 million, the Park Service plans to open a state-of-the-art visitor education center in place of the current architecturally maligned building.
The Canyon Visitor Center (☎ 307/ 242-2550) in Canyon Village is the place to go for books and an informative display about geology. It's staffed with friendly rangers