Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [412]
Bike rentals are available in the gateway towns of West Yellowstone, home to Yellowstone Bicycles (☎ 406/646-7815), and Jackson, where you'll find Hoback Sports (☎ 307/733-5335).
Boating. The best place to enjoy boating in Yellowstone is on Yellowstone Lake, which has easy access and beautiful, panoramic views. The lake is also one of the few areas where powerboats are allowed. Rowboats and outboard motorboats are for rent at Bridge Bay Marina (☎ 307/344-3876). Motorboats, canoes, and kayaks can be used on Lewis Lake as well.
Fishing. Seven varieties of game fish live here: native cutthroat, rainbow, brown, brook and lake trout; grayling; and mountain whitefish. Of the trout, only the cutthroat are native, and they are being pressured in the big lake by the larger lake trout, despite efforts to remove the exotic strains by gill-net fishing. As a result, you can't keep any pink-meat cutthroat caught anywhere in Yellowstone, and you must keep any lake trout.
The Yellowstone season typically opens on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and ends on the first Sunday in November. The exceptions are Yellowstone Lake's slightly shorter season, and the lake's tributaries, which are closed until July 15 to avoid conflicts between humans and grizzly bears, both of which are attracted to spawning trout.
In June, try the Yellowstone River downstream of Yellowstone Lake, where the cutthroat trout spawn. Fish the Madison River near the west entrance in July, and again in late fall for rainbow and some brown trout. In late summer, you can try to hook the cutthroats that thin out by September on the Lamar River in the park's beautiful northeast corner.
You can fish the Yellowstone River below the Grand Canyon by hiking down into Seven Mile Hole, a great place to cast (not much vegetation to snag on) for cutthroat trout from July to September. The best luck is around Sulphur Creek.
Other good fishing stretches include the Gibbon and Firehole rivers, which merge to form the Madison River on the park's west side, and the 3-mile Lewis River Channel between Shoshone and Lewis lakes during the fall spawning run of brown trout.
Fishing requires a special permit good only within the park. For anglers 16 and older, it's $10 for a 10-day permit or $20 for a season permit. Anglers 12 to 15 need a permit, too, but it's free. Children under 12 may fish without a permit when supervised by an adult. Permits are available at all ranger stations, visitor centers, and Yellowstone General Stores.
Horseback Riding. People who want to pack their gear on a horse, llama, or mule must get permits to enter the Yellowstone backcountry, or hire an outfitter with a permit (see below). Other visitors who want to get in the saddle but not disappear in the wilderness can put themselves in the hands of the concessionaire, Yellowstone National Park Lodges. Stables are at Canyon Village, Roosevelt Lodge, and Mammoth Hot Springs. Roosevelt Lodge also offers evening rides from June into September. Choices are 1- and 2-hour guided trail rides daily aboard well-broken, tame animals for $30 and $50, respectively.
If you're looking for a longer, overnight horse-packing experience, contact the park and request a list of approved concessionaires that lead backcountry expeditions. Most offer customized guided trips, with meals, horses, and camping and riding gear provided. Costs will run from $200 to $400 per day per person, depending on trip length and number of people. In Gardiner, at the north entrance to the park, Adventures Beyond Yellowstone (☎ 406/848-7287) offers horseback trips in the park for groups of 4 or more; rates begin at $100