West Yellowstone

Driving outside of the park for the second time in two days (though it was our first time off of NPS land in several days) we headed to West Yellowstone, which is directly outside of the West Entrance of the park.

Located at an elevation of 6,666 feet in the southwestern portion of Montana and just four miles from Wyoming and eight miles from Idaho, West Yellowstone, Montana is the West entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Surrounded on the remaining three sides by the Gallatin National Forest, this community enjoys the daily wonders of nature.  

To say West Yellowstone is small might be an understatement. On just over 360 acres of land, 1,200 year-around residents reside. Tourism is the economic mainstay of the town that has been hosting visitors since before the turn of the last century.  

Incorporated in 1966, West Yellowstone adopted a self-governing charter in November 1980. Currently the community runs under a strong-council form of government with a Town Operations Manager responsible for day-to-day operations.  

You’ll find West Yellowstone easily located 90 miles south of Bozeman, Montana and 100 miles north of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
--from Destination Yellowstone website

As the description above notes there isn't much to West Yellowstone.  We drove through it on our way into the park, just stopping long enough to fill up (knowing that as high as prices were there they were sure to be more expensive inside the park).  However, on this trip back out to the area I had certain plans.  A stamp and a movie were involved!  Our first stop was at the visitor center, which did indeed have a passport stamp.

There is apparently an interesting historical trail around town that follows bear paws printed onto the sidewalks.  If we go back to the area at some point I'd like to spend some time following it.

FREE West Yellowstone Historic Walking Tour - Follow this informative self guided tour and relive early West Yellowstone. The green Bear Paw Trail that’s painted on the sidewalks will lead the way! Pick up your map at the Chamber of Commerce or at one of the 21 site locations!--from Destination Yellowstone website [pdf download available at site]

There weren't any exhibits per se in the visitor center, but a few displays on the wall and plenty of brochures, including one that had a discount on the neighboring IMAX theater.  Amy was enough of a guest to ask to stack the brochure coupon with the matinee discount, and it worked.

Fifteen years ago when I visited Yellowstone with my parents we stopped in West Yellowstone to see the IMAX.  It made enough of an impression on me that I bought the film on DVD many years later, so I wanted to take Amy to see it at the theater where I first saw it.  It was definitely worth the trip, especially with the cheap deal we got.

I also got a smashed penny inside the theater, so I was happy about that.


After this we walked around just a bit, looking at a tiny taste of the area's history.

 This building apparently houses a museum now, but used to be a train station.

 On the front porch were several old vehicles like this Gilmer & Salisbury Mud Wagon/Mail Coach:

Imagine yourself riding on top of tie piles of mail and freight as this coach bumped along dusty roads.  Sometimes that was how early travelers caught a ride.  A coach this size was pulled by four to eight horses, depending on the size of the load and the conditions of the terrain. 

This coach has been restored and was originally painted red.
--exhibit signage

This vehicle is an antique 1964 Arctic Cat snowmobile.  Compare this to a snowmobile you might see today. 

To learn more about winters in West Yellowstone, please step inside the Museum.
--exhibit signage

We didn't actually venture inside the museum, but the next time I visit West Yellowstone I would like to explore inside the place.  We did step over to the front of the building and then we took a look down the road also.

It looked quite touristy across the street, but I still think that it would be an interesting place to stroll around.

The buildings may not all be antiques, but they certainly seem to have character.

When we headed back into the park we could skip the lanes where people paid their entrance fee and go through the fast lane.  Of course it didn't actually move the fastest, but that was beside the point, ;-).

~Matt

PS Here are all of the album pictures: