Where to Stay in Yellowstone National Park
Your guide to the best areas and accommodation types
Yellowstone's nine in-park lodges fill 13 months in advance and several close from November through April. Most visitors base themselves in one of five gateway towns positioned at the park's main entrances. West Yellowstone sits directly at the west entrance and has the largest concentration of hotels and outfitters. Gardiner, at the north entrance, stays open year-round and sits five minutes from Mammoth Hot Springs.
Jackson, 57 miles south, pairs Yellowstone with Grand Teton scenery and a resort town's dining and nightlife.
Budget
$25-75 per night for campgrounds, the Madison Hotel hostel, and basic motels in West Yellowstone and Gardiner
Mid-Range
$120-220 per night for timber lodges, renovated inns, and historic hotels near the park gates
Luxury
$280-600 per night for in-park historic lodges, resort cabins, and Jackson Hole boutique hotels
Where to Stay in Yellowstone National Park
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for every visitor.
★★★★
Mid-Range
Gesang International Hotel (Wuwei Tianzhu Railway Station)
From $48 / night
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Best Areas to Stay
Each neighborhood has its own character. Find the one that matches your travel style.
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West Yellowstone
Mid-range
Montana's most popular Yellowstone gateway, sitting directly at the west entrance with no buffer between the last gas station and the park gate. Canyon Street and Yellowstone Avenue pack motels, gear shops, bear spray rentals, and a dozen restaurants into four walkable blocks. Old Faithful is a 30-minute drive east through lodgepole pines, and the sharp sulfurous smell of the geyser basins begins drifting through car windows well before you reach the thermal features.
- ✓ Directly at the west entrance, zero buffer between town and park gate
- ✓ Widest selection of hotels, restaurants, and outfitters of any Yellowstone gateway
- ✓ Snowmobile and snowcoach tour operators based here for winter visits
- ✓ Free town shuttle to the park entrance runs daily during peak season
- ✗ Congested in July and August. RVs back up on Canyon Street before 8am and the commercial strip can feel relentless
- ✗ Feels more tourist-infrastructure than genuine town compared to Gardiner or Cooke City
Recommended places to stay in West Yellowstone
mid_range
Three Bear Lodge
Gardiner
Mid-range
A compact Montana town of roughly 900 people sitting at the north entrance beneath the stone Roosevelt Arch, the only park entrance open every day of the year. The Yellowstone River churns gray-green through a sage-scented canyon just below Main Street. Mammoth Hot Springs is a five-minute drive up the road, and the Lamar Valley, where wolf packs cross frost-white meadows at dawn, is reachable in under an hour.
- ✓ The only year-round entrance. Open 365 days including deep winter when all other gates are closed
- ✓ Closest town to Lamar Valley's wolf and bison habitat
- ✓ Quieter and more local than West Yellowstone
- ✓ Mammoth Hot Springs terraces are a 5-minute drive from any hotel in town
- ✗ Fewer hotel options than West Yellowstone. Books out quickly in peak summer and faster than most visitors expect
- ✗ Limited dining scene. A handful of casual bars and restaurants with nothing upscale
Recommended places to stay in Gardiner
mid_range
Absaroka Lodge
Jackson
Luxury
A Wyoming resort town 57 miles south of Yellowstone's south entrance, with the elk-antler-arched Town Square as its centerpiece. The drive north passes through Grand Teton National Park, where the smell of sage after afternoon rain and the sight of jagged granite peaks reflected in the Snake River justify the extra distance. Jackson offers the most sophisticated dining, lodging, and nightlife of any Yellowstone gateway, along with year-round airport service.
- ✓ Best restaurants and bars of any Yellowstone gateway. From elk-medallion fine dining to craft breweries with live music
- ✓ Grand Teton National Park lies directly en route to Yellowstone's south entrance
- ✓ Year-round commercial air service into Jackson Hole Airport
- ✓ Jackson Hole Mountain Resort adds skiing and lift-served hiking for shoulder-season visits
- ✗ 57 miles from the south entrance adds 90 minutes of round-trip driving to every Yellowstone day
- ✗ Noticeably more expensive than other gateways across all lodging tiers, with demand driven by Grand Teton visitors year-round
Recommended places to stay in Jackson
Cody
Mid-range
A Wyoming plains town of 10,000 people founded by Buffalo Bill Cody, positioned 52 miles east of Yellowstone's east entrance via the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway, a canyon road where the wind carries the scent of dry grass and the Shoshone River cuts through sheer red-rock walls. Cody has full-city infrastructure: a regional airport, a hospital, the excellent Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and a nightly summer rodeo that runs June through August.
- ✓ Buffalo Bill Center of the West, one of the foremost Western art and history museums in the country
- ✓ Regional airport with seasonal direct flights cutting out a long drive to Yellowstone
- ✓ Nightly Cody Nite Rodeo June through August with authentic cowboy energy and the smell of arena dust
- ✓ Wide choice of steakhouses and local bars with genuine Western character
- ✗ 52-mile scenic drive to the east entrance. The byway is worth it but adds real daily travel time
- ✗ East entrance closes from early November through late April, making Cody a dead end for winter Yellowstone visits
Recommended places to stay in Cody
mid_range
Chamberlin Inn
In-Park Lodges
Luxury
Nine Xanterra properties inside Yellowstone. Old Faithful Inn's seven-story log lobby soars overhead. Lakeside cabins. Canyon-rim rooms. The only way to sleep inside Yellowstone's boundaries.
- ✓ Wake inside Yellowstone before crowds arrive. Dawn at Old Faithful belongs to you. Hayden Valley at first light. Guests staying in-park own these hours.
- ✓ Saves 60 to 90 minutes of daily driving versus any gateway town
- ✓ Old Faithful Inn and Lake Yellowstone Hotel carry irreplaceable architecture. The log interior echoes with a century of visitor voices. Historic. Unmatched.
- ✓ On-site dining. Ranger programs. Evening naturalist talks within walking distance.
- ✗ Reservations open exactly 13 months ahead. Popular rooms sell out same day. No walk-ins. No exceptions. Mark your calendar.
- ✗ Rooms are rustic by design. Most lack air conditioning. No televisions. Unreliable cell service. Visitors expecting full hotel amenities get surprised.
Recommended places to stay in In-Park Lodges
Cooke City
Budget
A tiny Montana mining community. Fewer than 150 year-round residents. Tucked in a high mountain valley four miles from Yellowstone's northeast entrance. Air at 7,600 feet stays cold even in July. Carries the resinous scent of Engelmann spruce. Cooke City is the nearest base for Lamar Valley at first light. Wolf packs move across frost-covered meadows then.
- ✓ Closest town to Lamar Valley. Northeast entrance is 4 miles away. Be at wolf-watching pullouts before full sunrise.
- ✓ Completely uncrowded even in peak summer. Every other Yellowstone gateway packs full. Skip this.
- ✓ Silver Gate, one mile west, adds a handful of quieter cabin alternatives
- ✗ Extremely limited lodging. Book weeks ahead. Town is small. Inventory is thin. Plan early.
- ✗ No grocery store. No pharmacy. Minimal cell service. Arrive fully provisioned. Resupply options sit an hour away.
- ✗ Beartooth Highway closes October to late May. Chief Joseph Scenic Byway remains the only exit route.
Recommended places to stay in Cooke City
mid_range
Soda Butte Lodge
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Accommodation Types
From budget-friendly hostels to luxury hotels, here's what's available.
Gateway Town Hotels and Motels
$60-220 per night
West Yellowstone and Gardiner together offer 40-plus properties. Vintage motor courts. Timber lodges. All within minutes of Yellowstone's gates.
Best for: Most first-time visitors. Families who want proximity. Flexible cancellation. Restaurants within walking distance.
Call the property directly for cancellation terms. Independent gateway motels prove more flexible than booking platform policies suggest.
In-Park Xanterra Lodges
$120-600 per night
Nine Xanterra lodges inside Yellowstone. Old Faithful Inn's soaring log interior. Lakeside cabins. The only accommodation within park boundaries.
Best for: Well-organized travelers who plan a year ahead. They eliminate daily 30 to 90-minute gateway commutes.
Reservations open exactly 13 months before your target date. Most popular rooms sell within hours. Set a calendar alert. Be online at 8am Mountain Time on opening day.
Campgrounds
$20-55 per night
Twelve campgrounds inside Yellowstone. Forest Service sites near the gates. Tent pads with fire rings. Full RV hookups at Bridge Bay and Fishing Bridge.
Best for: Budget travelers. Early-rising wildlife watchers. Anyone who wants to fall asleep to coyotes calling. Wake to pine smoke and cold morning air.
Recreation.gov reservations for Madison, Bridge Bay, and Canyon campgrounds open five months ahead. Fill within minutes. Set an exact reminder for the release date.
Vacation Rentals and Cabins
$150-450 per night
Full kitchens and private porches around Jackson and West Yellowstone outskirts. Space gateway motels cannot match. Built for groups. Built for long stays.
Best for: Families. Groups of four or more. Remote workers who need reliable broadband and dedicated workspace alongside Yellowstone access.
Two-night minimums are standard in summer. Book by February for July availability in Jackson Hole. Inventory shrinks faster than at any other Yellowstone gateway.
Booking Tips
Insider advice to help you find the best accommodation.
West Yellowstone fills by April for July
Target July or August? Book West Yellowstone by April at latest. Cancellations surface 30 days before arrival. Check daily. Set rate alerts if you missed the early window. Gardiner books out nearly as fast despite fewer total properties.
Shoulder season delivers the park at its best
Late May and September deliver cool mornings. Wildflowers bloom. Aspen turns. Crowds thin dramatically at every thermal feature. Gateway town rates run 35 to 45 percent lower than peak summer. Bison rut peaks late August into September. Fall color along the Gibbon and Madison rivers reaches deep amber and gold in late September.
Only the north entrance stays open all winter
All other Yellowstone entrances close for winter snowpack: west, south, east, northeast. Gardiner and the north entrance stay open every day of the year. This makes the town the only practical base for winter snowcoach tours to Old Faithful. It also supports dawn wolf-watching trips into Lamar Valley from January through March.
When to Book
Timing matters for both price and availability.
High Season
Book four to six months ahead for June through August. In-park Xanterra lodges need 13 months lead time. The week around July 4th is the single hardest window. Every gateway town fills simultaneously. Same-day availability disappears entirely.
Shoulder Season
Late May and September usually need three to four weeks advance booking for gateway town motels. Jackson requires more notice year-round. Independent Grand Teton demand fills rooms regardless of Yellowstone season.
Low Season
October through April brings deep discounts to West Yellowstone and Cody. Both have limited or no park access in winter. Gardiner stays busier year-round. The north entrance never closes. Winter wildlife tourism keeps occupancy higher than off-season discounts suggest.
Four months ahead for summer. Three weeks for shoulder season. Same-week for winter, except Gardiner. Always identify a fallback gateway before committing to a specific park-entry date.
Good to Know
Local customs and practical information.
Check-in / Check-out
Gateway town motels typically check in at 15:00 and check out at 11:00. Most will hold luggage for early arrivals. They can often accommodate a 13:00 room if occupancy allows. Call ahead. Do not arrive and hope.
Tipping
Standard tipping applies across all Yellowstone gateways. Housekeeping in independent motels appreciates a daily tip left on the pillow. Guided wildlife tour leaders in Gardiner and the Lamar Valley corridor typically receive 15 to 20 percent. This applies to predawn wolf-watching trips. Guides spend hours scanning cold slopes.
Payment
Cards accepted at all properties in West Yellowstone, Jackson, and Cody. Carry cash for Cooke City. The single ATM there is unreliable. Bring cash for campground firewood vendors. Roadside produce stands inside and near the park also need cash.
Safety
Bear activity is real around all five Yellowstone gateways. Do not leave food, coolers, or scented items visible inside a parked car overnight. Cell service is reliable in West Yellowstone and Jackson. It drops to one bar or disappears entirely in Cooke City and parts of the Gardiner canyon. Driving between any gateway and a Yellowstone thermal feature after dark means watching for bison, elk, and deer. They cross the road without warning at speed.