Both gateways earn their own days. West Yellowstone offers the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, the Museum of the Yellowstone, world-class fly fishing, and the Rendezvous trails. Cody counters with the five-museum Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Old Trail Town, the nightly summer rodeo, and Shoshone River rafting. Browse our Activities, Dining & Shopping, and Museums & History guides.

Three headliners anchor most first visits: Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Spring at Midway Geyser Basin (the photographers' favorite), and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, roughly 20 miles long and up to 1,200 feet deep with three waterfalls. From our West Yellowstone hotels, all three work as day trips; from Cody, enter past Yellowstone Lake and build the loop from the east.

At any of our front desks, staffed 24 hours by people who live here. They'll help you time entrances, pick guided tours, find fishing guides, and build each day around what's open in your season. It's the advantage of hotels run by Yellowstone locals rather than a chain office.