National Park Journal Yellowstone 2019

There was a time when I naively thought that national parks didn’t need advocates, that they would remain wild just by the fact that they were designated national parks. But when Lucky Minerals proposed a gold mine near the North Entrance of Yellowstone, I was shocked. A gold mine near Yellowstone? In fact, there were two mines proposed by two different companies, one on Crevice Mountain on Yellowstone’s border, the other in Emigrant Gulch 18 miles down the road from the park. Early this year, Congress put an end to gold mining on 30,000 acres near the park when it passed the bipartisan landmark Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act. It was reassuring that 147 years after Congress created the world’s first national park it's still willing to protect it. I don’t think any of…

Online Visit MyYellowstonePark.com to find out where to stay and what to do during your vacation. Interested in exploring other national parks? Check us out: MyColoradoParks.com MyGrandCanyonPark.com MyOlympicPark.com MySmokyMountainPark.com MyYosemitePark.com MyUtahParks.com Trip Planner Start planning your dream vacation by requesting our tip-filled Yellowstone and Grand Teton trip planners online. You also can request vacation planning materials from our partners in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Newsletter Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter when you are on MyYellowstonePark.com . We cover tips on how to avoid crowds, best sights along the way and more. Workshops Join us for our online and in-person National Park Photography Workshop series. With Tamron’s professional photographers, we offer instruction on how to take night skies, sunset and sunrise photos. Learn more at nationalparktripsmedia.com/workshops . Facebook We want to hear from you. Share your experiences and…

If it weren't for an artist and a photographer, Yellowstone National Park might never have become the world's first national park in 1872. For years rugged explorers returned from the Yellowstone region with stories of a strange landscape dotted with steaming pools and shooting geysers. Most people passed them off as myth. Things changed dramatically in 1871 when artist Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson joined a 40-day geological survey to document the area. Through brushstrokes of paint and a camera lens, Moran and Jackson captured the wonders of Old Faithful, the beauty of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the splendor of Hayden Valley. When Congress viewed the men's work in 1871, it had an electrifying effect. In 1872, Congress and President Ulysses Grant created Yellowstone National Park. When you…

Buy your 7-day park pass ($35/vehicle, subject to change) or an annual Yellowstone pass ($70/year) in person or online at yourpassnow.com/ParkPass/park/yell . Visiting more than one park this year? Consider the America the Beautiful annual pass for $80 that gives you entry to all national park sites. The Access Pass is a free lifetime pass for citizens and permanent residents with lifelong disabilities. A Senior Pass is a one-time $80 fee for citizens and permanent residents 62 and older. Fourth-graders and their families get a free one-year pass when they print a voucher at everykidinapark.gov and bring it to a park entrance for free entry.…

Elk In summer about 10,000-20,000 elk live in Yellowstone. The population drops to 5,000 in winter as many migrate to the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyo. Bulls weigh up to 700 pounds. Females may weigh up to 500 pounds. In Yellowstone see them in Mammoth Hot Springs, Lamar Valley, Norris Junction and Madison Junction. In Grand Teton, go to Teton Park Road and Willow Flats. Moose Moose have long snouts, bulbous noses and dewlaps under their throats unlike other hooved animals. Look for them in areas with willows. In Yellowstone, look in Willow Park between Norris Junction and Mammoth, Yellowstone Lake, Fishing Bridge, West Thumb and Hayden Valley. In Grand Teton, look along Oxbow Bend, Blacktail Ponds, Mormon Row and Antelope Flats Road. Wolf About 100 wolves roam in 10 packs in and around…

NORTHEAST ENTRANCE Closest to Cooke City, Mont., and its sister village Silver Gate, this entrance gives you the best access to Yellowstone's legendary Lamar Valley where grizzlies, black bears, bison and wolves roam. The tiny outpost of Cooke City (year-round population is 100) has a downtown that spans only a few blocks but offers good dining and lodging options. In the summer, travelers can reach Cooke City via the Beartooth Highway or the park. In winter, this entrance is closed and the only way into Cooke City is through Yellowstone’s North Entrance near Gardiner, Mont. NORTH ENTRANCE Want to experience some of the West’s most spectacular scenery in a town that can feel like a cross between Northern Exposureand Animal Planet, given its wild neighbors living up the street in Yellowstone? Head to…