Gardiner and the Yellowstone North Entrance

When Yellowstone was set aside in 1872 it became the world's first national park, and Gardiner grew up as the railroad gateway that brought the first waves of visitors. To mark that entrance, a grand stone arch was built at the boundary, and in April 1903 Theodore Roosevelt, then on a long western tour, laid its cornerstone and gave the dedication speech.

The inscription over the arch, For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People, comes straight from the law that created the park, and it captured a radical idea for its time: that a landscape this spectacular should belong to everyone, not to a private few. Driving beneath the arch today is still the classic way to enter Yellowstone from the north.

The North Entrance holds a special place in Yellowstone. In winter, when snow closes the park's interior roads to cars and the other entrances shift to snowcoach and snowmobile travel, the road from Gardiner to Mammoth and on to the Northeast Entrance stays plowed and open to regular vehicles. That makes Gardiner the base for anyone who wants to see Yellowstone in winter without a guided oversnow trip.

It is also the gateway to the park's northern range, some of the best wildlife country in Yellowstone. The Lamar Valley, often called America's Serengeti for its herds and its wolves, lies along that same open winter road, so Gardiner is a natural base for wildlife watching in every season.

Gardiner straddles the Yellowstone River just as it leaves the park, and the river is a big part of life here. Outfitters run whitewater raft trips through the canyon below town, and anglers work one of the most famous trout rivers in the country. The river also draws the wildlife: it is common to see elk bedded on lawns and bison ambling down the streets, a reminder that the town sits right on the edge of wild country.

The setting stretches north into the Paradise Valley, a broad, mountain-framed valley along the river between Gardiner and Livingston that is one of the loveliest drives in Montana. Chico Hot Springs and the Absaroka and Gallatin ranges bracket the valley on either side.

The northern range around Gardiner is prime habitat, and the animals are close. Elk are a year-round fixture in town, bison move through the arch grounds and river flats, and pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and deer are all common. Just inside the park, the Lamar and Hayden valleys hold wolves, grizzly and black bears, and some of the best wildlife viewing in North America.

Summer is the busy gateway season, with long days and heavy traffic through the arch. Fall brings the elk rut and gold cottonwoods along the river. Winter is Gardiner's quiet secret, when the plowed road makes it the easiest way to see a snow-blanketed Yellowstone, with wolves and bison against the white.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.