Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Yellowstone National Park Review

If you come to Yellowstone be prepared to get annoyed...
I love everything about nature, love seeing all of the bison, bald eagles, and well you get the point. I know there are a lot of people that love all of those thing as well, however people need to obey the rules and need to find a designated pull off or parking area to stop to take pictures of all of the animals, and all of the beautiful things within the park, and stop, slamming on the brakes and stopping in the middle of the road just to take a photo of the 100th bison you have already seen.
Avoid going to Yellowstone in peak seasons, and just make sure all of the roads are open when you go. Yes that is very important or you can end up having a 5hr detour.

What can i say that hasn t already been said? Yellowstone is an icon of our NP system. It has everything. It is also crawling with people but less busy in the winter. Ive been in the summer and winter. It s worth noting that many of the attractions outside of the geothermal section are not open in the colder months.

One of my favorite parks I've visited. How can you go wrong here? The answer is, you can't. Unless you hate wildlife, and awesome sights

Beautiful scenery! We weren't expecting to spend an hour just inching in lines. Maybe other entrances are less crowded, we took the West entrance. We did enjoy seeing lots of wildlife.

CHRIS in lodging and booking made things easy to start out with . Lots of personality and lots of patience ! Thank you Chris we are super excited to visit Yellowstone !

What more can you say about America's first national Park other than what a beautiful sight. If you have never been you should plan a vacation there come in through the north leave through the west.

Yellowstone National Park is definitely something you have to take your family to see

Great experience! We saw an eagle, wolf, moose, buffalo! & saw old faithful going off.

Amazing place. Very busy right now due to summer and virus, so get to those hotspots early! Park is very beautiful, lots of pullouts for pictures. The hikes are a little hard to find, make sure to bring bearspray.

Words can't describe how amazing this natural wonder is.

Its Yellowstone!!!! You need to invest time to appreciate this place. It has a lot to offer but only of you take the time and effort. You can see a moose or stop and watch it and get a feel for it and nature.
You can run out after you see Old Faithful (not the most impressive but you do have to see it) or you can walk the surrounding fields and develop a sense of the power of what is happening actually inches under your feet. Norris field is not to be missed, it only lacks the T Rex coming over the hill.

Most beautiful place and luckly to see geysers active which usually cycles once in a week.

Many more photos I took just some of the photos I took on the trip at Yellowstone but for people to say this is not a 5 star place is INSANE!!! THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN THE USA!!!!! So much to do just make sure to take 2-3 weeks off to explore it.

The best place to smell the fart from amazing beauties. Dwarf forests and big lakes.

There are not enough words to express the beauty here. I came in November so was limited, but it's just overwhelmingly beautiful. There staff was very helpful as well. Yellowstone Forever.

Nature and science together.
Wild animals nearby.
So lovely .
Beautiful .......

Definitely an American icon that should be visited at least once by everyone. Breathtaking views, engrossing wildlife, and genuinely friendly friendly people. There have been many fires that have left the landscape looking a bit bleak, but thats the circle of life... Giving four stars because everything is still over priced a bit- even for a tourist area.

Beautiful and worth the price. Feels like what it used to be without humans.

Pictures don't do this place justice!! This National Park works for people who like to stay on the beaten path and those who like to wander. I just kept saying WOW the entire time we were there. Rangers were helpful with hike ideas. I would definitely recommend bear spray and sunscreen.

Park has some of the most beautiful and varied country I have ever seen. Everyone who works here wants to be here and it shoes. The infrastructure in general is very well built and maintained.

Popular and crowded, sometimes Very crowded. Drivers will slam on their brakes for one buffalo sighting, be warned. Theodore Roosevelt NP has in my opinion more buffalo and closer encounters without exiting you vehicle AND far less traffic at a much lower price. Top 15 much see national park but not the best. This place needs more busses and less or no POV's.
Drivers need to drive and lookers look, lots to see

Wonderful time. Awesome sights. Great adventure. Loved it.

Yellowstone National Park is a beautiful place to spend some time in the evening and the great thing.

No words to explain its beauty of nature. Worth visiting in for life time. Bears, bisons all over, geysers and natural springs all over. Spectacular drives and views, fresh water rivers and hot springs. Make sure to carry bear horns if you want to hike. Becarefull with the bisons. Make sure to visit the restaurent next to lake. It has good dining view.

This is a hard review to write. Not because we had a bad experience at Yellowstone National Park. No, that's simply not the case. My family had an amazing experience. It's hard to put into words. Our trip to Yellowstone National Park was the highlight of my children's trip. We took a cross country road trip visiting as many national parks as possible. When I asked my kids what their favorite national park was, they instantly said Yellowstone National Park. We can't wait until we plan our next trip.

Being from the area, we try to visit once a year. Thermal features, wildlife, scenery and interesting people.
Feels silly to write a review. What hasn't been said?

It's an amazing wonder! The breath taking views the awe of the rare phenomenon, the wildlife. Its worth taking the time to go to the park. Bring sunscreen, lots of water (bottle refilling stations are at the Yellowstone general store and are free), a good camera, snacks, and enjoy the view.

Love this place, it has great places to go and on my way there I stopped at Mount Rushmore but when I arrived at Yellowstone it was epic

Late September is a pretty time to go with the leaves changing.

Absolutely wonderful! Natural geysers, colourful rocks and springs, craters, mini volcanos, large alpine lakes, waterfalls, mountain views, wildlife, hikes, canyons and what not! Truly awesome! Recommend at least a 5 day visit to do most of the important trails with no rush. I had to book a room at Cody for my stay as all the cabins and lodges within the park were reserved. Reserve the lodges within the park and it'll save you 2 hours of driving everyday. Also download the Yellowstone app by NPS. It has all the important details of main things to see and helps navigate as most of the park has no network coverage.

Of all the National Parks I ve visited, Yellowstone National Park is the best. We saw Old Faithful and a couple of other geysers go off, saw lots of wildlife, walked around the park, etc... Definitely worth going to at least once in your life.

I'm speechless - if you ever have the privilege to visit Yellowstone National Park, make sure you appreciate it for as long as you can. The American treasure may not be there for very long given our ever-growing forest fires, climate change, and who knows what. I took my little brother on a roadtrip to Yellowstone as a birthday present, traveling all the way from Washington state to have the experience of a lifetime. They say the journey there is what matters, but in this case the destination has just as much merit. I'll remember the trip for the rest of my life, i hope you will too.

Beautiful place with great scenery, geysers and basins make a unique landscape unlike other parks. Also lots of wildlife you can see from the road, bison, deer, bears etc. you don t necessarily have to stay inside the park. Very doable to divide the sites and do say drives and hikes. Best towards end of May or start of June as some trails and roads are still closed (we visited in mid May)

One of the most fascinating places on earth. You'll find an "instagram moment" every fifty feet. This combination of landscape, wild life and thermal features can't be found anywhere else on the planet. If you haven't been, add this park to your bucket list now!

A beautiful park that gets your appreciation for nature roused. I mostly focused on the geysers and was not disappointed worry the kaleidoscope of colors. The lake and rural scenery is also wonderful to see. I hope to have time to come back and see other parts of the park someday.

The most amazing place I've ever been. Only got to stay for one day, but I will be going back soon to stay longer. Got to see my share of wildlife even in my short stay.

How can you not love this place finding a spot to park is challenging with Covid but still tons of wildlife and the geysers are very cool of course we did old faithful and the pools but there are some cool things in the central area of Yellowstone Hayden valley is great to see wildlife bears elk bison everything

It's a beautiful nation park. It has everything from mountains to valleys, waterfalls to geysers. And I guess that's the reason it's so famous and crowded all the times. But I wish park had some sort of shuttle system like Zion and Bryce to reduce the car traffic. Parking was nightmare everywhere. And people were parking on the sides of road making to pass dangerous. Ample of wildlife specially bisons. We loved driving through Lamar valley and we also old faithful geyser( it lived up to it's name). Colors of grand prismatic spring looked beautiful and bright. Next time I would love to go there in winter just to avoid the crowd.

It is definitely a beautiful place with spectacular views and scenery! With 2.2 million acres...there is plenty to see and do. Mostly in the state of Wyoming, the park also is in parts of Montana and Idaho. There are 5 entrances to the park...South, East, Northeast, North, and West entrances. There are plenty of animal species to see like moose, bears, bison, elk, wolves, coyotes, antelope, bighorn sheep, and many many more. It is a very busy place so early Spring or late Fall is the best time to visit. If you are going to be hiking, make sure you bring bear spray along with you. This place is not a zoo, so please do not try and pet or ride the animals!

A lifetime must see, beautiful scenery and incredible wildlife

We spent a week here in July. I'd heard horror stories of traffic jams, but I did a lot of research and I'll impart some wisdom on to you: GO. EARLY. If you're there in July/August at their peak season, hit the popular spots first or you'll struggle for parking. Take water with you and go to the bathroom before you even enter the park so you don't have to wait in line. Make sure you see Prismatic Springs and Old Faithful, but you've GOT to see the Brink of the Lower Falls and Inspiration Point at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone as well as Lamar Valley and Mammoth Springs. Hit the Geyser Basins if you can at all! If you can, go up through Grand Teton and enjoy a sunset at Oxford Bend.

An excellent place to consider visiting if you're more outdoors inclined and are prepared to hike. The quietest and most beautiful views tend to be along the hiking trails, off the beaten paths.
Roads and popular tourist locations tend to be too busy and packed like sardines with people trying to get selfies. Be especially wary when visiting geysers and taking the walkways. There is very little room to walk when people group up rather than move in lines. Extremely dangerous considering 200F+ temperature water is hardly covered below you. In addition to this listen to the park rules and give the wildlife their space. Be an individual please!

Overall, it's fantastic and hard to describe the vastness of it and variation throughout it. Wonderful, cool summer temperatures--such a nice break from heat and humidity in the South.
Traveling to and from points of interest, you'll be on narrow, winding roads--usually without guardrails. So, if you're not a confident driver and you drive slow, be sure to follow the signs and pull-over and let others pass. Otherwise, it is America the beautiful.

Incredible park, forests, and mountains. We drove west to east through the park and made many stops enroute. Saw Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake and many geysers. So beautiful.

My oldest daughter took me to Yellowstone National Park the first week of Oct 2019. Although she had previously made the trip more than once, I myself had never been there. We began our journey entering the park in the south east corner of the park and ended days later in the north west corner. Old Faithful was a site to see as were the other geysers throughout the park. Herds of Buffalo were everywhere. The occasional coyote, pronghorn antelope, mountain goats, and even a bear were a pleasure to spot. The big treat though were the herds of elk that roamed the streets and headed in the grass just outside our hotel room the last night. Truly an amazing place to visit and one I am grateful I got to experience.

Wonderful. Hot spring pools amazing. Saw a large herd of Bison & Old Faithful NEVER disappoints. One Bison was so close we could hear him chewing. Always @ a safe distance... Falls & gorge absolutely amazing too.

The best best best N.P. in the US for sure!! We enjoyed both camping and staying at one of the hotels, also the food was quite good. The nature, I can't explain good enough, my most favorite of all was Grand Prismatic!

One of must visit places in United States just for its uniqueness. Yes you cannot get down to take bath to hot springs so if you have idea to do that, head down to Thermopolis. They have public and private(paid) natural geysers.

If you have plans to go to Yellow stone, don't ever forget to carry offline google maps or Print outs of maps. They do give map handouts but better have a offline GPS for easier navigation.

The place is quite huge so keep an entire day for the tour.

The features of the Park are great. I don't believe the money is managed well as you can see very few repairs that are done to the roads and trails. For the amount of money you pay in the number of people they get, you would think you would see improvements each year.

First, and definitely the best national park in the US!

A must place to visit for wildlife viewing!! I recommend this place very highly!! Saw massive numbers of bison, elk, bear, and wolf ( my wife saw seven wolves together eating on a bison carcass)! Great place to fly fish and just relax.

Seen one majestic and colorful thermal feature of archaebacteria, you've seen them all. They don't even let you touch the geysers, and there's only black and grizzly bears no panda, polar or cave bears.

Completely overrated it , they show you all these animals that inhabit the park , but they just happen to never be there when you visit. I came in winter and the valley where the wolfs live was closed for the season , im here in summer and the wolfs will not come out , honestly i have talk to a lot of people that has visited the park in different seasons and nobody has ever seen them , they probably created this lie . They also show you moose but the moose doesnt live there , u will never see one ,
U will see a million bisons or Buffalos , to the point u get tired of them , specially because those are the one causing all the traffic . I saw a couple of bears to a distance and that was about it , this time i stayed at the park 5 days , i also came in winter a couple of years ago .
My best recommendation is the helicopter tour from west Yellowstone , that is totally worth it and if you feel adventurous the beartooh pass on the northeast entrance gotta be one of the most beautiful scenic routes on planet earth , other than that the Geysers in general are pretty cool and utterly unique , only here , iceland and Turkmenistan have them and the ones in iceland shoot to 30 feet , seriously not way to compare , that you gotta give it to Yellowstone , so to conclude i can say that if you lower your expectations not expecting to witness what you have seen on National geographic + you complement with activities outside the park like Jackson hole or big sky in the winter you can definitely have a nice experience , like if you have a better place to go , Lol , or is it ?
In my opinion Glacier national park is way better when it comes to scenery and wildlife + no traffic
:)

Had a great time going over Beartooth pass in motorhome, "38 ft" Winnebago. It's a bit narrow up and over, but what a view, just beautiful. This is not our first time through Yellowstone Park but each time it's wonderful, the park is just great if you have the chance to go do it.

It's worth the visit for sure. We did three days in the park but you could spend weeks here and not see it all. For the casual visitor arriving by car you need to have either a 7 day pass for $35 per car or a National Park pass which is $80 per year that allows two named users.

The West entrance is most used and there are lanes for buying passes and for those that already have them.

Speed limits are usually 35-45 mph but you rarely see those speeds. Somebody is always stopping in the middle of the road to take a photo of the elusive yellow bellied pine warbler or some other critter with no concern for the 200 cars behind them. Take deep breaths and look at the scenery. Sometimes it's the bison holding up traffic too, they do just hang out on the road.

Bathrooms: these are outhouse style with no running water except at lodges and restaurants. At individual road side attractions the lines are long. Top Tip: smaller trailheads also have bathrooms with no lines so seek them out and pull off to avoid lines.

The crowds can be pretty bad at times. Bus loads of Chinese tourists will push you out of the way to snap 1000 photos and try to cut in line at the bathroom. Just push them back and kick them to the back of the line. Dont put up with their BS.

There us basically no cell service in the park. Download offline Google Maps for navigation or grab a paper map and stick the phone in the glove box.

Parking at attractions can take 10 minutes or more. There are never enough spaces and people suck at driving. Deep breaths and look at the scenery.

Truly an amazing NP!!
There are plenty of things to do for all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts.
DEFINITELY worth the drive from Denver.

A beautiful place to spend time exploring! Animals and geography will keep you busy for days as you travel around the park. Plan for travel delays as animals cross the road. Use map and guidebooks to find picnic sites and areas of interest. Don't skip small excursion roads, they hold some gems.

This a magical place. You will see nature like you ve never seen it. You will be amazed by its beauty. The prospect of seeing wildlife in its natural element is super exciting. You have the potential of seeing bear, moose, elk, deer, buffalo, wolves, coyote, and a myriad of other animals. I absolutely love this park. I will continue to come here. I highly recommend this park.

Most beautiful national park in the USA. It has each and every side of nature from mountains to water falls, cold rivers to hot geyser, different types of animals, lakes etc.. It is the single destination for nature lovers to cover everything in one trip. It needs at least one week to explore everything in the park.

This is the most beautiful place on earth I have ever been to. I definitely can not wait to go back!

The best National Park I've been to, and I've been to almost all of them. Make sure to check out the campgrounds as they are a lot cheaper than hotels in or near the park and super close and convenient.

Took us 19hrs to get here. Definitely worth the drive though. We loved the experience. Highly recommend. Pack cozy clothing. Gets pretty chilly at night. Enjoy!

Are you kidding me?!? Wow, amazing. Surreal in places. Huge. Vast. Have to go back again!

We got to Lamar Valley just before the sunrise. We were surprised and blessed to see a true National Geographic experience. A bison had died just a couple of days before and we were able to see wolves and Grizzlies having breakfast.

Yellowstone is beautiful! Make sure to hike by the canyon. The hike to fairy falls is worth it!

Awestruck by the geological wonders of this national park. Unmissable.

Beautiful, to all that enjoy national parks, let be sure to help save them and continue contributing.

Nice play to take the family to get away from the city. You'll see wild animals like buffalos and bears. I heard wolves also but I need to go back to see them

Yellowstone National Park was the first US national park.

The wolves didn't come out for me to photograph. One star! It's a national park and a special place, how can you even rate it?

Most amazing place! A week wasn't long enough to explore the park! I am looking forward to going back!

Awesome park, but the maps and signage are not good. A lot of the major sites are not on maps supplied by the park. If you just drive around that is fine, expect to pull over every few miles to check out sites, especially on the North loop. Also expect lots of traffic. Google maps is way off with it's time to destination, I guess it must average out drive times, for example a 20 mile drive shows up as 3 hours in Google maps.

We enjoy going several times a year just to see the wildlife. There is plenty of trails and other things to do as well.

Stayed three days which wasn't long enough. Could have spent ages here but we were touring the wild west for a month so had to move on. Amazing landscape and wildlife. Too much to list. A must to do.

The most unique natural landscape I've ever seen, and so so much to see. It's an amazing place and the staff i met were all very happy and eager to help (even with the increased crowds and stress of the eclipse). Will definitely come back to enjoy it again. Amazing.

Must visit park. Need a solid week to fully experience. I overheard someone who said it best - it is truly the American serengeti.

Yellowstone is such a beautiful park. There are so many interesting places to see. It s truly a unique location in the world that everyone should try to see at least once in their life.

It is frequently very busy so plan on it being crowded. It s still absolutely worth going to.

So beautiful, saw herds of buffalo, elk. If anything, should be seen at least once. Great experience.

Even more beautiful than you think it will be.

Don t bank on having cell reception.

If not the most unique and beautifully restored national parks, yellowstone is scenic and hosts amazing wildlife. Had a great time camping. Book in advance though, spaces are limited.