Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance

Lamar Valley1

Visitors traveling in through the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone National Park find themselves near the Lamar Valley, informally dubbed the American Serengeti due to its diverse array of wildlife. State park recreation sites, historic pictographs, Yellowstone Association Institute and the slopes at Red Lodge Mountain Resort area are among the attractions that beckon visitors to this area. The entrance also offers convenient access to the 64-mi (103-km) route that leads to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, affording exceptional views and scenery. Visitors traveling through this entrance on U.S. Route 212 should be sure to stop at the aptly named Vista Point, which offers a spectacular 9,200-ft (2804-m) view of the Beartooth Plateau across Rock Creek Canyon.

Billings, located on Interstate 94, is the closest major city to the Northeast Entrance. The city is roughly 120 mi (193 km) from Yellowstone via Interstate-94 to U.S. Route 212. For visitors traveling by air, Billings Logan International Airport is served by several major airlines. The Northeast Entrance also receives an abundance of vehicle-transit from eastern Montana and North Dakota.

ATTRACTIONS

Red Lodge Mountain Ski Area
The East Entrance is roughly 60 mi (97 km) from Red Lodge Mountain Resort ski area in Montana, home to 71 trails, eight lifts, a terrain park and an 18-hole golf facility. Not limited to downhill skiing adventure, the Red Lodge area has two ski touring trails that provide 11 mi (18 km) of cross-country terrain. But skiing and golfing are not the only draws to the area; the town of Red Lodge is steeped in Western hospitality, and the downtown area houses historic buildings, unique shops, restaurants and hotels. Plenty of family-oriented activities await, from visiting the animals at Beartooth Nature Center to cruising the city streets on a wagon or sleigh ride. Red Lodge's calendar is littered with events, including the Beartooth Rally in June, Oktoberfest in September, and annual halloween festivities in October.

Black-Headed Grosbeak2

	Beartooth Mountains3

Family Program at Yellowstone Association Institute4

	Roosevelt Lodge5

In-Park Accommodations
Roosevelt Lodge can be easily accessed from both the North and Northeast entrances. Western hospitality and rustic surroundings await visitors at this accommodation. Guests appreciate the large corral operation offering horseback trail rides, stagecoach trips and the Old West Dinner Cookout. The lodge cabins are open from roughly early June to early September. Two types of cabins are available: Frontier Cabins, typically equipped with two double beds and a bathroom; and Roughrider Cabins, which are more rustic, without bathrooms, sparsely furnished and heated with wood-burning stoves. Accommodations at Canyon Village, a more central location inside Yellowstone, are roughly 20 mi (32 km) from Roosevelt Lodge, and 50 mi (80 km) from the Northeast Entrance.

Out-of-Park Accommodations
The closest accommodations to the Northeast Entrance can be found in Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana. Several rustic motel and lodge-style accommodations are available, including Elk Horn Lodge, Soda Butte Lodge and Hoosier's Motel in Cooke City, and Grizzly Lodge in Silver Gate. For cabin-style accommodations, check out Big Moose Resort and Antlers Lodge in Cooke City, which offer cabins with and without kitchens. Red Lodge, roughly an hour-and-a-half drive northeast of Yellowstone, is home to an array of accommodation options, including hotels, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and cabins. Five miles (8 km) south of Red Lodge is Rock Creek Resort, which offers rustic American Indian and Southwestern décor amidst a scenic mountain setting. The lodge offers standard rooms as well as fully-furnished condominiums that can be converted into one-, two- or three-bedroom apartments. Billings offers more conventional accommodations, roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Yellowstone. Hotels and motels to suit a range of budgets are available.