Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on-the-go meals. They have the standard deli fare of sandwiches and salads but also serve
up several flavors of ice cream.
West Yellowstone (population 1,298, elevation 6,667 feet) has something of a split
personality—hard-core athletes training for the Olympics next to hard-core snowmobilers
aiming for high-marking honors; get-too-close tourists alongside bison activists who try to
put themselves in the line of fire. The winters are huge, with snow that buries everything
but this town's spirit. The region shines with sensational recreational opportunities, from
guided snow coach and cross-country skiing excursions to snowmobiling and dogsledding.
The winters look interminable with piles of snow still scattered around town well into May
and sometimes June, but with so much sun and so much to do, residents never complain
about the cold.
The summers tend to be crowded as most people going to Old Faithful come through
“West,” as the town is known locally. With crystal-clear alpine lakes and rivers in every dir-
ection, there is no shortage of summer recreation—fishing opportunities are phenomenal,
and there are plenty of places to cycle. As the hub of the region and the busiest entrance to
Yellowstone National Park, there is plenty of good grub and lots of comfortable beds in and
around town.
MM
Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
If you have your heart set on seeing a grizzly or a wolf in Yellowstone, here's my advice:
Get it out of the way before you even go into the park, like a first kiss on a first date be-
fore you even order dinner. The
Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
(201 S. Canyon St.,
406/646-7001 or 800/257-2570,
www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.org
,
hours vary, daily year-round,
$10.50 adults and children 13 and over, $9.75 seniors 62 and over, $5.50 children 5-12, free
for children under 5, admission valid for 2 consecutive days) is a nonprofit organization that
acts something like an orphanage, giving homes to problem, injured, or abandoned animals
that have nowhere else to go. Although there is something melancholy about watching these
incredible beasts confined to any sort of enclosure, particularly on the perimeter of a chunk
of wilderness as massive as Yellowstone, there is also something remarkable about seeing
them close enough to count their whiskers. Watching a wolf pack interact from a comfy
