Friday, April 18, 2014

Stay Close To The Action With Yellowstone Motels

By Essie Osborn


The United States has many dramatic landscapes and places that you simply have to explore. For example, the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon should be on everyone's travel bucket list. The cowboy country of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho is the perfect place to enjoy wide open spaces and bigger than big skies and they're also home to one of the country's other most famous attractions. The many of Yellowstone motels make it possible for you to visit the country's top national park and be right there where the action is.

Yellowstone National Park was declared one in 1872, the first time this was done anywhere in the world. This UNESCO World Heritage Site stretches over a little less than 3,500 square miles. It lies mainly within Wyoming but small areas are also in Montana and in Idaho.

Most people associate the park with Old Faithful. This famous geyser erupts at regular 91-minute intervals. The eruptions are quite spectacular, with steam and boiling water shooting up more than a hundred feet. Steamboat Geyser is bigger but doesn't erupt that regularly, which is why Old Faithful is so popular. It guarantees a splendid show of the forces of nature in action. Check with the visitor center in the park for eruption times.

Old Faithful may be the park's most famous geyser but there are many, many more. They just don't erupt that regularly. Because Yellowstone is really a volcanic caldera, there are huge areas of geothermal activity. Boardwalks have been built for visitors to walk on, since the earth's crust can be deceptively thin and it's very easy to fall down into a boiling hot pool of mud or water.

The thermal pools and geysers great reasons to visit but the popular park also offers much, much more. The landscape here is astonishingly beautiful and a favorite among landscape photographers. You'll be able to admire and take dramatic pictures of mountains, meadows, rivers, canyons, lakes, waterfalls and a petrified forest, among others.

Hiking is a popular activity, especially in summer. You can also explore on horseback and for one week in spring the entire park is car free, making it a haven for cyclists too. Wildlife abounds and some of the species you may be able to spot are wolves, bears, bison, deer, elk, pronghorn and mountain lions, along with a wide variety of birds.

The national park offers various accommodation facilities but these become fully booked very quickly, especially in the summer months. However, the towns of Gardiner and West Yellowstone, both in Montana, are just outside park boundaries. Gardiner lies on the northern side and has a few motels in a small-town atmosphere. West Yellowstone lies to the west and has a museum, an airport and a wide selection of motels and other accommodation options.

The busiest time to visit is during the summer months and you'll have to book your accommodation well in advance. Fall and winter are less crowded but winter can be very cold. However, visiting during this time means that you can also try snow sports such as skiing.




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