10 Must-Visit Small Towns in Yellowstone National Park

Gardiner is a quaint town on the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park. It has been the only year-round entrance to the park since 1872. The town has an Old West feel and natural beauty that make for a laidback retreat. 

Gardiner has numerous bars that share an authentic Western feel, complete with a saloon atmosphere, live music, and jukeboxes. Many of Yellowstone’s best attractions are near the entrance in Gardiner, such as the Roosevelt Arch, Mammoth Hot Springs, the Yellowstone River, and the Boiling River.

Livingston is a charming mountain city between the Crazy and Absaroka mountain ranges on the Yellowstone River. While it’s a small city, you can visit many historic places like the Fly Fishers International Museum and Livingston Depot Centre (a restored rail station and railway museum). 

A must-visit is the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, which documents the regional history of the Old West and the national park. The area is also home to 17 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Livingston is around 64 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. 

Red Lodge is an authentic Western mountain town in Montana, near the Beartooth Highway. Besides serving as a gateway to Yellowstone Park, it’s close to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, where you can explore 10,000-ft-tall peaks, alpine lakes, glaciers, and waterfalls.

As a well-traveled town, Red Lodge has many bars, restaurants, live music venues, galleries, and museums. Check out the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary, a tranquil area with an abundance of native wildlife. The Carbon County Museum is a great place to visit to learn about the town's history.

A popular basecamp and entrance town to Yellowstone National Park, Cooke City is famous for the road that connects it with Red Lodge. The route is known as the “most scenic drive in America” and takes you along the Beartooth Range and the Beartooth Pass for stunning scenic views. 

When you stay in Cooke City, you'll be surrounded by a national forest, rugged wilderness, and vast parklands, so there’s plenty of opportunity for hiking, biking, climbing, mountaineering, and other outdoor adventures.

Jackson is a bustling town that’s great for wintertime activities, such as skiing and snowboarding. Popular spots include Snow King Mountain Resort, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and Grand Targhee Resort. You can enjoy plenty of outdoor activities at both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Near the town centre is the National Elk Refuge, a sanctuary for one of the world's largest elk herds. 

Jackson has a lively square with artwork created by local talents. A must-visit is the Centre for the Arts, a facility supporting local artists and cultural enthusiasts.

Bozeman is a city in Montana's southern part, nestled in the Rocky Mountains. The city centre area hosts the Montana State University Museum of the Rockies, which traces the history of the area and surrounding attractions. The museum also has the Siebel Dinosaur Complex, where you can explore a notable collection of dinosaur exhibits and a planetarium. 

If you want to experience the great outdoors, you can visit the Bridger Range and the Spanish Peaks, a vast mountain area with trails for skiing, biking, and hiking.

Island Park is a Western satellite town near the West Entrance of the Yellowstone National Park. The town’s main feature is the 33-mile-long Main Street, which is one of the longest in the USA. Another highlight is the Island Park Caldera, a crater that was left behind by a massive volcano that erupted 2 million years ago.

Island Park is just 29 miles southwest of Yellowstone National Park.  You'll find plenty of accommodation options, including campsites, resorts, and lodges. 

East Yellowstone is one of the best places to stay near Yellowstone National Park. The town offers rustic lodges for accommodation as well as many attractions of its own. It has a rich history of frontier and mountain life, which you can see by tackling a historic trail. 

You can choose to walk in the footsteps of many Western heroes, including Jim Bridger and John Colter, 2 early mountain men, and Buffalo Bill Cody, a showman and bison hunter.

Cody is a vibrant town in northwestern Wyoming that has some of the best attractions near Yellowstone National Park. You can visit the Buffalo Bill Museum to learn all about the life and accomplishments of the famous showman, and the Draper Natural History Museum to see wildlife exhibits. 

Cody hosts the Old Trail Town, a recreated frontier town with historic buildings and taverns. Take the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway to enjoy excellent views of the landscape and surrounding parkland.

Tucked into the Rocky Mountains of southern Montana, Big Sky is a popular resort destination for skiing and snowboarding. You’ll find plenty of art galleries, golf courses, and other attractions, though Yellowstone National Park is the place to be for outdoor recreation. 

The Gallatin River and its offerings are nearby Big Sky, such as the Gallatin Canyon and Ousel Falls Park, so you’ll have no shortage of opportunities for outdoor enjoyment. If you like hiking, you can tackle a 1.6-mile trail to Ousel Falls, a towering waterfall with picnic areas and viewpoints of the landscape.