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Guides
The best campgrounds, hotels and lodges near Yellowstone National Park
Clint Henderson is a managing editor at TPG who has worked in the journalism industry for more than 25 years. He is obsessed with travel and has used points and miles to explore the world.
August 18, 2020 • 13 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
Yellowstone National Park and its surrounding areas offer a wide range of lodging options, from rustic park cabins and campgrounds to upscale hotels and vacation rentals.
Accommodations inside the park are managed by a single concessioner, with most lodges selling out quickly, especially for summer stays.
Nearby towns such as West Yellowstone, Gardiner, Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston, Cody and Jackson provide both points-based and cash hotel options, though prices can be high during peak season.
Alternative stays include vacation rentals, luxury resorts and camping, with dispersed camping available in nearby national forests for budget travelers.
What to consider
Lodging inside Yellowstone opens for booking 13 months in advance and often sells out within hours, but cancellations can create last-minute availability.
Taxes and fees can significantly increase nightly rates, particularly in West Yellowstone and at luxury properties near the park.
Camping options are limited during peak times and may be further restricted due to seasonal or pandemic-related closures.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed advice on booking strategies, specific property recommendations and tips for maximizing value with points or alternative accommodations near Yellowstone.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
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Yellowstone is one of the nation's most popular national parks. It's also one of my favorites. I've been four times in 2020 alone. I can tell you from experience it's also not a cheap place to visit -- especially in the summer. There are some tricks and decent deals can be found if you do your research.
Here's a complete guide to staying in the towns surrounding the park or in the park itself.
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There are plenty of places for you to stay in and around Yellowstone. Both vacation rental properties and hotels are plentiful at all five entrances to Yellowstone (there are three in Montana and two in Wyoming).
Points hotels (And a few non-points hotels) near Yellowstone
Search Cook City, Gardiner, Red Lodge or West Yellowstone in Montana for hotels or rental properties near the trio of Montana entrances. There are also plenty of places to bed down at the two Wyoming entrances or even in nearby Idaho. You can search Cody, Wyoming too. Jackson, Wyoming-area hotels will work too, but I've found the Jackson Hole area to be the most expensive place to stay.
If you’re looking for places to spend points, there are far fewer options unless you’re willing to stay a few hours outside the park in places like Bozeman, Montana; Idaho Falls, Idaho; or Jackson, Wyoming.
West Yellowstone, Montana
There’s a nice Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone where last-minute rooms in August start at $272 a night. That’s steep, but if you book early you can certainly find better rates. A long weekend in September will set you back $252 a night, or you can use 45,000 IHG Rewards Club points per night.
(Screenshot courtesy IHG)
I booked a room here in July and, despite the last-minute reservation, managed to secure a decent rate. Just watch out for added taxes and fees (unlike the rest of Montana, there are taxes in West Yellowstone). The final price ended up being almost $300 a night. Ouch. (Screenshot courtesy Holiday Inn/IHG) Holiday Inn West Yellowstone (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
There are also two Choice hotel properties travelers may want to consider: An Ascend Hotel for $212 a night and a Comfort Inn starting at $186 a night in West Yellowstone. Choice also has select properties in Livingstone, Montana, but that’s an hour away from the park. (Screenshot courtesy Choice Hotels)
Travelers can also consider the Days Inn by Wyndham West Yellowstone (from 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points per night). And if you have Best Western Rewards points, you could try the Best Western Desert Inn or the Best Western Weston Inn, both from 28,000 points per night.
Bozeman, Montana
If you’re looking for a major chain hotel, you’ll need to head to Bozeman, Montana or Jackson, Wyoming or even Idaho for a Hilton or a Marriott property. Rates are generally better, but it’s a good two-hour drive to Yellowstone from Bozeman. Prices are also high during the peak summer season — yes, even in 2020 — and can easily run at least $250 per night.
When it welcomes its first guests in August 2020, the 122-room Kimpton Armory Hotel Bozeman will be one of the area’s most exciting new properties. The art deco building dates back to 1941 and features a whiskey bar, a rooftop pool and a concert hall. It’s about an hour from Big Sky and two hours to the north entrance to Yellowstone. Rates range from $207 to $299 a night during August and September.
(Screenshot courtesy IHG)
There are three Hilton properties in Bozeman including a Hampton Inn, a Homewood Suites and a Hilton Garden Inn.
Marriott has SpringHill Suites, Element, and a Residence Inn. Rates are high this summer starting around $200 a night, and it's even worse looking out to next summer when much is already sold out.
Big Sky, Montana
The Wilson Hotel in Big Sky, MT. (Courtesy of Zachary Grosfield)
In Big Sky, the relatively new Wilson Hotel, a Residence Inn by Marriott, is one of the first from a major brand in the area. Rates start about $244 a night, and it's just about an hour (52 miles) from Yellowstone National Park. It's 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.
(Screenshot courtesy Marriott)
The Lodge at Big Sky looks pretty rustic too. Rates start at about $189 a night.
Lone Mountain Ranch looks charming if you want to indulge your Western fantasies. In my research, it looks like rates start at about $450 per night.
You could use your Capital One card to put a dent in that spend. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is currently offering a bonus of 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. This is $750 you can put toward travel expenses of your choice. (You can "erase" travel purchases from your credit-card statement at the exchange of 1 Capital One mile for 1 cent.)
(Screenshot courtesy Lone Mountain Ranch)
Gardiner, Montana
If you're on a budget, there are lots of options in Gardiner, Montana, including a Super 8, a Travelodge by Wyndham and a Comfort Inn. There's also a non-points option that looks pretty charming and rustic: the Roosevelt Lodge. It averages around $200 a night, but prices can go as high as about $500 per night.
Gardiner, Montana July 2020. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
Livingston, Montana
There is a brand-new Fairfield Inn and Suites in Livingston, Montana, about an hour from the park. It's near the northern entrance which is the only entrance open year-round. It is a Marriott Bonvoy Category 5 hotel and rates in August of 2020 started at $188 a night or 105,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.
Fairfield Inn in Livingston, MT (Image courtesy Marriott)
Also in Livingston, there's a Travelodge and a Super 8 -- both by Wyndham, There's the Yellowstone Valley Lodge, an Ascend Hotel Collection, and a Comfort Inn as well. All are pretty basic but will do the trick for less than $150 a night.
Cody, Wyoming
Cody, Wyoming is another option for folks who don't mind driving a little over an hour to the park. It's a charming town in its own right with a museum dedicated to the Old West called the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
There are lots of motels and lodges in Cody, but the one that looks most interesting from a points POV is the Holiday Inn Cody at Buffalo Bill Village. Cash rates in September were about $122 a night or you could use 7.500 IHG Rewards Club points and $66 per night. A straight redemption would run you 17.500 IHG points (but availability is scarce).
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming July 2020 (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
There are tons of options in Jackson, Wyoming, but prices are high. You are literally at the doorstep of Grand Teton National Park, and only about an hour to a southern entrance to Yellowstone. It's 100 miles to Old Faithful.
There's the Marriott property SpringHill Suites Jackson Hole, but rates are high. Like almost $500 high. I was able to find rates as low as $355 in the offseason but that's still pretty pricey. It's a category 6 Marriott Bonvoy property, and redemptions start at 50,000 Bonvoy points per night this time of year (if you can find availability) and can go higher.
(Screenshot courtesy Marriott)
Hilton has a few properties in Jackson but they are pricey ($400+ a night). You could also use 40,000 Hilton Honors points per night which I would call a good deal.
If you want a really good cash deal, you'll need to head for Rexburg, Idaho, which is a pretty long drive over the mountains from Grand Teton National Park... another hour past Yellowstone. Rates there start at just $136 a night.
(Screenshot courtesy Hilton)
Hyatt has the Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa that's "coming soon," according to the World of Hyatt website. The property had a big fire back in November of 2019 and is undergoing a major rebuild.
IHG has a new property in the area called Mr & Mrs Smith Caldera House, but there's no firm opening date.
Within the park, travelers will discover several rustic lodges. Xanterra is the concessioner for all accommodations inside Yellowstone National Park (as well as Glacier and others, too). Many of the large lodges have existed for more than a century, so keep that in mind and manage your expectations accordingly.
Hotels sell out quickly during the high season. Even with the coronavirus crippling travel, there isn’t much availability. In fact, only cabins are available in the park right now. Lodges are closed and are likely to remain shut down for the remainder of 2020. That makes inventory even scarcer than it usually is this time of year.
I was able to find some dates with availability, but prices are high. At Mammoth Falls Lodge cabins, rates were $277 a night for dates in August.
Back in June, I stayed in the cabins at Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge. They are charming but basic. The beds are small, and there’s no air conditioning. Still, it was really fun staying inside the park and having easy access to hiking trails and the beautiful Mammoth Springs. Mammoth Hot Springs cabins in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
The cabins at Old Faithful Lodge are cuter and just steps from the famous Old Faithful geyser. They’re tiny, sure, but the perfect base for exploring the nearby geysers, mountains and hot springs when I stayed there in June. Rates in August start at $174 a night. Cabins at Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
If you’re thinking about staying inside the park next summer, act fast.
Betsy O’Rourke, chief marketing officer at Xanterra, told TPG earlier this year, “We open the inventory 13 months out and we sell out in a few hours. However, about 30% of that inventory cancels and gets rebooked.”
Her advice? Check back frequently. “Our cancellation policy is 48 hours out, so we do get cancellations even close in.”
You can find better deals if you’re willing to stay at a vacation rental instead. Airbnb has plenty of properties, especially for travelers who want something unconventional like a traditional log cabin, glamping-style tent or a treehouse.
Even last minute, there’s availability on Airbnb outside the park. I recommend searching for West Yellowstone or Gardiner. I found plenty of options near Montana’s Western entrance to the park starting at $157 a night. (Screenshot courtesy Airbnb)
Luxury accommodations near Yellowstone
It can also make a lot of sense to use your credit card points to help offset the cost of an upscale stay near the park. Consider redeeming a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a stay at an independent property.
The Under Canvas “glamping” lodge is just 10 minutes from Yellowstone’s West Entrance. I found availability in August for $264 a night. With taxes and fees, a four-night stay would be just over $1,200.
If you want to splurge, try the Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana — it’s about 4.5 hours from the park, and rates start around $1,600 a night. Paws Up resort in Greenough, Montana, is also a 4.5-hour drive, and rooms will set you back about $1,700 a night. And the first five-star, ultra-luxury hotel in the entire state, a Montage in Big Sky, will debut in 2021.
Camping in Yellowstone
Of course, you can always camp inside Yellowstone. The park has 12 proper campgrounds with over 2,000 individual spots. You can head over to Yellowstone National Park lodges to make reservations, which cost $27 a night, on average.
Other campgrounds are available on a first come, first served basis. They fill up quickly in the summer, and in 2020 not all campgrounds are available because of the pandemic, so your mileage may vary. A search in July found just four of the 12 campgrounds open and accepting reservations. In fact, most were full by 7 a.m.
If you have an RV or camping equipment, you can stay outside the park in the surrounding national forests for very little — or nothing at all. It’s called dispersed camping, and travelers comfortable with a more primitive stay should consider the surrounding Custer Gallatin or Bridger Teton National Forests.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
