You Can Now Visit Yellowstone Before All the Tourists Arrive

Yellowstone National Park officially opened its East Entrance on Friday for the 2019-2020 season. The park's other entrances and all roadways will be open by Memorial Day Weekend, assuming the weather cooperates.

The East Entrance offers visitors the most direct route to Yellowstone Lake, which is situated above North America's largest supervolcano, Yellowstone Caldera. Among many other noteworthy features, this is where the famous Old Faithful geyser erupts throughout the day, spewing up to 8,400 gallons of scalding water over 100 feet in the air. The lake is also unique as one of the largest high-altitude bodies of freshwater on this continent.

May is a great time to visit Yellowstone, before peak summer months bring tourists galore; in fact, more than half of the park's annual visitors come through during the months of June, July and August. The National Park Service particularly recommends hiking at low elevations in May in order to observe all the new birth that spring brings. Observant visitors may be able to spot bear cubs, bison and elk calves, wolf puppies, bighorn lambs and pronghorn fawns exploring their new world for the first time.

Not sure about the cost or whether or not kids can go? Check out our tips on saving money at national parks, getting the $80 National Parks pass and bringing the kids along.