A Journey through Yellowstone in 1905

A trip through Yellowstone National Park around the turn of the 20th century would have taken about 6 days. Starting at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel near Gardiner, Montana at the north end of the park, travelers boarded a wagon that took them counter-clockwise in a loop around the park.

Day 1: Visitors arrived in Gardiner on one of two daily trains from Livingston. In Gardiner, they boarded a six-horse coach that took them to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel for their first night in the park.

Day 1: Upon arrival at the hotel, visitors checked in and received passes for the touring wagons. After that, they were free to explore the terraces and formations of Mammoth Hot Springs for the rest of the day.

Day 2: As many as 300 visitors rose early and gathered in the hotel plaza where they were assigned a seat on a four-horse touring wagon that would transport them on a five-day loop of the park.

Day 3: After a night at the Fountain Hotel, tourists took the short coach ride to the Old Faithful Inn. They spent the afternoon exploring the Upper Geyser Basin and enjoyed the Inn’s fireplace and popcorn in the evening.

Day 4: The next morning tourists took the 19-mile trip to the shores of Yellowstone Lake, where they stopped for lunch before continuing on to the Lake Hotel.

Day 4: In the early days of Yellowstone, bears were intentionally drawn to open garbage heaps near hotels. Visitors looked on while accompanied by an armed ranger. As the number of bear injuries rose, the park banned bear feeding.

Day 5: Tourists continued to the Canyon Hotel where they ate lunch before visiting Inspiration Point to view Yellowstone Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Day 6: The journey ended where it began. After a ride to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, visitors returned to Gardiner, where they boarded a train that would take them back to their homes.