Gardiner

History Gardiner grew up at the end of the railroad. The Northern Pacific's branch line ran south from Livingston through Paradise Valley, and in 1903 Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the stone arch at the park boundary. Its inscription, "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People", comes from the 1872 act that created Yellowstone. In 2005 the park opened the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center in Gardiner to house its archives and collections. On June 13, 2022, a flood destroyed several sections of the old North Entrance Road between Gardiner and Mammoth. The park rebuilt the Old Gardiner Road, an 1880s stagecoach route, as a paved two-lane road, with all four miles paved and more than 5,000 feet of guardrail, in about four months, opened it to visitors on October 30, 2022, and has since designated it the North Entrance Road. It is a temporary fix: in September 2026 the park approved a permanent new road, after which the Old Gardiner Road is to become a multi-use trail.

What to See The Roosevelt Arch stands at the edge of town and is the classic photo stop on the way in. Mammoth Hot Springs, with its terraces and the park's headquarters area, is about 5 miles up the road, just across the state line in Wyoming. The Boiling River soaking area, once a popular swim spot between Gardiner and Mammoth, was badly damaged by the 2022 flood. Swimming there is not allowed, and no reopening date has been announced.

Outdoors The road from the North Entrance through Mammoth, Tower Junction and the Lamar Valley to Cooke City is open to regular vehicles all year. Most other park roads close to cars for the winter; in 2026 that was 31 October. Guided snowmobile and snowcoach travel on the groomed interior roads runs from December 15, 2026 to March 15, 2027. The Yellowstone River runs through the middle of town, and the Gardiner River joins it here.

Getting There Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) is about 84 miles away by road, via Interstate 90 to Livingston and then US-89 south. Livingston is about 55 miles north. In winter, the drive from Gardiner to Cooke City through the park is a dead end: the Beartooth Highway beyond Cooke City is closed. That 68-mile road to Red Lodge crests at Beartooth Pass, 10,947 feet, which lies in Wyoming, and in 2026 it closed for the season on October 9.

When to Go June to September is the main season, when all of Yellowstone's roads are open; it is also the busiest time at the North Entrance. Winter, from December to March, is the season for guided oversnow tours and for driving the year-round road to the Lamar Valley, and Gardiner is the only gateway where you can drive in yourself. Spring and late autumn are quieter, with the interior roads closed to cars from the end of October (31 October in 2026) until their spring openings.