North Entrance Road

The North Entrance Road is five miles (8 km) long from the Roosevelt Arch to its intersection with the Grand Loop Road in front of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The current road takes you through Gardner Canyon and along the Gardner River, one of the many scenic waterways to be found within the park.

As this route was among the earliest used to access the park by visitors, it is rich with history. The current road generally follows the third road built between what is now Gardiner, Montana, and the park’s headquarters at Mammoth. The second route, now known as the Gardiner High Road, remains accessible as a scenic side road, affording high views of Electric Peak, Mt. Everts, Bunsen Peak, and the other scenery that rings the area. There’s a 1000-foot (304 m) drop in elevation as you leave the little development at Mammoth and arrive at the arch, regardless of which path you choose.

In the early days of the park, this entrance was easily the most used route into Yellowstone. The Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, first in Cinnabar and then in Gardiner, brought visitors by the thousands each summer to see the park known around the world as Wonderland. The government established a headquarters at Mammoth (later used and greatly expanded by the U.S. Army), and began building a series of roads into the depths of the park to allow visitors access to its thermal features, canyons, lakes, and other points of interest.

Today, this is the third most used entrance into the park (the West Entrance is the most popular, followed by South). As you travel along the road, keep your eyes open for elk, pronghorn antelope, and, as you travel through Gardner Canyon, bighorn sheep. This road is winding and steep in places, and there’s a section known as Soap Hill because of how slick it gets when

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it’s wet. So while you’re driving, be sure and keep your eyes firmly on the road. If you see something you wish to examine more closely, pull off the road where it is safe to do so to avoid interfering with the flow of traffic.

As you begin your trip to Mammoth, one of the first things you’ll notice is the large complex on the north side of the road just inside the arch. This is the old Yellowstone Park Transportation Company complex, much of which was constructed in the mid-1920s. This was the area from which the concession tour buses would leave to pick up tourists arriving at the Gardiner Railroad Depot. From here, they’d take the tourists to the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to begin their journey through the park. Today, this complex is used primarily by Xanterra, the park’s lodging, restaurant, and tour concessioner, and is the check-in point for as many as 3000 seasonal park employees every spring. See the Gardiner and North Entrance Development Section for additional details on these buildings.

From here, you’ll pass through the north entrance gate, travel along the Gardner River, and pass the site where a garden was operated to supply U.S. Army personnel and the park’s hotels with fresh vegetables year round. You’ll also pass Boiling River, a hot spring that is one of only two sanctioned swimming areas in the park. From there, you’ll continue up past the Mammoth Campground and a large employee housing complex, and arrive in Mammoth Hot Springs.

0.0 / 5.2 GPS: 45.02963, -110.70888 ElEvation: 5318 FEEt north EntrancE – rooSEvElt arch e arch Park (n) b c XantErra hEadquartErS and WarEhouSE comPlEX (E) GardinEr mEadoW (W) ö

The imposing Roosevelt Arch marks your entry into Yellowstone National Park at its north boundary. Built in 1903, it is slightly skewed so that it faces what is now the Heritage and Research Center (HRC), necessitating a somewhat awkward, blind turn if you’re approaching from the east. At the time of its construction, the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot was located where the small Park County building is today (south of the football field), and the Arch was built as the grand entrance for those arriving via train. No one envisioned the automobile becoming the primary means of travel into and through the park, or that train service would eventually be discontinued (the depot was razed in 1954). At the time, it was believed the relatively bland and uninspiring northern entrance to the park needed a grand visual statement for arriving visitors, so the concept of the grand arch was developed.1

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thThe 50-foot tall Arch gets its name from President Theodore Roosevelt, who laid the cornerstone for the structure on April 24, 1903, while he was vacationing in the park. You can easily pick out the cornerstone, located on the inside of the right column (looking at it from the Gardiner side); it bears the inscription “April 24, 1903.”

A common question asked of rangers and other employees is what lies behind the doors on either side of the vehicle passageway. The answer is nothing. These were originally walkthroughs for pedestrians, but they were closed for safety reasons after a rape occurred in one in the 1930s. The center roadway opening is 25 feet wide by 35 feet tall.

The small park/picnic area located across the road to the north of the arch is known as Arch Park. It is a restoration of the original park that was located here when the arch was constructed. It re-opened in 2000 and now has seven picnic tables, including two under a covered picnic shelter.

The small pullout on the west side of the road after you pass through the Arch was the site of the first check-in stations for the park. The original station (built in 1921, to replace a tent that was being used) burned in 1937, and a replacement was constructed on the same site. These early stations presented a somewhat awkward situation for those entering in automobiles. Since the station was on the right side of the vehicle, the driver had to lean across the passenger seat to transact business with the ranger. Over time, the entrance stations have been relocated to a variety of sites until 1991 when the present kiosk was constructed.

The large field on the east side of the road is known colloquially as The Triangle. For a period of time after the Arch was built, this area was used to grow alfalfa to feed the bison, pronghorn, and other wildlife. This practice has long since been discontinued, however. In the 1890s, this area was the home to a horse racing track built by early park concessioner James McCartney (see the entry for the McCartney Hotel in the Mammoth Hot Springs Development section of Part II).

On the opposite side of the Triangle is a building complex that houses two of the park’s primary concession operators, Xanterra (hotels and lodges, campgrounds, restaurants, transportation, and several other services) and the Yellowstone Park Service Stations (YPSS). The complex includes warehouses, offices, a bunkhouse for employees, and several residential structures that house senior managers of the concessioners and NPS staff. See the Gardiner and North Entrance Development section in Part II for details on these buildings and their history. Most of these structures date

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to the mid-1920s when one of Xanterra’s predecessors, the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company, built the complex to house and manage the buses and other vehicles they used to transport visitors around the park. The area is now a historic district.

As you drive the quarter of a mile between the Arch and the North Entrance Station, keep your eyes open for the pronghorn antelope, elk, and bison that frequent the flats on the west side of the road (known as Gardiner Meadow). If you wish to stop and photograph them, be sure to pull off to the side of the road so that others can pass unhindered.

0.4 / 4.8 GPS: 45.02571, -110.70151 robErt rEamEr avEnuE - SErvicE road (n)

The service road that runs north from here is known as Robert Reamer Avenue, named after the famous architect of the Old Faithful Inn and several other buildings within the park (including several of the structures located along this road). This is primarily an access road for employees of the concession companies that have offices in the building complex described above.

By the way, if you try to go around the line of cars backed up at the North Entrance Station via this road during the summer, you’ll usually be asked to turn around and come back up the North Entrance Road from the Arch.

0.5 / 4.7 GPS: 45.02528, -110.70083 north EntrancE Station i old GardinEr hiGh road (W) *

This the North Entrance Station, where you’ll be greeted by a uniformed visitor services representative of the National Park Service, and asked to pay your entrance fee or show your pass. Once you’ve paid, hang onto your receipt – you’ll need it to get back in the park (and may be asked to show it on the way out). You’ll be provided with the park’s newspaper, a map, and any other relevant information related to road construction, road closures, or any other situation that might impact your ability to move about the park efficiently. You are welcome to ask any questions, but be mindful of any traffic behind you, especially during the busy summer season.

The small building here was constructed in 1991, the latest in a long series of buildings used to control entrance into the park at this location. During the peak of the summer season, another, smaller temporary structure is added to help facilitate traffic flow and cut down on congestion. Current

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thplans call for a reconfiguration of the entire area, and include an expanded entrance complex to help alleviate these problems.

Just past the Entrance Kiosk, on the west, is the exit from the old Gardiner Road (also known as the Gardiner High Road because it went over higher ground en route to Gardiner). This is a one way road (two-way for bicycles) that comes from Mammoth (behind the hotel), and is only open during the dry months of the summer season. It was one of the original routes people used to get from one place to the other, but was relegated to back up status once the road through Gardner Canyon (roughly today’s road) was constructed in 1884.

If you walk out into the field immediately to the east of the Entrance Kiosk, you can still find traces of the very first road leading from (what would become) Gardiner up into Shooting Range Flat (see below), and would connect into the old Turkey Pen Road as it took traffic toward Cooke City. See the section on the Mammoth to Tower Falls Road for more information about Turkey Pen Road (at the entry for Blacktail Deer Creek Trailhead).

0.8 / 4.4 GPS: 45.02096, -110.69714 miGratinG animalS Pullout (E) e ö

This turnout has a couple of interpretive panels about Yellowstone’s Northern Range and the migration of wildlife through the area. The Northern Range includes the Yellowstone River Valley from this area through the Lamar Valley in the northeastern section of the park.

1.1 / 4.1 GPS: 45.01770, -110.69385 rEScuE crEEk WESt trailhEad (E) ç ShootinG ranGE Flat/mcminn bEnch (E)

The Rescue Creek Trail has its western terminus here. It is a 7.7-mile (12.5 km) trail that connects with the Blacktail Creek Trail, which has its trailhead on the Mammoth to Tower Road east of the Wraith Falls Trailhead. Much of the trail is what remains of the old Turkey Pen Road, a miner’s road that led from this area to Cooke City at the park’s northeast entrance.

Rescue Creek got its name through a misunderstanding. It was the mistaken belief of Ferdinand Hayden that Truman Everts had been found along this creek (which is a couple of miles up the trail), when in actuality he was found near Tower Creek on the park’s eastern side. Everts became

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lost on one of the early expeditions through the park, and wandered the wilderness for 37 days before being found.2 His story is told in the book, Lost in the Yellowstone: Truman Everts’ “Thirty-Seven Days of Peril.”

The large expanse of flat land across the river from you was originally a rifle range for the U.S. Army during its tenure in the park (1886-1916). When the Army left, the land was used as a golf course for park employees from 1920-1940 (known as the Antelope Golf Course). Today, locals know the area as “Shooting Range Flat.” If you hike about a third of a mile out on the Rescue Creek Trail, you’ll still be able to see the trenches used by the target operators in the fields to the north. To the south from the Flat, you see a ridge known as McMinn Bench. It is named after Silas McMinn, a gentleman who operated a coal mine at its base from 1883 until 1920. The NPS rehabilitated the mine in 1993, however, so little trace of it remains.

1.7 / 3.5 GPS: 45.01038, -110.69391 north End oF GardnEr canyon EaGlE’S nESt rock (E) e ö SPlit rock (W) e

This is the north end of Gardner Canyon. As you pass over the bridge (built in 1957), notice the tall rock spire on the east side of the road (look high up). This is Eagle Nest Rock. Like many other features of the park, it got its name early on. In reality, the birds that build nests on these spires are osprey, or fish hawks, not eagles, though. Check to see if birds are nesting there, and if so, you might have the opportunity to watch them dive into the river below to catch fish.

On the opposite side of the road in the river, you’ll see a large boulder that rolled down the hill and into the water, splitting down the middle. It should come as no surprise to you that the rock is often referred to as Split Rock. On July 4, 1887, this point on the road was the scene of the first of the park’s five stagecoach robberies. You can see a few vestigial remnants of the old road on the other side of the river here as well.

1.9 / 3.3 GPS: 45.00683, -110.69351 SlidinG hill (W) ö

On the west side of the road, you’ll notice evidence of several landslides and mudslides along the face of Sepulcher Mountain. This stretch of roadway has caused tremendous problems for the park’s road crews over the years, especially when the road was on the opposite side of the river (1901-1921). Debris would often roll down into the roadway, occasionally causing

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thdamage to the tires of passing vehicles. Even today it is not unheard of for a major rockslide to occur along this road, shutting down the roadway.

The rocks above you to the east are prime territory for bighorn sheep; you’ll often see them moving about the sides of the steep cliffs. During the early and late seasons, the sheep can often be found grazing along the side of the road as well.

2.2 / 3.0 GPS: 45.00317, -110.69233 45th ParallEl Pullout (E) e

At this point, you are almost exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. The actual line is about 800 feet south of here, but there is no place to build a pullout at the exact location where the parallel crosses.Up until a few years ago, it was believed the line was considerably south of this point near Boiling River. And contrary to popular belief, this is not the Montana/Wyoming State Line. That is approximately one mile to the south (see below).

2.7 / 2.5 GPS: 44.99652, -110.69324 South End oF GardnEr canyon chinaman’S GardEn (W) e

This is the south end of Gardner Canyon. In 1879, a garden was established in the large flat area to the west of the road to provide fresh produce for the park. When the U.S. Army assumed control of the park, the garden was expanded and improved (i.e., irrigation ditches added).

From 1907 until at least the late 1910s, an Oriental man named Sam Wo operated the garden to provide produce for the hotels. Sam’s residence, which was removed in 1931, was designed by Robert Reamer, the same man who designed the Old Faithful Inn and many other important buildings in the park.

3.0 / 2.2 GPS: 44.99287, -110.69276 boilinG rivEr turnout (E) m á GardnEr rivEr Picnic arEa (W) b

Boiling River is a hot stream of water emanating from the rocks along the edge of the Gardner River. It is believed to be runoff and drainage from the springs and terraces in Mammoth and is one of only two places where swimming is officially authorized within the park (the other is in Firehole Canyon).

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Up until the mid-1980s, this spot was little known outside the park employee community, but it is now one of the most popular places in the park during the summer. Park in the lot and take the 1/2 mile hike to the mouth of the river. Nudity is not permitted, and the only place to change is the vault toilet at the head of the trail, so you may wish to come prepared if you plan to dip into the water. You can also continue south along the trail another mile and connect into the Lava Creek Trail. The water here doesn’t really boil, as it averages between 115°F-125°F (46°C-52°C).

During the late May and early June time frames, the water levels are often too high to allow for safe swimming so the NPS will close this area during that time. The small building on the north end of the parking lot at the river’s edge is a U.S. Geological Survey gauging station that monitors water levels and flow rates at this point on the Gardner River.

Boiling River was the site of Matthew McGuirk’s Medicinal Springs when the park was created in 1872. Mr. McGuirk had established the camp in 1871, approximately 150 yards above the river’s mouth; it was designed to offer invalids and others who believed the water had “healing powers” a place to stay on site. The government closed the camp in 1874, used the structures to house government employees for a brief period, and then removed all of the facilities (house, bath house, barn, fence) in 1889. McGuirk later received $1,000 from the federal government to compensate him for the property.

The Gardner River Picnic Area (also known as the Montana/Wyoming State Line Picnic Area or the Forty-Fifth Parallel Picnic Area) the on the south side of the road has two tables. There’s no toilet at the picnic area, but you can walk across the street to use the vault toilet at the Boiling River Parking Lot. During the busy July/August time frame, people often use this to park for the swimming area, so the parking lot is often full.

Just north of this the road crosses over the Gardner River on a bridge built in 1958 as part of the Mission 66 Program.

3.0 / 2.1 GPS: 44.99232, -110.69239 montana/WyominG StatE linE SoaP hill

Surveyors originally intended to set the Montana/Wyoming border at the 45th Parallel, but they made a slight miscalculation. As a result, the state line is here, several hundred feet south of the Parallel. The sign was erroneously placed up until a few years ago.

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thThe hill you begin climbing at this point (or that you just descended if you’re coming from Mammoth) is Soap Hill, so named because it is quite steep and can become “slick as soap” when it gets wet.

4.0 / 1.2 GPS: 44.97863, -110.69228 lava crEEk north trailhEad (E) ç

This is the north trailhead for the Lava Creek Trail. It is a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) trail that follows Lava Creek back to Undine Falls and ends near the Lava Creek Picnic Area (both accessible off the side of the road on the Mammoth to Tower Road east of Mammoth Hot Springs). About 1500 feet from this trailhead, the Lava Creek Trail turns south. Alternatively, you can turn north and walk approximately 1/2 mile to Boiling River. This is an excellent alternative to the bathing area’s actual parking area on busy days during the summer.

There is an interpretive display here regarding Mt. Everts. The trail skirts Everts until the last half mile or so, when it climbs up onto the small bench over which Undine Falls drops.

4.3 / 0.9 GPS: 44.97528, -110.69300 loWEr mammoth houSinG arEa South SErvicE road (n) dudE hill (n)

This is a service road that leads to a residential and maintenance area used by NPS personnel. Much of the housing in this area was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s as part of the Emergency Conservation Work Program implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. Another group of housing was added in the early 1960s as part of the Mission 66 Program.

The large building you see on the north side of the road as you drive by is the old Yellowstone Elementary School, constructed in 1962 as a part of the Mission 66 program. The building originally had five classrooms and a gymnasium, but another classroom and office space were added in 1972, and an addtional expansion occurred in the mid-1980s. Up until 2008, this was where the children of NPS employees attended elementary school, but it is now the Mammoth Community Center. Today, all students of employees in Mammoth attend school in Gardiner. The school sits on the site of a small housekeeping cabin complex (three dozen or so cabins) that were constructed by the Yellowstone Park Company in conjunction with the old campground (1926-1958; many were removed to other locations in the park).

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The hill to the immediate north of the school is referred to by locals as “Dude Hill’’. The “dudes” from the Mammoth Campground often walk to the top of this hill to get a good view of the area around Mammoth (you can see the worn foot trails up the hill in several places).3 The hill is a moraine - a collection of debris that accumulated from a landslide or debris slide off a glacier.

4.4 / 0.8 GPS: 44.97288, -110.69308 mammoth camPGround/amPhithEatEr (W) − " m

The Mammoth Campground is the only campground inside the park that is open year round. It’s located within the hairpin turn here just below Mammoth Hot Springs and has 85 sites, an amphitheater, and five comfort stations with running water and flush toilets. The campground was constructed in 1937-1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This occurred at the same time as the initial portion of the housing complex across the street was being developed. The campground’s amphitheater was added in 1953.

The daily rate for 2013 was $20 per night. Just before you get to the entrance to the campground, there’s a small turnout for one of the comfort stations on the west side of the road, making it accessible to those traveling along the highway. The campground is built across an extinct hot spring known as Cedar Terraces. You can still see the old travertine deposits in the hill to the west of the campground (the terraces were apparently still issuing forth water in the 1880s, memos from that era suggest).

Across the street from the roadside restroom at the campground’s entrance was the location of three small stores used to serve campers (a delicatessen, general store, and a Haynes photo shop). Though constructed in 1924-1929 during the days of the second campground, they remained in place for a number of years to serve campers in the current campground as well. The buildings were removed in the late 1950s. After the stores and the housekeeping cabins were removed (see note about the school site above) and the housing area was expanded, the NPS created a man-made berm along the east side of the road to block views of the residential area from the campers.

4.5 / 0.7 GPS: 44.97229, -110.69328 loWEr mammoth houSinG arEa north SErvicE road (E)

This is another service road into the NPS residential complex. The area east of the road here was the site of the previous Mammoth Auto Camp

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thand a small housekeeping cabin area, complete with a Haynes Photo Shop and a small cafeteria. Once the campground was moved across the road to its present location, the area was adapted for housing park employees. The houses in this complex were constructed beginning in the late 1930s through the 1960s.

The original road up to Mammoth actually traveled through the old campground and what is today the housing complex prior to 1938 (it connected with the road to Tower just east of the old Guardhouse, which is now Residence #8 - see the Mammoth Development Section for more details on it). The NPS constructed the new, steeper road up Cedar Terraces in conjunction with the creation of the Esplanade that year (the split road in front of the Post Office and Justice Center).

From 1929 to 1931 this area was also home to a short-lived fish stocking operation. The water was of poor quality and millions of fish died before they could be stocked in the park’s streams, however, so it was closed down.

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From here, you can head 20.9 miles (33.6 km) south to Norris Junction and the Norris Geyser Basin, east 18.1 miles (29.1 km) to Tower Junction, or north 5.2 miles (8.4 km) to Gardiner.

Mammoth Hot Springs is the park’s headquarters. The large development on the east side of the road is known as “Fort Yellowstone,” and houses most of the administrative operations that are necessary to allow the park to function on a daily basis. Most of the buildings in this area were constructed from the late 1800s through 1916 when the U.S. Army was responsible for the park. This is also a National Historic District.

On the opposite side of the road are the hotel, general store, service station, dorms and support facilities for concession personnel, and the park’s Justice Center. See the Mammoth Hot Springs Development section for a walking tour of these buildings and their history, as well as background on some important buildings that are no longer here.

The roadway in front of the Clinic, Post Office, Justice Center, etc., was constructed in 1936-1938. Prior to that, entry into upper Mammoth area was via a road that connected near the Chapel.