Powell: Your Base Camp to Explore the Wilds of Yellowstone National Park
The east gate is the best gate, but you can be the judge.
Why Choose a Gate?
Yellowstone is Yellowstone, right? Actually, there are five entrances and each are very distinct. Yellowstone National Park is huge, with 3,500 square miles. For example, that is larger than Rhode Island or Delaware. Therefore, Yellowstone is home to a variety of landscapes.
As a result, you can explore mountains, lakes, rivers, prairies, forests, and bubbling geothermal matter from far below the earth’s surface. Each entrance into Yellowstone differs in size, landscape, and animal activity. Similarly, each Gate Town differs in size, accommodation, restaurants and shopping.
Gate Towns
Each gate has a town close to it and we call them Gate Towns. The South Gate is Jackson, the West Gate is West Yellowstone, the North Gate is Gardiner, the Northeast Gate is Cook City, and the East Gate is Cody. Powell, Wyoming is just 20 miles northeast of Cody, and we have two gates that are easily accessible by vehicle. During your visit you can explore the East Gate and the Northeast Gate.
Time of Year
In the spring and fall the entry points of Yellowstone open and close at different times. The East Gate opens during the first weekend in May and will close in early November. Yellowstone National Park Service gives up to date information on road conditions, road work, openings and closings.
Forests & Features
Powell, Wyoming is 70 miles from the East Gate. Seventy miles may seem like a lot; however, we have an added benefit for the mileage! During your drive to our first National Park, you can travel through our first National Forest, Shoshone National Forest. To clarify, Shoshone National Forest is not just the first, it is massive at 2.4 million acres. In short, it is a stunning drive along the North Fork of the Shoshone river, the geological features, expansive views, and the wildlife sightings are not to be missed.