Yellowstone's Once-Thriving Stop For Stage Coach Tours Is Now A Scenic Hotel Escape That's Still Worth A Visit

America's first national park, Yellowstone, was originally nicknamed "Wonderland," and the moniker sticks with good reason. Yellowstone boasts stunning natural elements from basalt formations and active geysers like Old Faithful to rare wildlife and geothermal hot springs. Mammoth Hot Springs, located near the North Entrance  – the only entrance open year-round to wheeled vehicles – is one of the park's most popular sites with dozens of unique, terraced hot springs. As the historic district and the administrative headquarters of Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth Hot Springs includes Fort Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins. Fort Yellowstone is a former U.S. Army outpost that once fortified the park's northern boundaries. Nearby Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins is a historic "grand accommodation" still welcoming guests after its beginnings housing stagecoach passengers in the late 19th century. 

Yellowstone National Park opened in 1872. The park gained traction when the Northern Pacific Railroad and the National Hotel — now Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins — arrived in 1883. Crafted in Queen Anne style, the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel was one of the park's most opulent lodging options and the first overnight stop for affluent travelers on the Grand Loop stagecoach tour. By 1886, visitors were embarking on these five-day horse-drawn stagecoach tours looping the park, decamping each night in tents or the burgeoning park hotels. In 1913, the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel received a new guest room wing and flat roof, and a little over two decades later, in 1936, the hotel was redesigned in Art Moderne style while adding cabin cottages. 

From 2017 to 2019, the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel underwent a $30 million renovation centered around maintaining and updating its historic Art Moderne elements. It improved Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access, seismic stabilization, and modern electrical systems. Sustainable upgrades included new recycled carpet, and the gift shop was expanded to make room for a seasonal ski shop. 

Yellowstone has more campsites than any other national park, but for guests who don't want to sleep in tents, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins offers an indoor alternative with easy access to the national park's epic hot springs. The hotel is one of just two open nearly year-round, and offers suites and deluxe rooms balancing amenities and minimalism. Just note that these rooms have no air conditioning due to mountain temperatures dropping significantly at night. Deluxe rooms offer standard king or two-queen rooms, as well as a mini refrigerator, microwave, and full bathroom. Suites feature separate bedroom and living room areas and are the only rooms with TV.

The cabins behind the lodge feature a more unplugged, off-the-grid feel. Non-hot-tub cabins are only available from April to mid-October, but you can book hot tub cabins with a private patio any time during the hotel's near-year-round operations. Warmer-seasonal Frontier Cabins live up to their name as rustic duplexes, with limited amenities, like a shared bathroom and shower. As one guest noted, "[G]reat value for the parks — you don't come to Yellowstone to watch TV and hang out in a room all day." Other cabins include sinks with running water but no toilets; instead, camp-style communal bathrooms and showers are available.

Sit-down dining at the Mammoth Dining Room is available, as well as fast-casual options at the Mammoth Terrace Grill. One of the hotel's signature spots is the Map Room, a bar featuring large picture windows and a large, decorative U.S. map, crafted in 1936, with over 2,500 pieces of wood imported from nine countries. A Google reviewer shared. "The map room was really cool. Food at the Dining Room was some of the best we had in the national park." 

Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is the only Yellowstone lodging accessible by car during the winter, so it has become a hub for winter sports and recreation throughout the park. The 2019 renovation introduced the Bear Den Ski Shop at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, which offers gear, rentals, and even lessons for those looking to improve cross-country ski and snowshoe skills. An outdoor ice skating rink at the hotel is another popular pastime, and guided winter wildlife tours offer the opportunity to see elk, wolves, and bison up close. 

While automobiles and airplanes have superseded stagecoaches and railroads, winter visitors can tour Yellowstone via the snowcoach, a modern, motorized oversnow vehicle considered the best way to traverse the park's heavy snow. The tours, bookable through Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, include, but aren't limited to, wildlife excursions, Grand Canyon river gorge visits, and transportation between Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Old Faithful Snow, a lodge with some of Wyoming's most scenic stays.

Getting to the north end of Yellowstone National Park — and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins — is relatively straightforward. However, because of the area's high volume of summer visitors, it's always best to plan and book well in advance. This part of the park is located in Wyoming, just below the Montana state line and 5 miles south of Gardiner. Domestic travelers can fly into Montana's West Yellowstone Airport (WYS) about 50 miles southwest, or Wyoming's Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), about 140 miles south through the park. International visitors and winter travelers can transit through Bozeman International Airport, about 90 miles from Mammoth Hot Springs, which conveniently leads to the North Entrance, the only entrance open to regular-wheel vehicles year-round.