Yellowstone Lodging Options for Big Families
The hardest part of planning a Yellowstone trip is deciding where to stay with a big family. Some of the entrances can be far from the figure-eight Grand Loop Drive of the park. Very few of the lodging rooms inside the park have bedding to sleep six or more.
| Lodge | Room Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Canyon Lodge and Cabins | 6 | 1 king + 1 queen + sofa sleeper |
| Grant Village Lodge | 4 | |
| Lake Yellowstone Hotel | 6 | Presidential Suite |
| Lake Lodge Cabins | 4 | |
| Mammoth Hotel and Cabins | 6 | 1 queen + 2 doubles, no bath |
| Old Faithful Inn | 6 | Old House Room 3 queen, no bath |
| Old Faithful Lodge | 4 | |
| Old Faithful Snow Lodge | 4 | |
| Roosevelt Lodge and Cabins | 4 |
If you have a family of 7 or more and want to stay in the park, you can book two or more rooms or opt to camp at one of the park’s 12 campgrounds. While two rooms are expensive, staying in the park means you’ll save time by skipping the lines into the park each morning which can be beneficial if you only have a few days to cover the park.
Please note that booking two rooms may be less than the cost of a bigger room for six. While it is nice to stay in the park, the lodges are reviewed as not measuring up to the standard for their prices. For example, lodges do not have amenities such as televisions, WiFi, or air conditioning. It might be nice to stay one night at park lodging, however, we recommend camping or staying outside the park.
Where to Stay and Eat inside Yellowstone
To help you plan and budget, we’ll cover each of the park’s six main hubs’ lodging and dining options. Most dining options and some general stores are open seasonally, from May to early October.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Explore Historic Fort Yellowstone and the upper, lower, and main terraces
Lodging at Mammoth Hot Springs
- Mammoth Hotel and Cabins – Large lodge that has hotel room-style and cabin accommodations.
Food
- Mammoth Hotel Dining Room – serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Mammoth Hotel Map Room Bar – serves espresso in the morning and afternoon and beer and wine in the evening.
- Mammoth Terrace Grill – enjoy burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, and ice cream. Breakfast items include sandwiches, cereals, juice, and coffee.
Fuel – Yellowstone Park Service Station
- Located at Yellowstone Park headquarters this station was built in 1920. Fuel available – unleaded, diesel #2, and propane bottle exchange.
General Store
- Mammoth General Store – built in 1895, sells gifts, apparel, equipment, and supplies. Open year-round.
Tower/Roosevelt Junction
Located at the northeast corner of the Grand Loop Road, this junction is close to Specimen Ridge, Tower Falls, and great hiking trails.
Lodging at Roosevelt Junction
- Roosevelt Lodge Cabins – rustic cabins built in 1920.
Dining Options
- Roosevelt Lodge Dining Room – serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Fuel – Yellowstone Park Service Station
- Close to the Lamar Valley, the station provides fuel-unleaded, diesel #2, and propane bottle exchange.
General Store
- Roosevelt Store – offers snacks, drinks, and select grocery and souvenir items.
Canyon Village
Centrally located between Tower-Roosevelt and Fishing Bridge, Canyon Village offers quick access to the colorful Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and the Upper and Lower Falls.
Lodging at Canyon Village
- Canyon Lodge and Cabins – the lodge has the most accommodations in Yellowstone with more than 500 rooms and cabins. Walking and biking trails connect the property to Canyon Village for dining and shopping and the Visitor Education Center.
Dining Options
- Canyon Lodge Eatery – offers two different cafeteria-style service bars.
- Canyon Lodge Falls Cafe – house-made grab-and-go flatbreads, sandwiches, salads, and snacks.
- Canyon Lodge M66 Grill – full-service dining
- Canyon Lodge Ice Creamery
- Washburn Lookout – offers snacks and coffee beverages in the morning
Fuel – Yellowstone Park Service Station
- Located near the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Dunraven pass. Fuel available – unleaded, diesel #2, and propane bottle exchange.
General Stores
- Canyon General Store – groceries, ice cream, souvenirs, apparel.
Lake Village, Fishing Bridge, and Bridge Bay
Enjoy views of Yellowstone Lake, the largest high-elevation lake in North America.
Area Lodging
- Lake Lodge Cabins – Built in 1891, it is one of the oldest operating hotels in the park. Behind the lodge are 186 cabins with private baths.
- Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Lodge- originally built in the 1920s and remodeled in 2003/04. Offers sweeping views of Yellowstone Lake.
Dining Options
- Lake Hotel Deli – sells grab-and-go sandwiches
- Lake Hotel Dining Room – serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Wylie’s Canteen at Lake Lodge – open for lunch and dinner.
- Grant Village Lake House Restaurant – pub-style dining with a selection of burgers, including beef, bison, chicken, and black bean
Fuel – Yellowstone Park Service Station
- The service station at Fishing Bridge was built around 1925. Services include fuel -unleaded, diesel #2, and propane. RV/Automotive repair and towing.
General Stores
- Lake General Store – constructed in 1919, shop selection of gifts and apparel.
- Fishing Bridge General Store – groceries, ice cream, souvenirs, apparel.
- Bridge Bay Marina Store – this store has supplies for boaters, fishermen, campers, and passengers of the scenic cruiser.
West Thumb, Grant Village
The West Thumb area includes mudpots, boiling springs, and geysers near Yellowstone Lake. The Grant Village Visitor Center offers information about the role of fire in the park.
Lodging at Grant Village
In the 1980s, cabins, gas stations, and stores were removed at West Thumb to protect the hydrothermal features. Now, these facilities are at Grant Village.
- Grant Village Lodge has 300 guest rooms and is a short drive to Old Faithful.
Dining Options
- Grant Village Dining Room – serving breakfast and dinner.
- Grant Village Lake House Restaurant – enjoy views of Yellowstone Lake while you dine.
Fuel – Yellowstone Park Service Station
- Located on the southwestern shore of Yellowstone Lake in Grant Village. Services include fuel – unleaded and diesel #2, propane, RV/Automotive repair, and towing.
General Store
- Grant Village General Store – Selection of groceries, books, outdoor supplies, apparel, and gifts.
Old Faithful Village and Upper Geyser Basin
Known for its namesake world-famous geyser, this area has hundreds of other geysers and hot springs for your big family to explore.
Lodging at Old Faithful
- Old Faithful Inn – Rustic lodge with hotel room-style accommodations. One of the most popular lodging facilities in the park and one of the largest log-built structures in the world.
- Old Faithful Snow Lodge – Completed in 1999, the large lodge has hotel room-style and cabin accommodations.
- Old Faithful Cabins – Cabin accommodations with and without private baths.
Dining Options
- Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria & Bake Shop – serves lunch and dinner with grab-to-go items available.
- Old Faithful Snow Lodge Obsidian Dining Room – serves a range of appealing items including Bison Short Ribs and Wild Alaska Salmon. Seating is first come, first served for all meals. Reservations for dinner during the winter season are required.
- Old Faithful Snow Lodge Geyser Grill – quick service outlet with take-out burgers, chicken sandwiches, deli sandwiches, salads, and more.
- Old Faithful Inn Bear Paw Deli – deli-style services include sandwiches, salads, snacks, and ice cream treats.
- Old Faithful Inn Dining Room – serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the beautiful dining room. Reservations for dinner are recommended.
Fuel – Yellowstone Park Service Station
- Two Old Faithful service stations were constructed in the early 1920s. Fuel available: unleaded, diesel #2, and propane bottle exchange. Automotive repair and towing are also available.
General Stores
- Old Faithful General Store – dating back to the 1920s, the store offers groceries, souvenirs, and personal pizzas, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, hot dogs, soup, and chili. Open May through October.
Camping and RVing inside Yellowstone Park
Yellowstone has 12 campgrounds with over 2000 sites. Some campgrounds offer showers and flush toilets. We suggest booking a site through recreation.gov as early as possible.
The park also offers 293 backcountry campsites. A backcountry user permit is required for overnight stays, many with a maximum stay of three days. A food storage pole or box is provided to keep items secure from bears.
Eight campgrounds offer RV pull-through sites for RVs shorter than 25/30 feet. Visitors with large RVs should look to Fishing Bridge RV Park which allows hard-sided units only.
7 Tips for Staying and Eating Inside Yellowstone National Park
- If you need WiFi for work or online schooling, WiFi networks in the park lodges are either very slow or nonexistent. Free wifi is available at the Albright Visitor Center in Mammoth Hot Springs.
- Visit RVShare to rent an RV to fit your family. Check out the option to have the RV delivered to your Yellowstone RV campsite. Read our guide on how to rent an RV.
- We highly recommend packing lunches. It’s a lot easier to feed a hungry crew whenever the majority is hungry than try to get to a hub, order food, and feed everyone. There are many gorgeous picnic areas in the park to enjoy your lunch. And honestly, there are many parking lots with great views to take a break and eat.
- With over 4 million visitors a year, all types of accommodations in the park book early. We recommend booking a year out. If you don’t find anything for your dates, book your second choice accommodations outside the park. A few months before your trip, check the booking sites for any openings due to cancellations. You can also call the lodges to see if anything is open to book.
- Be willing to change your accommodations nightly to help you stay closer to the area of the park you’re visiting. During our four night stay, we stayed in Moran, WY, West Yellowstone, MT, and Gardiner, MT.
- If the garbage or recycle bins are full, please do not leave your garbage outside the receptacle. Take your garbage with you until you can responsibly dispose of your garbage.
- Canyon Village offers a more central location to all parts of the park and has more than 500 rooms and cabins. Five new lodges were built in 2015 replacing cabins built in the 1950s and ’60s.
More Yellowstone Trip Planning Information
- Yellowstone Guide to SE Grand Loop – Grant Village to Bridge Bay to Lake Village to Fishing Bridge to Canyon Village
- Yellowstone Guide to SW Grand Loop – West Thumb to Old Faithful to Madison
- Yellowstone Guide to NW Grand Loop – Madison to Norris to Mammoth Hot Springs
- Yellowstone Guide to NE Grand Loop – Mammoth Springs to Tower-Roosevelt to Canyon Village
- Guide to Yellowstone’s 5 Entrance Roads – What to See and Where to Stop
- Guide to Yellowstone’s 5 Entrances
- Where to Stay and Eat Inside Yellowstone with Kids
- Yellowstone National Park Guide with Kids – Itineraries, Maps, and 20 Tips for Visiting
- 12 Stunning Scenic Yellowstone Drives
- 12 Fabulous Yellowstone Waterfalls with Little to No Hiking
