Mammoth Hot Springs is one of the more popular areas in Yellowstone National Park. The park headquarters are located in Mammoth, which is the largest village inside Yellowstone.
Mammoth offers abundant wildlife (particularly elk, which roam the streets), a unique and massive geological feature, history, lodging, restaurants, and even a clinic!
Welcome to my mom’s favorite area in Yellowstone! I’m Matt and live four hours away from Yellowstone. I visited Yellowstone almost every year as a kid, and now visit yearly with my own family. Mammoth is one of my favorite parts of Yellowstone. Read on to learn more.
Visiting Yellowstone and need a game plan? Check out our itinerary.
Mammoth Hot Springs is both a city and a geological formation.
Technically known as Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District, it is a little village of housing for park employees.
The park headquarters are located in Mammoth. Many of the administrative buildings are part of Fort Yellowstone, which was once used by the US Army when it patrolled the park in the early days to prevent poaching and theft of geological formations.
It also has a medical clinic (which we had to use once!), a post office, a gas station, and a chapel.
The Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces are unique in the park. They kind of look like an inside-out cave.
It is a huge formation of travertine terraces that start on the hill overlooking the city and descend down to the town. Water bubbles up from below and then cascades down the terraces in one of the more scenic geothermal areas of the park.
Here’s our ranked list of things to do in Mammoth, with our rankings in asterisks (3 is best).
This is the premier feature in the area. It is composed of two loops: the Upper Terraces and the Lower Terraces.
The Upper Terraces consist mostly of a scenic drive through geothermal formations (geysers) such as Orange Spring Mounds and Angel Terrace.
To see the Lower Terraces, you can park above or below the terraces and walk on a boardwalk. The best way is to park above the terraces and walk to the bottom, using someone in your party as the shuttle to pick you up below. Otherwise, you’ll climb back to where you started.
The Lower Terraces are where you see the cascading travertine terraces. You’ll also get nice views of the town below, as well as mountain peaks surrounding the area. At the bottom, you’re greeted by the famous and quirky Liberty Cap.
I rate this 3 stars mostly due to the huge numbers of elk that roam the area. We often eat a picnic in town and just observe the elk.
There are other things to see and do, but watching the elk is by far the best thing to do.
September is the elk rut when the males try to establish their dominance. It’s a fireworks show as they fight with other elk and even innocent cars driving by!
Grab some food, pull up a chair, and enjoy the Mammoth elk!
The Albright Visitor Center is located in a historic Fort Yellowstone building.
As a general rule, Yellowstone visitor centers are not on par with other national parks. That’s because, with 5 entrances and a massive park, it didn’t make sense to make one great visitor center, as most parks do.
The park decided early on to create smaller visitor centers spread throughout the park.
Old Faithful probably has the best visitor center, followed by Mammoth. But neither is necessary to visit.
When the park was first created, there was no such thing as a National Park Service or even park rangers to oversee the park. Because it was the first national park in the world, they were learning on the fly.
Two major problems surfaced early on: poachers killed wildlife, and tourists stole pieces of the geothermal features.
So the government assigned the US Army to oversee the park. The Army constructed Fort Yellowstone.
Today, most of the buildings are residential or administrative, so it isn’t all that interesting to walk around the Fort.
However, there is a graveyard (just don’t go digging in it!), and the National Park Service (NPS) has created an audio walking tour of the fort. Download the official NPS App to access the audio tour.
There are a few places of interest located near Mammoth.
Though mostly a drive-through, this is a scenic little canyon that was the subject of one of the first paintings of Yellowstone.
It’s located south of Mammoth as you drive towards Norris.
A bonus is a little waterfall called Rustic Falls, where you can park to see the waterfall and look back at the canyon.
This is another quick stop. Park and take a short walk to a viewpoint where you can see Undine Falls, a very tall, cascading waterfall.
Like most other waterfalls in the park (especially the ones located right on the Grand Loop Road), you’re looking down at the falls, rather than up.
Gardiner, Montana directly borders the North Entrance to Yellowstone. It has the Roosevelt Arch, Boiling River, (closed due to the 2022 floods, not sure if it will ever open again), local places to stay and eat, and many adventure companies that offer river rafting, horseback rides, and more.
I’ve devoted an entire article to Gardiner and the North Entrance.
There are some popular hikes near Mammoth, though I haven’t done them yet, so I can’t give them a rating.
NOTE: This is bear country. Black Bears frequent this area often, so bring bear spray and know how to use it!
Download our Free Quick and Easy Guide to Yellowstone’s entrances!
Bunsen Peak and Osprey Falls
Bunsen Peak and Osprey Falls Trails are the most popular. These are intersecting trails that offer different trailheads and various ways to mix and match the hike to your liking, including out-and-back, loops, and even shuttling (start in one place and end in another, as long as you have a driver).
Bunsen Peak trail is also one of several in the park where you can ride a bike!
The hiking or biking trails start at about 5 miles but can be extended.
Lava Creek Canyon
Lava Creek Canyon is another trail that begins in Mammoth and ends at Undine Falls. Unless you have a driver to provide a shuttle, you’ll have to return, making the entire hike about 7 miles.
Beaver Ponds Trail
Beaver Ponds Trail is a 5-mile loop that begins and ends in Mammoth. As the name indicates, you will see some ponds. However, you’re not likely to see beavers.
Mammoth is the very northernmost area in Yellowstone National Park, located only about 10 minutes away from Gardiner, Montana.
The closest entrance to Mammoth is the North Entrance. The North Entrance literally borders the town of Gardiner, Montana.
It is the second most popular entrance to the park. Most people who enter the North Entrance fly into Bozeman, Montana for their Yellowstone vacation, but it’s also a popular entrance for those coming from the Northwest or the northern Midwest on road trips.
Mammoth only has one place for lodging: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins.
Yellowstone lodging is mostly rustic, with no TV or microwaves in the rooms. They also have no air conditioning, but with average daytime temps around 80 degrees in the summer, A/C isn’t needed.
Mammoth Hotel was the first stop for all the early park visitors, and as such is more “luxury” than many of the others. They even have “hot tub cabins” where you can stay.
They also offer cabins which are some of the most rustic (and budget-friendly) accommodations within Yellowstone. Some of these cabins do not have private bathrooms and you have to walk outside to use the community restroom.
The Mammoth Hotel is unique in that it is one of only two park hotels open in the winter. That’s because the northern road is the only road plowed year-round, accommodating those who want to see the wolves of Lamar Valley, snowshoe, ski, or snowmobile. Learn more about visiting in winter in our article Winter in Yellowstone: What to Expect + Things to Do.
See my North Entrance article for more about lodging in the Gardiner area, as well as Where should you stay when visiting Yellowstone?
Check Out: When is the Best Time to Visit Yellowstone?
There is one campground at Mammoth Hot Springs. Unlike many other campgrounds in the park, it is administered by Yellowstone, not by Xanterra. It has 85 sites.
Here again, the Mammoth Campground is unusual in that it is open year-round. It also offers some larger RV accommodations. It is reservable from May to October, and first come, first served the rest of the year.
To book a campsite, visit recreation.gov.
Learn: Your Yellowstone Camping Guide: The Best Campgrounds Plus What You Need to Know
Food in Mammoth ranges from snacks to fine dining. Almost all of them are in the Mammoth Hotel.
For more information about these, see the Xanterra website, as well as our Yellowstone Dining Guide.
Also remember that there are plenty of places to eat in Gardiner, Montana. See our North Entrance article for more.
Planning a vacation shouldn’t be stressful. We created a step-by-step itinerary so you can visit the best places at the right times.
Not only that, but we’ll tell you about the park while you drive with our audio guide! Stop planning and start having the vacation of your dreams now!
YELLOWSTONE TRIP PLANNER: To read or watch all of our content about Yellowstone National Park, check out our Yellowstone Homepage
ENTRANCES: Yellowstone has 5 entrances: The West Entrance, the East Entrance, the Northeast Entrance, the North Entrance, and the South Entrance. Learn which entrance to Yellowstone is right for you with our Free Quick and Easy Guide
THINGS TO DO: Don’t miss all that Yellowstone has to offer including Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Lake, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, and West Thumb and Grant’s Village
GREAT CITIES TO STAY OR CHECK OUT: Learn all about where to stay and where to camp when visiting Yellowstone and things to do in Cody, Wyoming, and other areas surrounding Yellowstone
WHERE TO EAT: Check out the best places to eat including the Old West Dinner Cookout and also where to get groceries and eat picnics in Yellowstone National Park
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Find out if you need a reservation, what to pack including bear spray and binoculars, as well as tips for driving in and flying to Yellowstone and the best time to visit
WATCH: Enjoy videos of gorgeous Yellowstone National Park while learning our best tips for visiting by watching our Yellowstone YouTube Playlist
This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site.
Receive weekly newsletters updating you on the Best of the West including: essential travel tips, park updates, stories, and our favorite things to see and do.
