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You're watching Visiting Yellowstone.
As you and your family plan your
next trip to Yellowstone, you will
need to make some decisions
regarding meals. There are over 25
restaurants and grills in the park.
If you are willing to make your
own meals, we have 52 picnic areas
to choose from. Most of the food
choices inside the park are easily
accessible with no advance notice.
But, some of the larger dining rooms
do take reservations for dinner.
If you are staying at one of the
9 lodges inside Yellowstone, ask
about dinner reservations when
you secure your room. All the dining
rooms in the park are nice; they
range from the historic Old Faithful
Inn Dining Room to the rustic dining
found at Roosevelt Lodge.
The Lake Hotel Dining Room is the
most elegant restaurant, but like all
dining in the park, the dress is casual.
Xanterra Parks and Resorts does a great
job of offering menus with regional
and western flair; all menus can be
seen on their website.
If you are adventurous, you may want
to reserve a spot for the Roosevelt
Old West Dinner Cook-out. It starts with
either a horseback ride or an adventure
in a stagecoach. Once you arrive at
the cook-out site, a steak dinner is
served buffet style. Vegetarian meals
are also available with advanced notice.
The Old Faithful Snow Lodge Obsidian
Dining Room and the Grant Village Lake
House Restaurant do not require
reservations for dinner during
summer months. Cafeterias at Old
Faithful, Canyon and Lake Lodge are
also on a first-come, first-served basis.
Breakfast and lunch is served at all
park dining rooms and cafeterias,
except at the Old Faithful Lodge,
where a light breakfast is offered at
a nearby bake shop and at Grant
Village’s Lake House, where lunch
is not served. Xanterra also operates
a number of grills in the park.
These are Yellowstone’s version of
fast food for those on the run.
If you are looking for a quick burger,
you will find that here.
Most grills are open for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. Away from the
lodges in the park, you have some
other options for food. Delaware
North, which operates the 12 Yellowstone
General Stores, offers basic groceries
and camping supplies at each of the
park locations. A few of the
Yellowstone General Stores also
offer grills. These grills have a
limited menu, but the food comes fast
and hot. You can also get ice cream
at many of the park grills and delis.
If you prefer to make your own food,
you have 52 picnic areas to choose from.
You could also just find a nice spot
to watch the world go by while you eat.
You can use cook stoves at any of the
picnic areas, but open fires are only
allowed at picnic sites with grates.
You can get a list of those here on
our website or by talking to a ranger
at a visitor center.
If you plan on picnicking in
Yellowstone, stock your cooler at
home or on your way to the park.
You will find some of the basic
groceries here in the park,
but planning ahead is advised.
Early and late in the summer season,
which runs from May through October,
services are limited. In winter,
the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and the
Old Faithful Snow Lodge are the only
locations open. Dinner reservations
are required for the dining rooms.
All visitors should carry some extra
food just in case you are delayed and
don’t arrive until late in the evening;
the food service are limited at night.
So, pack your bags and your appetite
and we’ll see you in Yellowstone.