Can I explore Yellowstone National parks without a car?

Question

I am a 20 year old European, currently travelling across the USA. I can't rent a car here, so that's why I ask. Is there any other national park where it would be easier without a car?

Answer 1

Yellowstone is much to big to see without a car. There is no park shuttle service although there may be commercial tours available to see the various areas of interest.

If you don’t have a car, the problem is getting to any national park. I don’t know of any park with scheduled bus service that can transport you there but the Grand Canyon does have an airport. There are commercial tours available to some parks from major cities in the vicinity. However, these are usually short term tours of just one or two days which does not give you much time to see anything other than the major highlights of the park. If you can get to parks like Yosemite in California, Grand Canyon in Arizona and Zion in Utah, you can use the free park shuttle service to get around.

There is a very good free shuttle service in Yosemite Valley and commercial bus service is available from Yosemite Lodge to Glacier Point and Tuolumne Meadows.

The Grand Canyon also has a free shuttle service on the south rim that will allow you to see everything between Yaki Point in the east and Hermit’s Rest in the west. You can also use the rim trail to hike from Pipe Creek Vista to Hermit’s Rest which is a distance of about 12 miles. Commercial tours are available at Bright Angel Lodge and will take you all the way out to Dessert View.

Zion runs a free shuttle service during the summer months when private vehicles are banned from Zion Canyon. The visitor center where the shuttle starts is within walking distance of Springdale. The closest motels are just a quarter mile away from the visitor center.

Denali in Alaska has a park shuttle but it isn’t free. However, it is fairly inexpensive and goes all the way to Kantishna about 92 miles inside the park. There are numerous stops and you can jump off to do some exploring and jump back on the next shuttle that comes along.

There is also the matter of hotel or campground reservations. Most parks are 100% full during the summer months.

Go to http://www.nps.gov/ web site for information on any national park. For maps of any park go to http://www.nps.gov/carto/.

Answer 2

You need a car for Yellowstone since it is a big park. However, you should keep trying to find a way to go there. Its an awesome place that you need to see in your life. There is so much to do and see. I went once and cant wait to go back. The scenery, geysers, and animals are awesome. Keep looking for a way to go to this awesome place.

You probably wont need a car to explore the Grand Canyon but you certainly need one to get there.

Answer 3

Zion and Bryce in Utah are quite compact, and you can rent places either in the park or just outside. Both are spectacular. There are plenty of hiking trails as well. They don't even allow cars in Zion. It's worth the effort to get there if you can.

Answer 4

here is a web site for yellowstone that might help you.....
http://www.nps.gov/yell

arch's national park in utah allows hiking, here is a link to that web site........
http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/arches/hike_arches.htm

and if you go to utah, they have a ton of national parks all in one area so it might be easier to get around and see more stuff

hope this helps

Answer 5

great smoky mountains NP in East Tennessee. trails there connect to the Appalachian Trail that stretches from Georgia up to Vermont ( i think )