Start from 24 curated places around Gardiner, MT, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Wonderland Cafe & Lodge
Downtown cafe, bakery, and lounge that bakes its own pastries daily and pours espresso alongside a from-scratch lunch and dinner menu with vegan and gluten-free options. One of the few Gardiner kitchens that stays open year-round rather than shutting down for winter.
Iron Horse Bar & Grill
The only restaurant deck in Gardiner hanging right over the Yellowstone River, with a Western menu of bison burgers, elk nachos, and chicken fried steak. Full bar with Montana craft drafts and a late-evening crowd of locals and guides.
Trails & outdoors
Yellowstone River Trail
A point-to-point trail that follows the north side of the Yellowstone River, starting inside the park and descending most of the way before dropping into Gardiner in the last half mile. Long, dry, and exposed, with river views and steady wildlife.
Rescue Creek Trail
An easygoing roughly 8-mile route through rolling foothills and yellow-green grasslands in the park's northern range, ending with glimpses of the river as it nears Gardiner. Now usually walked from the Blacktail trailhead since the old north-entrance access washed out in the 2022 floods.
Things to do
Flying Pig Adventures
Riverside outfitter on the banks of the Yellowstone running whitewater trips, scenic floats, horseback rides, fly fishing, and guided wildlife tours into the park. The half-day is 8 miles, the full day 18.
Montana Whitewater
A long-running outfitter running the Yellowstone River out of its Gardiner office, with whitewater, ziplining, fly fishing, and river tubing. The zipline tour sits on a historic ranch in the Cinnabar Basin right against the park boundary.
Landmarks & sights
Roosevelt Arch
The 50-foot basalt arch at the original north entrance, dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and inscribed 'For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.' Cars still drive through it on the way into the park, and it sits right at the edge of town.
Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces
Five miles up the hill from town, travertine terraces built by hot water bubbling through limestone, constantly shifting as springs go dry and new ones break out. The lower boardwalk and the upper terrace drive cover different sections.