Yellowstone National Park

Living at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park

Mammoth Hot Springs sits inside the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. Five miles north is the town of Gardiner, Montana, home to one grocery store, drug store and three gas stations.

Mammoth Hot Springs is named for the natural feature that attracts park visitors; a giant 300-foot high complex of travertine limestone cliffs and ledges created by an ever-shifting flow of volcanic-hot waters that run over it's surfaces, building and coloring these amazing structures.

Interesting Mammoth Facts

Elevation: 6239 Feet or 1902 Meters
Number of Employees: 350
Number of Guest Units: 212 Hotel Rooms and Cabins
Services Available: Post Office, Gas Station, General Store, Medical Clinic

Employee Life in Mammoth

Employees live in one of five dormitories - Aspen, Spruce, Juniper, Lodgepole or the Terraces. Two or three residents are assigned to each room. Space in each dorm room is limited!

Bathroom facilities are located either "down the hall" or between dormitory rooms. There are no kitchen facilities in dormitory housing. All residences have community rooms,laundry facilities and pay phones.

There are a limited number of RV spaces available near Mammoth Hot Springs. Click Here for more information about RV living in Yellowstone. Employees living at Mammoth RV park areas must drive to work.

The employee recreation hall with workout equipment, internet access, a full sports court and the Co-Op Recreation Program office is located behind the Mammoth Hotel.

Co-op Recreation schedules van trips to local attractions and town, hiking trips, white water rafting, big screen movies, dances and live music.

The employee dining room (EDR) is located in the dining building on location and offers employees three meals per day with snacks and beverages.

A Little Mammoth Hot Springs History

Imagine the U.S. Army Cavalry coming together each morning to show off horses on what is known today as the "Parade Ground" across from the hotel. Fort Yellowstone, original home of the U.S. Cavalry, and now the National Park Service, is located here. In its early days, Yellowstone was full of poachers and souvenir hunters that damaged unique natural features.

"Cavalry to the Rescue!"

The uniformed troops built a fort and gave the park a permanent body of supervision and protection. Eventually, it was decided that our National Park needed a dedicated body of protection and thus created the National Park Service to replace the Army and the Cavalry that stood before them.

Enjoy the Albright Visitors Center, take part in an interpretive ranger talk, or a self-guided tour through Old Fort Yellowstone for a sense of the past and the present.

Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces... Watch thermal activity work its magic on the Mammoth Terraces. Rising 300 feet from road-level, visitors wind their way around active and dormant terraces on boardwalks that allow them to explore these amazing formations of travertine stone and boiling water.

Around Mammoth Hot Springs

Are miles of open mountain ranges, herds of elk that love to eat parade ground grass, and one of the rare locations in the park that you may legally swim in thermal water! Bighorn sheep live and graze in the Gardiner Canyon, between Mammoth and the North Gate to Yellowstone. Bald eagles sit over the Gardiner river and wait for lunch. Cooke City, Montana, east of Mammoth, is the gateway to the Beartooth Scenic Highway.