The oldest national park in the world is the Yellowstone National Park. It was declared as such in March 1872 by the US Congress after President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill. It covers an area of over 2 million acres spanning the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The park has lots of natural phenomena like canyons, waterfalls, hotsprings, and geysers. It is home to a variety of flora and fauna. Some its fauna are grizzly bears, wolves, bison, coyotes, elks, and antelopes. Its flora comprise some 1,700 species such as pines, fir trees, and spruce.

The Native American Indians who have long been inhabitants of this area named the place Yellowstone which comes from the yellow sandstones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in Montana. The first non-native American to arrive in the area was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition with the name John Colter. John was wounded in a battle with the Native American dwellers and became delirious. Thus he called the place “fire and brimstone”. It was the geologist F.V. Hayden who is credited with setting up the park because of his explorations and comprehensive reports accompanied by photographs of Henry Jackson and illustrations of Thomas Moran. When the then President Grant saw these he signed the bill declaring the area as a national park.

To date, the Yellowstone National Park is the most popular national park in the country. Its natural wonders make it a popular destination for nature lovers and adventurous persons alike. When you plan on travelling to Yellowstone, you must think and act like a kid. Kids love things that are bright, colorful, bold, muddy, stinky, spouting, or spewing. The park has all of those and you can enjoy them with ranger guided tours in both summer and winter. In guided tours, you can enjoy adventure hikes, film showing on geology and cultural history of the place, or go fishing. There are camping areas, or you can enjoy boatrides, horseback riding and much much more.

Over 3 million people visit the Yellowstone Natural Park each year fortunately, there are numerous lodging available both in and around the Yellowstone area. In the area there are cabins and park lodges and outside there are cheap hotels, inns, guest ranches, resort hotels, and more. A visit to this place will befor sure the vacation of your life.

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