Historic Madison Hotel, Day Trips & Dining from West Yellowstone, MT

Our first trip out West started on a positive note, plane landed on time in Salt Lake City, limo picked us up at the appointed place and we arrived in the town of Jackson Hole in the early afternoon. That's the good news! Unfortunately it was ALL downhill from there....and I'm not talking about the skiing!

The restaurants were for the most part were mediocre, our hostel (the Anvil) was less than comfortable, the store's were overpriced and the townspeople were a little less than shall I say...charming. Kind of like fake-nice, not genuine. Not exactly the Western hospitality we were searching for. Since so much has been written about Jackson Hole I won't dwell on it here, suffice to say it just wasn't our cup of tea.

That said, Jackson Hole is the kind of town you either like it or you don't like it...we didn't!

West Yellowstone, Montana

Since we didn't care for Jackson Hole we decided to cut our visit short and head instead for West Yellowstone Montana, which is about an hours drive northwest. This town is closest to the west exit/entrance of Yellowstone National Park and we chose to stay here because of its proximity.

All I can say is, thank God we did, because it turned out to be the crowning glory of our trip! The best part is wherever you stay in this neat little town you're within walking distance of gift shops, restaurants, old and new historic sites and museums. No need to use the rental and a good place to stretch your legs after all the driving you'll be doing.

In general I found the townspeople to be friendly, helpful and not at all pushy when it came to selling their goods and services. Finally we were able to experience the Western hospitality we had been searching for. I found the stores more to my liking than in Jackson Hole because the merchandise was reasonably priced and you could find just about anything. including jewelry, candy and western-wear clothes. It wasn't tacky either, like what I had experienced later while visiting the town of Gardiner, the town closest to the northern entrance of the Park.

Although West Yellowstone didn't have the upscale stores Jackson Hole did it certainly didn't have the attitude either. Reason enough to come here.

Yellowstone National Park

Since so much has been written about Yellowstone I've decided not to add my two cents, except to say see it!

Historic Madison Hotel

139 Yellowstone Ave.

One of the highlights of our trip was staying in this glorious and grand hotel called the Madison, built back in 1912, now on the National Register of Historic Places. This impressive structure was entirely made out of logs, not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. It's all original. There's even a big wooden staircase that leads up to the 6 well-preserved rooms upstairs, just above the gift shop. Since this place is considered a hostel, we were able to stay there for the rock-bottom price of only $20 a night. What a steal! However, if we had chosen to stay in the back of the building, adjacent to the hotel we could've stayed at their more modern, but more sterile motel and it would've cost us at least $75 a night and not nearly as comfortable. Go figure!

As we checked in the lady at the front desk gladly filled me in on where to go and what to do, and then asked us please do not to smoke. I don't, so that wasn't a problem. Unfortunately some people in the past disregarded this one simple rule and had to be shown the door. Common sense would tell you never smoke in a wooden building...but then common sense isn't all that common!

After checking in we went straight to our room upstairs. The room was nicely appointed with furniture from an earlier era, which included two bunk beads and a single twin sized bed, both made out of wood and each covered with handmade quilts. As a matter of fact, 5 out of the 7 days we stayed there we had the entire floor all to ourselves. Even the person that eventually inhabited the room across the hall from us was pretty quiet and mostly kept to herself. I also liked the fact the room came with an individual sink and mirror, it also looked original. The only drawback to staying in this room was having to go down the hall to use the restroom and shower. Not really a big problem, since we were practically the only ones staying there we never had to wait in line to use the facilities.

Downstairs there was a big common room adjacent to the gift shop. It included a computer with Internet access, you could use it for $5 a hour, a television, which just happened to be the only one in the original part of the hotel and a huge fireplace made out of over sized stone. This place couldn't of been cozier! I loved going there at night. It was a nice place to relax and chat with the other travelers. As a nice touch, hot coffee and hot chocolate are always complimentary and the owner leaves it on a small table located near the back exit.

Staying at this location made a nice base for exploring the rest of the town on foot. It was good to stretch our feet and get some exercise after all the time we spent in my car exploring Yellowstone. Not once did we feel unsafe walking around at night . We found it very easy to get into the swing of things here unlike Jackson Hole, it felt good to explore the shops at our leisure or just pick up a snack at one of the many stores in town.

Running Bear Pancake House

538 Madison Ave

This place came highly recommended to us by a few of the locals...and we always trust the locals!

It was so good we not only went here for our first, but our second and our third day as well, while staying in West Yellowstone. They serve basic breakfast fare here, from a variety of pancakes, buckwheat to buttermilk to blueberry, also French toast, a host of egg dishes, along with crisp bacon, toast and hash browns as well. The restaurant itself is squeaky-clean, and prices are on the low to moderate side. The reason we went back so many times was we always felt welcomed here, even when we came in on our last day 20 minutes before closing because it took longer than expected coming back from Livingston.

I can vouch wholeheartedly for the buttermilk pancakes, they came warm and piled high, almost extending to the edge on my plate. As far as the syrup goes, I opted instead for the huckleberry syrup instead of the regular kind. I highly recommend this alternative. As an added touch coffee is served in unique bear mugs along with honey.
Our friendly waitress Tita was a real sweetheart, always attentive and never tried to rushed us no matter how busy she was. Since we took a liking to her..and she to us, we requested to be seated in her section on all three days, even if it meant we had to wait longer. They always accommodated us, which we really appreciated.

My Take on Quake Lake

About 27 miles NW of West Yellowstone, off Rt. 287, there's a scenic area by the name of Quake Lake, aka Earthquake Lake, a perfect destination spot for just about anyone interested in a short day trip from West Yellowstone. It's approximately 10 miles north of Hebgen Lake which flows right into it. This is where a lot of people just to fly fish, mostly for rainbow and brown trout.

A little background first, I won't bore you with all the particulars, except to say there was a huge earthquake here back in 1959, where a disastrous amount of rocks, soil and trees came crashing to the earth damaging houses and killing several people. You can still see some of the aftereffects. There are trees scattered throughout the lake standing up perfectly still. I don't know if they're still growing or if they're embedded in the bottom of the lake, it's hard to tell. It's very unusual. This area lends itself to being extremely quiet, almost peaceful like, some call it eerie. Personally we liked it.

We enjoyed coming here just walking around and watching the fisherman just fish. If this sounds boring then you probably wouldn't like it, but if you want to go to a place and take it easy this is for you. While there I snapped a few pictures, and one of my best pictures was of a man in the distance just fishing with the lake as the backdrop. It looked like a postcard..

This is the kind of place where there isn't one particular thing that stands out, it's all pretty spectacular. It only took us about a half hour to get there, one of our shortest day trips from West Yellowstone. I'd say go here if you're interested in something out of the ordinary.

Historic Livingston

Approximately 114 miles north of West Yellowstone, about a 2 hour drive

The town of Livingston can only be described as something time has forgotten. This small historic town, once billed as the Gateway to Yellowstone was a perfect day trip from West Yellowstone, taking about an hours drive.

This place has charm and personality written all over it! Walking around here you can just imagine what it was like 100 years ago. Cowboys, saloon's, fights...a brothel or two....or three or four! Not hard to believe at one time this place was a little raucous...which I understand it use to be when the miners came to town, Now it's just another sleepy town. That said, it's present day incarnation is as a haven for Hollywood types seeking a connection with the past. People like Robert Redford, the film director, has used it as a backdrop to shoot some films there, like A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer. While we didn't run into RJ,or anyone else for that matter, we just had a great time walking around.

All I can say is, there's something comforting about going to a place where everything looks about the same as it did a 100 years ago. After doing a little research I found out the town was inhabited at one time by Calamity Jane, but she eventually had to move because she got into a bit of trouble She was known around town as a hard drinker, a hell-raiser and just as equally a big liar. I understand she lead a devil may care kind of life, taking a lot of odd jobs here and there, even working in one of the local brothel's here and eventually dying penniless. I can understand why she was so taken with Livingston, just as we were, but for different reasons.

Since I took my trusty camera with me I had a field day taking pictures even though I got some flack from this old coot for parking our car in the parking lot at Martin's Cafe. Funny thing, the lot was huge and we were the only ones in it so I couldn't understand why he had a problem with us parking there! After talking with him awhile, he settled down and gave me the okay to take some pictures, including his, as long as we didn't leave and go someplace else. No problem pops! After taking some pictures of the historic Murray Hotel, circa 1908, which by the way is the only hotel in town, and this bar across the street, the Livingston, we packed up our things and left. Next time I'll remember not to park there.

Going to Livingston is well worth a day trip for the historical value alone, especially if you're into turn-of-the-century architecture, wide streets and a way of life that just doesn't exist anymore....except here!

These are just some of the many highlights of our trip to West Yellowstone and beyond. If you're ever out that way or are thinking of going I'd highly recommend it.