Is Yellowstone Pet Friendly?

Take your dog, as long as he's not a yapper who cares. I know we are taking ours! I spoke to the lady when we made reservations for Madison inside the park and she encouraged us to take ours.

We were there in May with our Labrador Retriever. No problem. We have a van and she traveled with us everywhere. If we stopped to go in a visitor center or see and attraction,we left her in the van with some windows open. If it was sunny we found a shady spot to park. We stayed in Madison Campground and walked her around the campground twice a day.If you will be there in the summer, you may want to leave the dog in the camper. But dogs are no problems.Like others have said,know the rules. It seems there are a lot more problems with people than dogs.The week before we were there a woman decided to pet a buffalo and the buffalo didn't like it. The day after we left, a tourist picked up a baby bison and took it to the ranger station in their SUV. They ended up
euthanizing the baby. A week after we left, a 23 year old park employee went off one of the boardwalks and fell through the crust of one of the boiling springs. He died.

The grizzlies love cats and small dogs

KeninAZ wrote:
Wow, it sounds like Yellowstone is a lot different than the Grand Canyon is but with good reasons. Then again I have been told that the GC is one of the most friendly pet parks in the system.
Our little mutt would not enjoy being cooped up in the motorhome all day long and it's a long trip for us there too.
Perhaps we will just cancel that trip.

Here's a possibility that would allow you to take your doggie on the trip yet ensure s/he is fine (as are you) during portions of the trip that your pet's freedom would be restricted: look for pet boarding around/near Yellowstone. Could be the best of all worlds.

We just leave our dog in the RV or the car if it isn't hot. However, we sometimes find a kennel in a close by town and leave him there for a night. Makes us feel better. We haven't done that for visiting National Parks, but we did it when we rode the train in Durango, and have left him in a kennel in Williams, AZ when we go to Phoenix to visit friends when it is too hot. Most places you can leave the dog for the day, but we have left overnight too.

toedtoes wrote:
The Park Service manages more than just the "National Parks". Fort Caroline is part of an Ecological and Historic Preserve. There are different rules for preserves, historic sites, etc., than there are for national parks.

Actually, Fort caroline is a National Memorial. There are many National PARKS that allow dogs on some if not all of the trails. Here are a few:
Acadia National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Yosemite National Park
Zion National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park
Shenandoah National Park
North Cascades National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Badlands National Park.

The point is there are many units of the National Park Service that allow dogs at least in part of the park. Just ask at the Visitor Center!

Just to add to the litany of reasons not to bring a dog to YNP, we were told by a ranger in Canada that having a dog in grizzly country can be hazardous to your health. The dog runs into the bushes, meets a bear, and (of course) runs back to Mom and Dad for help, with the angry bear in hot pursuit.

Maybe this is a problem for big dogs but not little ones? Maybe the bear will just smile at the adorable pug -- they can be very comical. ;)

profdant139 wrote:
Just to add to the litany of reasons not to bring a dog to YNP, we were told by a ranger in Canada that having a dog in grizzly country can be hazardous to your health. The dog runs into the bushes, meets a bear, and (of course) runs back to Mom and Dad for help, with the angry bear in hot pursuit.

Maybe this is a problem for big dogs but not little ones? Maybe the bear will just smile at the adorable pug -- they can be very comical. ;)

This is only true if you don't keep your dog on a leash.

On each Park's web site, click on " Plan Your Visit" then on "Basic Information" and then click on " Pets". Many list the reasons for not allowing pets on the trails, including some already mentioned.
Pets are not allowed on almost any National Park Trails except a very few.
Grand Canyon: not allowed on trails below the rim.
Yosemite : no trails except the Wawona Meadow Loop
Zion : no trails except the paved Pa'rus Trail
Mammoth Caves NP : No pets are permitted in any cave with the exception of designated service animals.
Shenandoah National Park : Allows pets on most trails
Badlands National Park no pets allowed on trails.
Yellowstone National Park: no pets allowed trails or boardwalks