Any disability you may have, know before you go to Yellowstone!!
Yellowstone
West Thumb
We stopped at Grant Village Dining Room for lunch and I got the Impossible Burger - it was delish! It is up the hill from Yellowstone Lake, where we enjoyed picnics on other days. The lake is huge and beautiful. I stopped inside the gift store and asked if they sold the yellow stone that the park gets its name from. I just got confused looks, but I thought I was funny.
The Hotel Old Faithful Inn
We stayed at Old Faithful Inn right next to; you guessed it! The Old Faithful Geyser. As we drove up to the Inn, it looked beautiful and historic; sadly, my experience as a wheelchair user was awful. We called Old Faithful Inn in advance to make sure our room would have a roll in shower. Six months before our stay, we called a total of three times just to be sure. The day of our stay, we quadruple checked at reception to make sure we had an accessible room with a roll in shower. The staff at check-in reassured us we would have an accessible shower. As soon as we opened the door to our room and looked in the bathroom, we saw that it was NOT a roll in shower, but a tub with grab bars. It’s not safe for me to use a tub with grab bars and I honestly don’t think people at hotels understand the difference. They should and stop assuming ADA is for everyone, we all know what happens when you ASS-U-ME!
The room was stifling hot, and they didn’t have air conditioning in the rooms, only in the hallway. The window to our room was broken and they only provided us with a small portable fan. I had to take a nap with the door open to try to get the hallway ac in the room. To say the least, we were VERY uncomfortable. That night me, my sister and her service dog all slept in a full-sized bed. It did not meet our expectations at all, which was shocking considering the price. The next day my sister spoke to the manager, she argued / advocated for me for three hours, (thank goodness for older siblings). Somewhere around the three-hour mark, the manager suddenly remembered that they DID have a separate bathroom, with a roll in shower! This bathroom allows the hotel to check the box, saying they have a roll in shower, but what good is it if no one can use it?! I made my way to shower, which was beautiful and pristine, mainly BECAUSE they keep it LOCKED and UNMARKED!
For me to get to the roll in shower from my room, I had to cut through the lobby. After my shower, while wrapped in a towel, I was pushed through the lobby filled with tour groups, back to my room. My room to the separate roll in shower was a five-minute walk. I videotaped the walk back to my room and showed the manager, who offered us to stay in the room next to the shower, despite arguing earlier that the whole hotel was completely booked. We stayed in a historic room, the room was much cooler, thankfully due to the functioning window and full-sized fan. FYI the historic room does not have a bathroom in it, communal bathrooms down the hall. I don’t know why they didn’t give me this room to begin with.
The Food
I want to start by saying a lot of the options they offer do not accommodate food allergies or dietary restrictions. Even the little markets throughout the park didn’t have a lot of options. I would recommend going to a grocery store outside of the park and packing a cooler. The hotel restaurant is pretty much your only option for a hot breakfast and dinner. Every night for dinner, they offered the same buffet and the only healthy options in the buffet was a salad with three different creamy dressings, glazed carrots and waxed beans. It was difficult finding meals that accommodated my sister, who is vegan for medical reasons. I’m not vegan, but I am vegan conscience. I also eat a lot of vegetables for health reasons. After we ate, our waiter asked us why we didn’t order the vegetarian meal. It was new news to us, so every time we went for dinner there, me and my sister would order the vegetarian meal. On site, they had a grill / market / gift shop / gas station outside the hotel, but they only offered hot dogs and hamburgers. I overheard a guy ask for a sandwich to be made without cheese because he had a dairy allergy, and he was told no because the sandwiches were premade. The hotel had a coffee bar, which sold prepacked salads, but they were always sold out by 9am. Unless you’re ok with eating a lot of fried food and ice cream, you are shit out of luck hence the cooler idea.
The Drive
The Firehole Canyon Drive runs along Firehole River and is quite beautiful. Definitely check it out!
Morning Glory
Morning Glory was a five-minute walk from our hotel on a paved trail. The trail bypassed multiple geysers, hot springs and bison. Morning Glory was worth the trip. It was beautiful, but it made me sad when I learned guests were damaging it by throwing coins in and trash in it.
Grand Prismatic Spring
There are two spots you can park to hike to the Grand Prismatic Spring. The first has an ADA boardwalk that winds to the top. The second spot is filled with cars that are waiting for parking. The ADA boardwalk leads you over a river where water from the Grand Prismatic Spring drains into. The hot water drains over yellow stones hence the name, Yellowstone. I thought that was so cool. The Grand Prismatic Spring shore lined is filled with rainbow colors and is absolutely breath taking. Get yourself a selfie stick out to capture the height. A must see!
Upper Falls
Upper Falls is a massive waterfall, at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The park has a built-in viewing deck for the falls that was accessible. Let me tell you, accessible waterfalls are very rare to come by. In the parking lot they had a handicap out house.
Hayden valley
We wanted to see wildlife and someone recommended Hayden Valley and it did not disappoint. A herd of buffalo cut in front of our car and crossed the street.
Accessibility
The National Park Service (NPS) is committed to making facilities, programs, services, and employment accessible for their visitors and employees with disabilities. Each park has its own accessibility section on its website, where details can be found about planning a trip with accessibility needs in mind. Yellowstone’s is the Yellowstone National Park Accessibility Guide. So much is accessible and there is so much to choose from. Morning Glory and Prismatic Spring are a must!!
