Where our national parks are concerned, gateway towns are communities just outside or close to park boundaries that represent the last options for food, gas, and lodging before you enter the parks.
Some of them, like Gatlinburg in Tennessee and West Yellowstone in Montana, have grown into expensive tourist traps; and others, like Bozeman in Montana and Jackson in Wyoming, have simply gotten so big and busy and pricey that they’ve lost their charm.
So here are some gateway towns that might not be cheap anymore, but have kept their fun and charm.
Lone Pine, California
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Most people venturing to the summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48, do so via the Whitney Portal, which you access from Lone Pine, a small town made famous in the Humphrey Bogart classic High Sierra. Whitney is also on the edge of Sequoia National Park, so hiking in from the Lone Pine side provides access to the alpine interior of the park.
Bishop, California
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About a 90-minute drive north from Lone Pine up U.S. 395, Bishop is the largest town in the Owens Valley and is the starting point for getting to several major trailheads that provide access to the High Sierra sections of Kings Canyon National Park. Bishop is big enough to have everything you need but small enough to retain its fun, small-town vibes.
Lee Vining, California
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When Tioga Pass is open during the summer, Lee Vining on the shores of Mono Lake is the best gateway to the high country of Yosemite National Park. It’s not a summer-only town, though; in the winter, it’s a base for ice climbers looking to explore the challenges of Lee Vining Canyon.
Beatty, Nevada
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Beatty is a small but fun gateway to Death Valley National Park from the east, especially if you want to do the one-way drive through Titus Canyon and its narrows. One of the gas stations there also has one of the best candy stores you’ll ever find. This historical mining town once housed an establishment worked by ladies offering “professional” service, but that placer shut down years ago, so if you have kids and worry about what they might see, don’t.
St. Mary, Montana
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At the edge of the eastern end of words-fail-spectacular Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, St. Mary is really more a collection of motels, rental properties, and restaurants than it is a real community. Nevertheless, it’s a small and fun place to stay, though it isn’t cheap.
East Glacier Park, Montana
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About an hour’s drive south from St. Mary, East Glacier is actually an incorporated town, with part of it inside the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. It’s busy all summer, but growth hasn’t exploded, and so it still has a rustic charm to it. The historic Glacier Park Lodge is close by, as is the entrance to the Two Medicine area of the park.
Silver Gate-Cooke City, Montana
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Silver Gate is a tiny community just outside the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, and Cooke City is a couple miles east. Both are hemmed in by mountains on all sides, so there’s little room for them to grow into Colorado-style mountain towns. Plus, the locals, while being incredibly hospitable, are fiercely proud of their history and traditions; these towns won’t turn into Bozeman or West Yellowstone anytime soon, and likely not ever.
Dubois, Wyoming
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The main thoroughfare through Dubois has not a single stoplight, though it does have a stop sign depending on which way you’re traveling. Dubois is a mix of the Old West, cowboy culture, and modern trophy homes, but it’s still small and fun. It’s a destination and base camp all on its own, but it’s also a quieter and more scenic gateway to Grand Teton National Park than the routes most others choose are.
Springdale, Utah
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Most people visiting Zion National Park do so through Springdale, which is in the wider end of Zion Canyon but still constrained by a steep-walled canyon. There are some chain hotels and gas stations there, but most lodging, restaurants, and stores in town are small and locally owned. It’s a fun town with a vibrant art scene as well.
Moab, Utah
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Moab is pretty much always busy. Spring brings the Jeepers and mountain bikers and spring breakers. Summer brings families from the U.S. and Europe because school is out or they’re on holiday. And tourists visit all year to see the wonders of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
Terlingua, Texas
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A busy mining town starting in the 1880s, Terlingua is now a tourist destination for people visiting Big Bend National Park, and all that remains of its mining daus is a ghost town. Terlingua is also famous for two annual chili cookoffs, and its location close to the Rio Grande makes it a base for outfitters leading float trips down the Santa Elena Canyon inside the park.
Sperryville, Virginia
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Sperryville sits at the edge where Virginia’s Piedmont country rises into the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has some restaurants, a popular emporium, and some rental properties. U.S. Highway 211 runs through town and then begins climbing up to the Thornton Gap Entrance of Shenandoah National Park.
Bar Harbor, Maine
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Just outside the main entrance of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor is busy all year but hasn’t lost the feel of a New England coastal town. The best time to avoid crowds is during the winter, but lodging and dining are more limited then since many business owners close for the season.
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