Yellowstone National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required. $250 non refundable application fee ($300 for Mammoth Chapel). A separate monitoring fee may be assessed about two weeks before the ceremony if a monitor is required. Submit the Special Use Form to yell_sup@nps.gov at least 10 business days before the ceremony; applications accepted up to 12 months in advance. Ceremonies limited to two hours including setup and photography. Audio must not exceed 60 decibels; sound amplification, altars, tents, balloons, and deco…

Planning Your Day at Yellowstone National Park

One-Spot Day

Yellowstone is genuinely huge, 3,500 square miles, and no two signature locations are within 30 minutes of each other. Pick one anchor per day. Grand Prismatic Overlook plus Old Faithful can share a morning because they are a short drive apart. Lamar Valley and Mammoth can pair because both sit in the north. Hayden Valley plus Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone pair well because they are adjacent on the Grand Loop. Trying to combine a Lamar Valley wildlife ceremony with an Old Faithful portrait session in the same day costs you 4+ hours of driving, factor geography first.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

Your ceremony location and portrait locations do not need to be the same place. The 2 hour permit window applies only to the ceremony site. After the official ceremony ends you can self drive to other park locations for portrait coverage with no permit required for personal photography under 12 people. Common combinations: Mammoth Chapel ceremony to Travertine Terraces portraits, Lake Butte Overlook ceremony to Yellowstone Lake beach portraits, Old Faithful ceremony to Grand Prismatic Overlook sunset. Sign legal papers between ceremony and portraits so the moment you chose is the moment that counts.

A Note on Light

The park sits at 6,000 to 8,000 feet elevation with thin clean air and dramatic golden hours. Sunrise at Lamar Valley delivers mist rising off the river with bison in golden backlight. Sunset at Lake Butte Overlook, Mammoth, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone catches the canyon walls and thermal features in warm side light. Midday is actually usable at the geothermal areas because direct overhead sun makes the thermophile colors of Grand Prismatic pop most vividly, and back lit steam at any geyser creates ethereal atmosphere. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer July through August, plan ceremonies before noon or after 4pm to reduce weather risk.

Ceremony Spots at Yellowstone National Park

• Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook — Aerial view of the largest hot spring in the US, 370 feet wide, rings of orange, yellow, green, and deep blue
• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone — Ceremony overlooking the 308 foot Lower Falls and the vivid yellow canyon walls that gave Yellowstone its name
• Lamar Valley — The 'Serengeti of North America', wolves, bison herds, pronghorn, and bears in a wild, undeveloped valley
• Hayden Valley — Wildlife rich meadow ceremony, bison herds, grizzly bears, wolves, and the Yellowstone River in a broad glacial valley
• Mammoth Hot Springs & Chapel — Historic 1913 chapel and travertine terraces, the only indoor ceremony venue in Yellowstone, with otherworldly white stone terraces next door
• Old Faithful Area — Ceremony timed to an Old Faithful eruption, the most iconic geyser in the world, erupting every 90 minutes on average
• Yellowstone Lake (Lake Butte & Fishing Bridge) — Largest high elevation lake in North America, sunset overlooks from Lake Butte and lakeside beach ceremonies at historic Fishing Bridge