Absaroka Lodge

Absaroka Lodge was exactly what we needed for our trip to Yellowstone—comfortable, quiet, and perfectly located. It’s right by the north entrance to the park, which made getting in and out super easy every day. Plus, it’s right in Gardiner, so you can walk to shops, restaurants, and everything else you might need. The view from our room was unreal—we looked straight out over the Yellowstone River with Electric Peak in the distance. Waking up to that each morning was something I won’t forget. The rooms were really clean, well taken care of, and had everything we needed. Nothing fancy, but it all felt solid and well maintained. And the staff were great—just nice, welcoming people who made check-in easy and gave us great local tips. If you’re looking for a no-stress, peaceful base camp for exploring Yellowstone, this is it. Great value, incredible view, and just a good place to come back to after a long day in the park.

While I love this place in many ways, I am GREATLY disappointed in their desire not to bear proof garbage. I have stayed here a few times. Never, ever has the outside trash been bear proofed. There have been grizzlies who have been euthanized because of this in Gardiner. This place is also a hub foe the slaughter of the bison. This is a clean and nice place, but they do not work nor advocate for the well being of wildlife

The rooms are right on the river. You have an incredible view of the mountains of Yellowstone and the Yellowstone River down below. Walk across the bridge to the shops and restaurants. Keep an eye out for the wildlife (dear) that roam the property of the hotel. Parking right in front of the room. Free window wash outside and ice machines.

Very nice view of the river. The rooms were pretty basic. Beds were a bit on the uncomfortable side and TV was very small. Also AC was not very strong so we were very hot overnight. No extra amenities. Check in/check out was super quick and easy.

The Absaroka Lodge boasts a prime location with stunning views of the Yellowstone River, making it a scenic base for exploring the area. However, don’t expect much beyond the setting. The rooms are heavily doused with Febreze, which may appeal to some but felt overpowering. Wi-Fi is reliable near the main entrance, but our room at the far end had no signal, leaving us unable to upload our park photos. The deck offers gorgeous river views, but security is a concern—there’s no deadbolt on the room doors, and the deck is easily accessible from the ground, so keep your deck door locked. While the location is a highlight, the lodge falls short in comfort and security.

Loved our stay here at Absaroka Lodge. We were on the third floor (second from the parking level) and patio views were soo good! We spent a good amount of time on the patio. Rooms were clean and updated. The location is perfect. Walking distance from restaurants and shops while not too far from the park entrance. The staff is very friendly and gave great suggestions about food and other activities. Highly recommend!!

Absolutely fantastic The location is great for a stop towards the park or a base to travel and get back. The prices are much more reasonable with better rooms and ambiance. The lodge faces the Yosemite River and the views are fantastic. The front desk was very friendly, had great recommendations for food and made the experience delightful with a cheerful smile and conversations. Highly recommend to also see the lodge mascot doggo 🐶 🥰 at the check in desk 🙂‍↕️ Overall a great stay at this lodge after travelling for 5 days in Yellowstone on our way to BZN.

This hotel accommodated us during the days spent at the Yellow Stone National Forest. The lodge is located on a river. The rooms were cute and clean. Thank you for a great night of sleep.

We had a great time in this town and this lodge is very comfortable, clean and walking distance till everything. We enjoyed ourself. I highly recommend staying at the absaroka Lodge!

Horrible! There are bugs everywhere. We killed bugs the entire night all over the room. The room is really outdated in terms of appliances, decor and furniture. It's the type of place you wear shoes indoor so your feet don't touch the carpet..... There was a half jug of milk left in the fridge.I felt dirty and itchy staying here.

The room is a little bit better than Motel 6 but not by much. Positives - close to Yellowstone North entrance, a nice view of the river, air conditioning. Cons - the bed is springy which meant poor back support, and the towels were thin & smelled like mildew. The front desk was not friendly; no smile, no small chats. Just asked me for my name & gave me the keys. I also had to check-in between 4-7pm. What happens outside of those hours? I saw coffee pots in the lobby but didn't know whether it was available to customers. The place says there's wifi but in reality, it doesn't work so don't bother. If you don't need to stay in the North, don't. Drive to the West entrance with better accommodations & dining options.

Pros: The front desk staff were so incredibly friendly and our room over looked the yellowstone river. We arrived back at our room one evening and there was a herd of 5 elk grazing on the grass outside our room. The hotel is located very close to the north entrance of Yellowstone and withijg walking distance of restaurants and general stores. Our room had a microwave and a mini fridge with a cute patio. Cons: The water pressure in the shower is horrible, the beds are hard and parking sucks.

A mediocre motel, with a major housekeeping issue. We stayed there 7 nights, and the room was made up 2.5 times. How can it be .5? One of those times, we'd left the motel early morning, and returned around lunchtime to find the room cleaned, new towels, the beds made. So far, so good. We then went out for the afternoon and when we returned, the beds were completely stripped, and the linens were stacked on the beds. The trash cans were on top of the counters; it all looked as if it were ABOUT to be cleaned. (See pic) Never got an explanation, although they remedied it when we called the manager. One night, our smoke alarm low battery chirp kept us up all night. And the windows were covered with bugs. But it's got a good view of the river and Yellowstone!

I visited YNP on high season so the price for one night was kinda expensive for a room without breakfast. We arrive at midnight so the front desk was closed and we have to grab the key from the front door and check-in ourself to our room. The room was clean, no complaint. Bed was comfy for a hotel near National Park. The next morning when we opened our door that led to the river. I was surpised and greeted by a river and a beautifull small town of Gardiner. In the front desk, they do have coffee but for breakfast you have to go somewhere else. There is a Subway at a gas station near the hotel The reasons i choose this hotel is because the LOCATION. Literally, 5 minutes from YNP North entrance and about 15-20 mins from Mamoth Spring attraction.

Within walking distance to Yellowstone's North Entrance (the only entrance that is open year round), this is a very convenient place to stay when visiting the nation's first National Park. The hotel is a bit pricey but affordable for the area. Gardiner real estate is not cheap (zillow prices of you don't believe me!) and hotels still have to pay their mortgage when rooms are empty during the off-season so please just keep in mind that in-season prices have to account for the entire year. I came during the off-season while most hotels, restaurants, and shops were closed so I appreciated them still being open for me. I loved the location. Elk often walk right up to the property (as they did throughout most of Gardiner) and each unit has a balcony to enjoy the views. Units also have a microwave, single cup brew coffee pot, and mini fridge. Nothing fancy but clean and convenient. The people that work there are super duper nice. I had a problem opening my tonneau cover and 2 staff members helped. I knocked off a star because their WiFi is unreliable which was difficult for me since I was on a workcation and needed the internet on weekdays so the lack of reliability sucked. But I'm still glad I stayed there and would definitely recommend this spot to others.

Very basic room, not welcoming host and veryyyyyyy low internet speed! If you are planning to stay for couple of nights, be ready to use your cellphone hotspot and do not count on the lodge internet.

Filthy dirty!!! Carpet was disgusting, walls where dirty and the blinds had not been dusted in years. The air-conditioner did not work. I should've known that it was going to be dirty when I walked in the office and it's not clean either. I'm not sure how people sit there all day and don't clean. Very disappointing.

The view is amazing as you open the back door. Every room has a personal place to sit outback and over look a beautiful rice with a beautiful bridge. The mountains in the background. I was breath taken by how stunning the scene was The bed was fairly comfy, but I did wakeup with bites on my neck. Not bed bugs, but some small black bugs I found around the place. This is the only down fall, but bugs- is a big down fall. The only reason this place gets 2 stars is bugs. Everything else is great.

Super clean and convenient place with a great balcony view of the Yellowstone River. Saw some wildlife roaming near the property, which was cool. I would stay here again for sure.

I chose Absaroka for my kids and me because of it's location right on the Yellowstone River. We got a room with two queens, it had a great balcony to enjoy Montana craft beer on. The staff was very friendly, they answered all of our questions and were quick with extra towels when we asked. The lodge is within walking distance of many great restaurants and plenty of parking right outside our room.

Location, location, location! The perfect home base for Yellowstone. Nothing fancy but it's clean and comfortable and has balcony right on the river with a panoramic view of the mountains. Oh yeah, and you can walk to the north gate of the park!

All rooms overlook the Yellowstone river and in the morning you might spot the groups of river guides getting everyone wet in the first set of rapids right below your balcony. Sunrise lights the nearby peaks first - the views aloneare worth the price of your stay. Rooms were fine, but bathrooms a bit cramped. While parking was a bit tight the lawn behind and between the buildings was very welcoming. AL is walking distance to everything in Gardiner and you should walked both sides of the bridge for outstanding views.

An unassuming Lodge with rooms on ground floor being in dark rooms. Their upstairs rooms are much better. The one thing that can't be beat is the Yellowstone River view. Sleeping with open windows and listening to the sound of the river is pretty amazing. No breakfast, coffee maker in standard room. Some rooms have complete kitchen which is actually pretty nice. Their front desk manager is Joe who is incredibly friendly and helpful. Enough parking, walking distance to restaurants and market, close to the North entrance of the park. Good spot

This place was a nice little surprise on a long motorcycle journey. We stayed here prior to going to Yellowstone Park. We really enjoyed the place and thought the price to be reasonable. It was clean, the front desk staff was extremely helpful and professional. We really enjoyed the deck and the view from the deck. This place is also close to wherever you may want to eat. Nice play for a reasonable cost. We will stay again if we choose to stay in Gardiner Mt.

everything is expensive in Gardiner, so I will not comment on that. The front desk is super friendly, the view of the Yellowstone River from my room is great and I can go out and sit outside. Cable tv and internet is great and for people that need to wind down at the end of the day, that helps. You can count on running into elk eating the grass next to the parking lot. Twice I have been there and I will always come back. The big chains are coming to Gardiner, but I am loyal to this place.

Absaroka Lodge is a modest property with a fabulous location right above the Yellowstone River in the small town of Gardiner, Montana. The Arch that marks the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park is about five blocks from Absaroka. And the view of the mountains took me by surprise every time I looked up for the whole 10 days we were there! Every unit in the two three-story buildings has a balcony overlooking the river that is a great place to veg out at the end of a day taking in the sights in the park. Or a place to bring a cup of morning coffee, available in the lobby during office hours, and watch the rafts floating by filled with wet but enthusiastic people clothed in life jackets, sun hats and wielding their paddles like crazy to stay in the white water. Each room has two queen beds, a small TV, clock radio & phone and private bath. Room size is modest but very adequate for my needs. The only things I missed and would have found helpful was to have had a coffee maker in the room and a small refrigerator & microwave, as every restaurant in town seems to have portions geared to big eaters. After about two days of trying to clean my plate at every meal, I learned to eat what I wanted and send back the rest. (Hated to "waste" the food but better than feeling too stuffed all the time.) This property is centrally located and within walking distance of several restaurants, a laundry mat, a coffee house/book store and a couple of very nice gift shops, one of which specializes in art and jewelry produced by local Montana and Wyoming artists. All in all, Hubby and I enjoyed our stay and would gladly visit again or recommend this to our friends.

The best plus about this hotel is that you can get a room with a balcony that overlooks the Yellowstone River. The rooms are small but come equipped with a fridge and microwave. The owner helped me figure out how to run the air conditioner, and he was friendly and patient with my autistic son. This hotel is within walking distance to all the cute shops and restaurants in Gardiner. Nice stay!

Like most other motels except there is no sound insulation in the main building. I have no problems sleeping but even I wake up here when someone is pacing around in the room above me. They changed me to a room on the too floor but they cant give me back my lost sleep. Make sure they put you in the top floor! The fridge did not work either so it froze my breakfast milk to ice. The cleaning service was flawless. Internet worked without problems (which is important because T-Mobile does not have coverage up here). The staff was friendly and professional. Still, the only reason they can charge the outrageous $100 is there are so few hotels here and so many tourists going to Yellowstone. Someone commented on the coffee, it was dark brew so unless you are used to American coffee dont drink it or you might throw up. As if to make it even more absurd (to us foreigners at least) there was an option - coffee without caffeine! lol

Really enjoyed our stay. Nice clean room on the river side with covered area to sit and watch the river roll by. Gardiner is a cute town. Really close mammoth hot springs. Easy to find places on town for food too. Beds were to soft but we lived with that.

I'm going to piggyback onto Carol A.'s review. She wrote exactly what I would have, with two additions on my part: (1) the mattress was old (I'm guessing) and so soft it was like sleeping on a marshmallow. My beloved and I rolled toward each other in the center of the bed all night. We love cuddling, but we prefer it to be consensual. (2) $150 is a lot to pay for such a room. (On the plus side, it's worth reiterating that the owners are quite nice folks, and the balcony over the river is a lovely touch.) We would probably stay at the Absaroka Lodge again if the room rate were under $100, but not otherwise.

Whenever we are in Gardiner for a nice weekend trip around Yellowstone Park, we always stay at here. The staff has always been so nice & helpful. The rooms are very clean & bright with lots of light in the rooms. Windows to enjoy the views of the mountains & the river. Each room has a deck to enjoy the outdoors as well. We enjoy sleeping with the windows open so we can enjoy the sound of the river at night. This lodge is right next to the bridge and is in walking distance to many eateries. The first couple stays at this Lodge we stayed in a smaller room, this past weekend, we spent 3 nights so that we could enjoy a few days in the park as well as soaking atvthe end of each day in the Yellowstone Hot Springs down the road. This time we stayed in a larger room which offered two queen beds, a kitchenette complete with a stove, fridge, and microwave. The room was a corner room on the 3rd floor which also offered a private deck and a 3 window view of the beautiful mountains & river. Highly recommend Absaroka Lodg!

The hotel was very nice. There was a river right out side of our patio, and we can see the white water rafts coming by. The staff were excellent. We ran into some unexpected events during our stay (unrelated to the lodge). The staff, especially Kathy and Jason, were friendly, patient and accommodating.

Basic. Clean. Free parking. I'd say motel is a better descriptive than "lodge". Expensive for the value of the room but very close to Yellowstone's North Gate, so I think you pay for convenience more than anything else. Nice views from the balcony if facing Yellowstone River.

Don't be fooled by the price. I have no issue with paying $150-175 per night, however I expect way more than this when I do. Shame in me for not asking to see a room first and making a judgment based on the outward appearance. I could have paid $79 at any number of chain hotels and had nicer accommodations. The in room coffee bragged about on the website was a joke, it was an old grimy single cup drip machine. We chose not to use the shower. The room was cramped I had to squeeze pas the toilet in order to close the door before sitting. Everything was beyond dated which would not have been an issue if things were in good order I am not against rustic or aged, I just expect clean and working. The TV had a terrible picture and cable consisted of 5 channels. the furniture had chipping laminate. The blinds did nothing to keep light out. The bed sagged to the middle and the pillows were giant lumpy masses.

Very pleased with price, cleanliness, view and amenities we desired. We were going to camp in Yellowstone, but the rain/snow in May made us seek out another option. We got a room with a fully loaded kitchenette so we could cook the food we brought. At $85/night it was a great deal. The view of the river from our mini balcony ( and sound of it lulling us to sleep) was wonderful. The wi-fi wasn't the speediest, but it worked. Beds were clean and cozy (not firm, but not ones where u all end up in middle either). I would stay here again.

The bathtub/shower hot water handle was rigged so you couldn't turn hot water handle all the way on. Inside The wall they blocked The handle from turning past a certain point so you never got warm water. It only gave you luke warm water at best. Froze trying to take a bath. Gave up and drained the water tried to turn the water handle as far as it would go to get straight hot but was still cold so took a quick shower and got out very dissapointed . I am sure they were trying to save money. The sink outside the bath tub area had hot water. We stayed with 2 other couples and they had the same complaint. Never stay here unless u don't warm a warm bath or shower. After skiing in the park it was a top priority of all of ours. Very unhappy with this place.

"WONDERFUL" SHOUT OUT!! To this lodge. We visit Yellowstone 3-4 times a year. We pull our trailer in and stay at Rocky Mountain RV. This year we decided to visit during winter with the RV Park closed, we made reservations with Absaroka. We were very impressed!!! The area is very relaxing the rooms did not have that musky smell as other hotels/motels that want to make you puck. Room was clean, area and staff were wonderful. The only problem we had is we wanted to stay 2 nights but could only get 1 night because they where booked. We had to drive into Bozeman for the next night. Keep up the Good Work !!!!

Four night stay. Stayed here for winter in Yellowstone vacation. Most of our group was at super 8 but they were booked. And Absaroka had vacancies due to recently cleaned wing that opened earlier than they expected So that worked for us. Quiet place. Rooms a little on small side. We were In out building by river was very nice. Nice balcony overlooking but at night Bright lights on porch had to be tamed with towel where hit bed closest to window. Blinds didn't cut it out. Able to park near room so short walk with luggage but some stairs down. It was icy. It stairs were cleared and salted and parking lot was pretty cleared also. Staff very nice and accommodating. Rooms were not vintage but updated a while ago. No breakfast was main bummer but had microwave and fridge. Fridge temp not adjustable and integrated with freezer so not good there. Would stay here again but Super 8 has free breakfast and that would be first choice for that reason.

Motel is situated just across the bridge on 89 North in Gardiner. Rooms have balconies overlooking the bridge and the Yellowstone River with views of the park beyond. Rooms were clean and beds comfortable. Hotel has free WiFi. Our room had a minifridge and microwave. Staff was friendly. Rooms on three levels, lower and upper require walk down or up a staircase. No breakfast, but Yellowstone Grill just a couple of hundred feet up the road was great.

The hotel is in a perfect spot. Mountain View rooms have a nice view of the river. The lower level feels like you're walking into a dungeon but it actually is nice once you get in the room. Not sure why people give low star ratings. It's not the Ritz so don't expect breakfast, a gym, memory foam mattress, etc.

This place was interesting. It was cool that my aunt was able to get us a room for two nights on what I think is relatively short notice for the areas around Yellowstone (within the week before we were scheduled to arrive). The room had a kitchenette, which is what she was looking for. I think it was $150/night plus tax. Overall, it had what we needed. It was nice that they include some cooking equipment - plates, forks, knives, etc, some flippers, a couple of frying pans and pots. It's got some random hotel quirks - like at first I thought that the only light for the bathroom was one of those ones that's on a timer, and it only goes up to, like 8 minutes or something - so I was in the shower once and it timed out on me and all of a sudden I was in the pitch black. Later on my aunt realized that was just the heat lamp (that's attached to the light...?) and the real light switch was actually outside the bathroom. So you can use the heat lamp timer to turn on the light, but be careful, it will time out on you if you're in there for any amount of time. Strange. Also, when we came back from Yellowstone at the end of the day and my friend and I both took showers, there was almost no hot water. I ended up having to just bathe sitting down with the faucet because it was too cold to want to shower in. That was not cool. Like, my friend showered first and she didn't even have much hot water, so it's not like she used it all up before me. It is nice that there's a little bench out back to sit and look at the river and chat. It's awkward that there was only one bedside table, between the two beds, so my friend, who was on the other side of the bed, had nowhere to put her stuff. Overall, it was fine, but nothing that blew me away. Definitely motel quality.

The staff was courteous, helpful, and professional. The room with kitchenette was clean and had everything we needed. We had to cut our stay short because of seasonal allergies so they allowed us to check out a day early and didn't charge us for the unused day, even though they have a 3 day advance cancellation policy.

My brother and I spent a night here a couple of days ago and we were extremely dissatisfied. We arrived in a camper with a small trailer behind it and we talked to the young man behind the counter about it and asked him where we could park it that would be near the room. He recently had foot surgery and was in pain. We parked in the handicap area but took up a few spaces and the young man knowing our situation said that it was fine. The lot was pretty much empty at the time and we would have been happy with any space that was reasonably close to our room. We thought it was resolved when about a half hour later when we were in our room we got a call from the young man that we needed to have a handicap placard in order to stay there. I assured him that it was already up. After that I went into town to do some business and when I came back I discovered that the truck was not there but out in the street. It was 200-300 yards away from our room. It was not even in the lot even though their lot was practically empty! I was furious to think my brother had to leave the room with his bad foot and go out and move the car to the street. I went to the office and talked to the young man and he said that his supervisor Cathy told him to ask my brother to move the car. As a supervisor I think it shows no guts on the supervisor's part not to solve this instead of letting her employee have to do it. My brother and I felt that this was a terrible way to treat any customer let alone someone with a handicap. Cathy did nothing to resolve this and she had plenty of opportunity to do so if she would have tried. We also found that the air conditioning unit was very loud and that the front door did not open very well with the key.

Recent trip to Yellowstone this past Aug, 2017. This is a very nice Lodge - right on the Yellowstone River. Each room has a great balcony where you can sit, view the town, the bridge rushing water and listen to the wind and a variety of local birds. Of all the places we stayed I had the best sleep - I think because we were able to close the blinds and make the room dark. So many hotels these days have blazing street lights right outside the windows - this location was a relief. The town of Gardiner is right next to Yellowstone's North Gate - which was the original park entrance, there is a dedicated Arch to President Theodore ( Teddy ) Roosevelt who was a hunter and outdoorsman who established Yellowstone as the first National Park. The North Gate is not the most popular entrance so there was virtually no wait the two days we entered the park from Gardiner. We found the location, the rooms, and the town convenient, affordable, and a welcome retreat from long days driving thru and visiting the sights in the wonders of Yellowstone. Our mattresses were fresh and new - we had two queen room, and I noticed hotel employees doing a bit of touch up work to the exterior, so looks like the Lodge had recent updates.

The BEST (not one of the best) hotel/motel in my trips in North America. Last month till early days this month, I accompanied a group of relatives and friend traveling in West of US (CA,NV,AZ,ID,MT,WY,UT,OR) and some parts of Canada. we stayed in over a dozen hotels/motels varying from a Las Vegas luxrious hotel and remote country lodges. We all agree Absaroka Lodge is the best accomodation we experienced. Let me tell you why this hotel excels all the others: 1, Rooms were nice and spacious, and beds are clean. We examined and did not find any stains in beds or on walls or furniture. No any strange smells (which is unavoidable in most hotels). Cleaner than a couple of 3-star hotels we stayed. 2, Service was excellent. Front desk and management were very nice. As it was summer and rooms were fully booked. I was able to reserve one but waited quite a period until Kathy helped book another one for me. Front desk clerk was also considerate to render the help of our need; 3, Location is ideal. Most visitors to Yellowstone would choose to stay in West Entrance if no rooms available within the park. So doing because they dont know about North entrance, once they stayed the north they would never think of the west. While you have to drive about 30 miles from west gate to the park loop, the town of Gardiner is just adjacent to the north gate and 5 min to the Mommath Hot Spring. West entrance is a bigger town with most people of residence, yet in comparison, Gardiner is mostly of hotels and not much of residence. So, most people you see in town are just visitors like you. there is virtually no safety concern. Absaroka Lodge occupys the best location in town. It faces the North entrance hills and overlooks the Snake river under the bridge where we saw people rafting, another add-on sightseeing. 4, Value is wellwothy. While most hotels in the west entrance charges about $300 or more, you pay just $150 (plus tax) for this nice hotel. Other hotels in town are also relatively more expensive. We have not anything to complain because we have enough travelling experience and rmore comparison to make this rating.

Nice clean rooms with a great view. The only thing is at this price I would of liked to have had WiFi service.

Amazing view! Let us pack 5 people in a 2 bedroom. Had a fun little party (the 5 of us not too loud) with no complaints! Took off 1 star because of price and the lady ran over to stop my mother from bringing pets inside when we were obviously taking the dog around back to see the view ( we were nowhere near the front door, i think she though we were trying to sneak it in)

Though the motel room was quite simple and basic, the deck right on the river shoots this "Lodge" up to a four star in our book. It was an unusually warm evening, especially for the last day of September, and sitting on the deck on the second floor was delightful. As were the river sounds coming through our open window throughout the night. Plus it was clean and quiet and reasonably priced.