General Provisions
- CUA holders are authorized to operate on paved park roads with visits to facilities, services, walks on trails less than a ½ mile from trailheads or roadways, and on boardwalks and developed areas, including:
- Old Faithful Geyser Basin
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (North and South Rims including overlooks)
- Black Sand Basin
- Norris Geyser Basin
- Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces
- West Thumb Geyser Basin
- Fountain Paint Pots
- Firehole Lake Drive – limited to vehicles weighing less than 6 tons GVW*
- Firehole Canyon Drive – up to passenger vans only*
- Midway Geyser Basin
- Mud Volcano
- Blacktail Plateau Drive – up to passenger vans only*
- Old Gardiner Road – up to passenger vans only*
- Old Yellowstone Trail*
- Virginia Cascades – up to passenger vans only*
- Lake Butte Overlook – up to passenger vans only*
*dependent on road conditions and seasonal closures
Operational Requirements
- Day hiking tours, road-based interpretive tours, and non-instructional photography tours are limited to a maximum group size of 15 participants, including guides.
a. There is no maximum group size for step-on guide service.
b. To minimize impacts on natural resources, CUA holders conducting day hiking tours are limited to no more than three separate groups in the backcountry per day, with no group exceeding 15 participants, including guides.
c. There is no limitation to the number of groups a CUA holder can take for road-based tours as long as the group size of no more than 15 participants per group is adhered to.
d. Separate groups must be dispersed and may not congregate on boardwalks, pullouts, trails, or trailheads.
- Guides are encouraged to stay on designated trails, avoid using social trails, and avoid creating new social trails to reduce impacts to resources.
- Day hiking groups will immediately report any evacuations, hazardous trail conditions, or observed resource impacts to the Central Backcountry Office at (307-344-2160 or yell_backcountry_office@nps.gov) and Commercial Services Office as soon as possible or following trip conclusion.
- Parking spaces are available on a first-come first-served basis and may not be blocked or saved.
- Impeding traffic or causing unnecessary delays in traffic is prohibited.
a. Slow moving vehicles must use roadside pullouts and parking areas to allow free flow of other traffic. Vehicles must be entirely over the white line when stopping on the side of the road.
b. Vehicles must not stop in the roadway to allow clients to take pictures or load and unload passengers.
- Vehicles shall not be left idling in parking areas or park across multiple parking spaces. Loading zones must not be occupied longer than necessary to load and unload passengers.
Staff Requirements
8. Guides must meet the following requirements:
a. Attend one Resource Education Training given by Yellowstone National Park in the spring, watch a recording of the most recent Resource Education Training, or provide an outline of your Yellowstone specific training given to employees.
