Can anyone tell me if there is Verizon or Sprint Cell Phone service around the Old Faithfull Inn?

We could not get Verizon service anywhere within Yellowstone. Got some service in Gardiner, West Yellowstone and good service in Jackson.

I was with a group of people at the Old Faithful Inn who had various cell phone carriers and no one had service there.

We have Cingular and had service at the Old Faithful area (quite good in fact). My wife even continued chatting with her sister while we headed north out of the area. I think she finally hung up when we saw a coyote hunting mice near Biscuit Basin.

Maybe the stars were aligned just rightgt;)

We had no service anywhere else in the park though.

I did see people using their cells in the waiting area for the dining room at Canyon. It seemed spotty based on the amusing body language of the callers trying to hold onto the signal.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if they've figured out a way to block all cell phone service within Yellowstone? A return to the peace of the park before the days of everyone yelling "can you hear me now?"

A side issue...

Cell phones are a curse on mankind. Just my opinion!

I know, in an emergency they can save lives and that's why we have a TracFone. However, we rarely even have it turned on.

We certainly think nasty thoughts when we hear some stupid chiming sounds in a restaurant or other "quiet" place, followed by some moron yelling "Hey! How are ya?"

And how about the HIGH percentage of auto accidents caused by some idiot with one glued to his or her ear (or is it actually touching their brain?) as they drift over the center line or even off the road!

Arrgh.

Vermonter

Funny, I don't recall a lot of people yelling into cell phones during our visit.

While I sympathize with curmudgeonly R/Vermonter, I would respectly suggest that it isn't the phones that are at fault...as usual it is the dolts using them. I found it a boon to be able to call on the cell (free long distance) to make sure that our dog got settled in with the folks who were keeping him.

Cars aren't responsible for bad drivers...should we ban all cars from Yellowstone? Then we could return to those wonderful days before there were yahoos parking all over the road to view a couple of bison.

Where should we draw the line folks?

Sprint service at OFI in Sept 06. Have a great trip!

Turns out my Verizon had full bars at the Yellowstone Inn. There is a fairly new looking tower just south of the Inn.

I agree that impolite Cell users are a pain, but on the other hand they can be a significant convenience. We had a need to keep in touch with the kids at home, or at least know that they can find us if they need to.

My pet peeve after visiting the park are the smokers who throw their butts (cigarette butts that is) on the ground, just about anywhere the mood strikes them. The trails at YNP are well enough maintained that even smokers can get to a lot of otherwise pristine places, and they seem to think nothing of tossing a filtered butt on the ground.

For the record, we had great cell service on Mt Washburn above Dunraven Pass in late Sept - that is, when the road wasn't closed due to icing.