Nevada

From the 50 state visitor guide 

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 2019  §§179B and 179D (Effective Oct. 1, 2018)

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

48 hours for initial registration and updates; updates may be in person.  §§179D.460, 479D.480.  However, Nevada SOR office states that visitors for less than 30 days are not placed on the SOR registry but on a separate “visitors registry” that is not public. Visitors must “check in” within 48 hours & provide info to law enforcement. Return to “check out” when departing the state. The “visitors registry” including the dates of your visit(s) is available to law enforcement agencies only.

This SOR office info updated & confirmed Apr. 2021.

Confirmed by Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. Oct. 2021.

Also: North Las Vegas Police “OffenderWatch” Safety Tips

https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_safety_1.php?office=54127

“Do I have to register as a sex offender in North Las Vegas if I am only visiting? Sex offenders who will be visiting North Las Vegas and will be staying in North Las Vegas for more than 48 hours, must register as “Sex Offender – Visitor”.” (emphasis added)

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

No statewide restrictions.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. §179D.480.

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

Las Vegas Metro Police Dept.

Nevada (supposedly) has a separate “visitors registry”

Nevada (supposedly) is one of a handful of states that, by policy, treats a statutory very short (in Nevada’s case 48 hours) visitor registration requirement as a “duty to check in” but holds SO visitor information separately pending a commitment to depart within a specified time (up to 30 days); your info becomes part of a “visitors registry” that is not made public. Other states that do this are Alaska, South Dakota and Rhode Island.

I first became aware of this separate “visitors registry” while calling every state SOR office as part of my research in 2020. The nice lady at the Nevada SOR office told me all about it. Then, following well known advice to not necessarily accept at face value anything some random person at a SOR office says, I called back in April 2021 to re-ask the question, and the same nice lady took my call. She even remembered me from my previous call. She gave me the same answer, with a few additional clarifying details.

And yet, there seems to be nothing on the Nevada SOR website about this.

In October 2021 I was passing through Nevada anyway on my way from California to Utah. So, restricting myself to two partial days in-state and foregoing all the potential sins and delights of Las Vegas, my one and only stop was the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (see photo). My sole purpose was to find out if they knew anything about this separate unpublished “visitors registry.”

If there’s one thing I always say about police registry offices it’s this: “The person sitting at the desk behind the bulletproof glass is without a doubt the least knowledgeable person in the whole building.” That was certainly the case here. She had never heard of any “visitors registry.” However, with a little prodding I was able to get her to go ask her supervisor about it, and when she returned a few minutes later she smiled cheerfully and said, “Yes, there is a visitors registry, and as long as you check in within 48 hours of your arrival, and give us all the information about your visit, and come back to check out before you leave, you will go on that visitors registry.” 

So as far as I can tell, Nevada’s unpublished “visitors registry” is a real thing.  But even now, years later, I haven’t built up the nerve to walk into a Nevada police station and actually APPLY TO GET ON any registry – reassurances or not!  I’m not ruling out putting this state to the ultimate test in the future, but for now I’m too much of a chicken.

You may be wondering why any state SOR office, whether in Nevada, Alaska, Rhode Island or elsewhere, would go out of their way to create a separate visitors registry when it’s not spelled out in state law. As a person who worked as a government bureaucrat his entire career (until I ruined my life), I’m confident I know the answer: work avoidance.

You see, these states with separate visitors registries have very short visitor registration requirements, but they also have standardized procedures available to remove you from their registries after you leave (unlike Tennessee, Florida and 13 other states that keep you on their registries forever in order to pad their numbers and get more federal funding).

What this means for a SOR office (or sheriff’s department) bureaucrat is that any time a visitor is forced to register, they have to do all the work of adding that person to their registry and posting it on their website. Then as soon as that person leaves the state they have to do all the work of removing that person from their registry and their website.  That’s double the work for somebody they really couldn’t care less about. Thus is born the separate, low effort “visitors registry.”

Once I got home from my 2021 trip I tried one last internet search to see if I could find something, anything about Nevada’s “visitor’s registry.” Nothing on the state SOR site, but my Google search did turn up one document:

North Las Vegas Police “OffenderWatch” Safety Tips

https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_safety_1.php?office=54127

“Do I have to register as a sex offender in North Las Vegas if I am only visiting? Sex offenders who will be visiting North Las Vegas and will be staying in North Las Vegas for more than 48 hours, must register as “Sex Offender – Visitor”.” (emphasis added)

The way this is worded, it sure makes it sound like a separate visitors registry, which further confirms that such a thing exists.

Hey look!  These guys are open weekends & holidays!

But if this thing really exists, and the Nevada SOR office is happy to tell you all about it, how come NOBODY else seems to know about it?  Not the lady behind the bulletproof glass at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.  Not hardly anybody visiting Las Vegas – because if people were walking into the registry office asking to sign up for it even occasionally, the lady behind the bulletproof glass would be aware of it, right?  Not anybody who has ever spoken up at any ACSOL monthly phone call – and again, they talk about Nevada all the time because most of their members are next door in California.

That’s what continues to give me the creeps about the whole thing.

Most recent visit: August 2025

In early August 2025 I was on my way from Oregon to Utah and that necessarily took me through Nevada.  Before entering at the state’s incredibly remote northwest corner on SR 140 I made sure to gas up and pick up supplies in Lakeview, OR.  My mission was to get to the Utah state line and the Bonneville Salt Flats within the 48 hours allowed by the Nevada registry.  That’s not difficult since there’s nothing worth seeing in this part of Nevada anyway.  Passing through the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge and seeing no antelope kind of set the tone.  Instead I occupied myself by making a few

Small Town Notes:

Winnemucca – Not much to see here.  The whole town seems to be migrating towards I-80.

Battle Mountain – I read or saw somewhere that this town was “Voted Armpit of America.”  It’s not quite that bad – allow me to suggest Wendover, UT (see below) if you want to make a comparison.  But it is a jumble of rotting mobile homes.

West Wendover, NV as seen from Wendover, UT. Note that the front faces of the Montego Bay and Nugget casino buildings both go right up to the state line.  The Shell station is in UT.

West Wendover, NV & Wendover, UT – There is a military base just outside of Wendover, UT so that makes this just about the dumpiest base employee town I’ve ever witnessed, with mobile homes rotting into the ground.  West Wendover, NV is a failed military retiree mobile home community, where veterans could retire out in the desert and be close to base services.  Except it’s deteriorating and kind of not completed.  Also the only person I saw while driving around was a young latino boy walking his bicycle, which doesn’t fit well with the idea this is still a retirement community.

 Oregon

Hellgate Canyon

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

O.R.S. 2021 §§ 163.476; 163A.005 through 163A.235, O.A.R. 257-070-0005 through 257-070-0040, 291-202-0040.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

10 days for initial registration and updates; 10 days for a move into the state. §§163A.010 through 163A.020.

State law does not specifically address visitors. Per Oregon SOR response letter (2020), visitors are not required to register, unique among states. However, to be safe, visitors should use the 10 day rule in §163A.020 as a guideline.  There appears to be no limit on return visits per month or year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency restriction: “Sexually violent dangerous” offenders and “predatory sex offenders” may not reside “near locations where children are the primary occupants or users.”  O.A.R. 291-202-0040.

Presence restriction:  Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, neither “Sexually violent dangerous offenders” nor Level 3 offenders may enter a “premises where persons under 18 years of age regularly congregate,” including schools, childcare centers, and playgrounds. O.R.S. § 163.476

Only Level 3 offenders are placed on the public website. §163A.215

Duration & updates:

Lifetime.  Petition to remove – T1 – 5 yrs; §163A.125. Updates annually.

Beach art at sunset on the Oregon Coast

Most recent visit: August 2025

I have read enough issues of the NARSOL Digest with state reports from Oregon Voices to know it’s no picnic being on Oregon’s registry.  And yet I must also point out that, at least in its treatment of registered visitors, Oregon is one of the least harsh of the states.  

State law does not specifically address visitors. In 2020 the Florida Action Committee sent letters to every state SOR office with questions about how their registries affected out-of-state visitors.  No surprise – not many states responded to these questions.  But Oregon did respond. 

According to Oregon’s SOR response letter, visitors are not required to register, unique among states.  There is no set number of days visiting registrants can be in Oregon, and no restrictions on return visits per month or year.  Despite this, you will notice that in my 50 State Visitors guide (see above) I still recommend that to be safe, visitors should use the 10 day rule in O.R.S. §163A.020 as a guideline.

Oregon does have some residency and presence restrictions, but they apply only to Level 3 and/or so-called “sexually violent dangerous offenders.”  If you don’t fit into those categories you’re safe.

In early August 2025 I entered Oregon from Idaho on I-84.  This was Day 1 of a six day visit (including partial days) that fit well within Oregon’s rules.  My first stop was Baker City, which I had bypassed two years earlier because the nearby Oregon Trail Interpretive Center was closed for renovations.  It’s open now and worth a stop. 

If you’d rather hear the story of westward migration from an opposite point of view, allow me to suggest the Umatilla Nation Reservation.  Their Tamastslikt (Cultural Center) is off I-84 right next door to the casino, and that museum will set you straight.

Umatilla Nation Tamastslikt

My first adventure on Day 2 was the Columbia River Gorge, which I had not been impressed with two years earlier.  This time I arrived from the east where the gorge is far less industrialized, and it’s interesting but still, the entire river has been dammed up to create the power that drives our great northwest – so it’s not at all the majestic gorge that Lewis and Clark saw.  The waterfalls are nice but I’m still not impressed.

On the afternoon of Day 2 I took a side trip into Washington to see Mt. St. Helens – which would’ve been better if the last 15 miles of the access road weren’t closed due to a landslide (!).  I also stayed that night at a WA state park, but since I was back in Oregon the next morning it was still a third consecutive (partial) day in Oregon.  Not that keeping track of all that is especially urgent in Oregon.

Portland

It so happened I was set to visit Portland on a Saturday morning, and “everybody says” you’re supposed to go to their big farmers market on Saturday morning, so I went.  Actually there are two – the Portland State University Farmers Market, which is mostly produce and baked goods, and Portland Skidmore Market, which is everything.  That morning I also came across a Chinese Festival just getting under way at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Portland Skidmore Market

Portland Japanese Garden was members only Saturday morning – then when I tried back in the afternoon there was nowhere to park!  Portland Art Museum was mostly closed for renovations, and the small Monet exhibit included an appropriately small Water Lilies.  However, Pittock Mansion is worth it and has a great view of the city.  They were hosting the Portland Rose Society’s annual awards show!

Portland has a reputation for having a lot of homeless camps in public places and on my visit it lived up to that reputation.  Some parts of downtown are worse than others, and it’s off-putting but it looks like the people of Portland have kinda gotten used to it. 

Portland also has a reputation for being a vibrant city.  Going from one place to another my GPS kept taking me through random neighborhoods and I have to say I didn’t see a bad one in the bunch – and they were NOT overrun with homeless camps.  So Portland lives up to its vibrant reputation too.

View of Portland from the Pittock Mansion

On Day 4 I continued on to Oregon’s famed Pacific Seacoast from Tillamook south, stopping to see as much rocky coastline as possible and finding a campground from among the many state parks along the way. 

My first stop of Day 5 was Sea Lion Caves, a private attraction that lives up to its name.  Next was the Elk Viewing Area on OR 38 in Elliot State Forest – and wow there were even more elk there that morning than I had seen at Yellowstone!  From there I turned inland to see a few places that had been closed two years earlier due to forest fires (see previous visits below).  From then on it was Lava Day – Dee Wright Observatory and Belknap Crater in Willamette Nat. Forest, followed by Lava Lands Nature Trail and Lava Butte in Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Dee Wright Observatory and lots'o'lava

After camping overnight at an Army Corps of Engineers recreation area (they have them at most ACE reservoirs) my final (partial) day was a trip down Oregon Outback Scenic Byway (OR 31) to Lakeview, my last stop for gas and food before a long drive into Nevada.

My Rand McNally map promised a hot spring and a geyser there, but on my previous trip they had been long ago privatized into what was by then a ratty little resort. *Sigh.*  But guess what?  It looks like some gang of buddies have bought the little resort and are fixing it up for themselves.  They didn’t mind at all if I went to look at their little geyser.

Regional restaurant you should know about:

Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya – When I left prison I promised I’d never eat grits again, and I have kept that promise.  However, I didn’t say that about ramen noodles (a.k.a. soups).  So when I happened across this fast casual restaurant in Portland while looking for something else I thought, okay, and I’m glad I did.  It’s a regional chain with 17 locations in the Pacific Northwest and, apparently, 12 in Japan, so it also has authenticity going for it.

Previous visits: Aug. & Sept. 2023

Oregon's beautiful Pacific seacoast

First pass through Oregon

On the day I entered Oregon from Washington State in August 2023 my first stop was the impressively named Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.  I was as disappointed then as I was on my most recent visit, so the only thing I’ll add is that the setting of the Dalles Dam is nothing if not ugly.

From the Columbia Gorge I headed for Oregon’s famed Pacific seacoast which I followed from Roads End State Park south to South Beach State Park before retiring for the night.  As much as Oregon may be in the state government business it’s even more in the state park business.  It seems like they’ve turned almost every available scrap of state land into a park, which of course means there’s a fee to get in.  The good news is there is one state beach park after another as you travel the seacoast.

Clearwater Falls, near Crater Lake

On Day 2 I thought I had extra time so I headed inland to see what Oregon’s national forests are like.  Unfortunately I ran into a major forest fire, everything was closed including waterfalls and I had to turn back.  Returning to the seacoast at Florence, I followed it through Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and points south.  

By the morning of Day 3 I was as far south as Gold Beach, only to discover that the highway I wanted to take inland (U.S. 199) to my reserved campground near Crater Lake National Park was closed due to another forest fire.  That left the “Bear Camp Coastal Route” through Siskiyou National Forest as my only option.  “Scenic” is one way to describe this mountainous one lane road with occasional turnouts. “Scary” is another.  The good news is that most of it is paved.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake National Park

Wow, spectacular.  Day 4 in Oregon was Crater Lake National Park day.  I stopped to see beautiful waterfalls in Umpqua National Forest before entering the park from the north.  From that direction the first thing you come to is the main view of the crater.  Crater Lake is a volcanic crater, not a meteor crater.  From there you can follow a ring road around the crater to see it from many angles before returning to the main view before choosing to leave to the north or south.

Unfortunately the far part of the ring road was closed for maintenance on the day I was there, so I had to turn back at Cloudcap Overlook.  One thing I’ve gotten in the habit of doing at national parks is hiking one of the easy nature trails.  Most of them are really quite good – after all they’re in national parks.  In this case it was Castle Crest Wildflower Trail.  Very nice.

The Phantom Ship

By mid-afternoon I was leaving Crater Lake by the south exit.  With a few hours on my hands I checked out Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.  Yes it’s worthy of being a national monument.  It was the Saturday night of Labor Day weekend and I had a reserved campsite at Valley of the Rogue State Park which turned out to be a glorified I-5 rest area.  Don’t believe me?  Go see for yourself.

On my fifth and final (partial) day of my first pass through Oregon I decided to stop at Oregon Caves National Monument.  It’s 45 minutes from Cave Junction on U.S. 199 up to the cave, so buy your tickets at the Visitors Center at the junction.  Good cave and a good tour.  As you walk out the cave exit you’re invited to hike the nature trail, which I did and it’s quite beautiful.

Yes, by this time U.S. 199 was open so I could get to California, but the campground I had reserved there turned out to be closed on account of the fire.

Oregon's Outback

Second pass through Oregon

I was in California for one partial day and three full days before returning to Oregon on what was by now the return leg of my Pacific Northwest Tour.  Having spent the night before at Lava Beds National Monument in California near the state line, I entered Oregon this time near Klamath Falls and traveled east on State Road 140 to Lakeview.  On my Rand McNally map Lakeview promised a hot spring and a geyser, but like I had already seen on Montana's Flathead Reservation, they were long ago privatized into what is by now some kind of fleabag resort. *Sigh.*

Southeastern Oregon, a.k.a. Oregon’s Outback, is a remote place of stark beauty but most of that beauty is on private ranch lands.  Therefore there’s only what you can see from U.S. 395 and few places to pull over and enjoy it.  However, after the town small ranch town of Burns there were several campgrounds in Malheur National Forest and they weren’t crowded on a weeknight in September.

On Day 2 of my second pass through Oregon I continued north and east until I reached Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is like.  And the answer is – yes there’s a lot of recreational opportunities there but the scenery is not as impressive as its name implies.  Less impressive than Oregon’s Outback where I’d been the day before.

Because it was Friday night I’d long ago made a reservation at the cheapest motel I could find online in Ontario, OR. That was a good thing too because when I pulled in the “No Vacancy” sign was flashing.

First Pass – five days, Second Pass – four days, separated by three days in California.  Well within Oregon’s legal requirements.

Hell's Canyon

Oregon as a temporary regional base camp

As I mentioned a few posts ago in my Pacific NW Tour Overview, I began to think that if I do this again it would be nice to establish a temporary base somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, break my travel into a few shorter excursions and spend the time in between at a comfortable base camp.

Naturally I would want to do this in a way that won’t require me to register in the state where the base camp is located.  That means I’ll need a location that will allow me to come and go 3-4 times over, let’s say, a two month period, staying put for up to a week each time, all without triggering an obligation to register in that state.  Then when I report travel at my local sheriff’s department in either Iowa or Florida, I can give them just that one location as my “destination” for the entire trip, while listing in “The Notes” section at the bottom of my sheet all the states I’m planning to visit in my excursions from that destination.  With that in my glove compartment I’ll be all set.

In the Pacific Northwest only one state meets all these requirements and that is Oregon, where State law does not specifically address visitors (see my 50 State Visitors Guide). Per an Oregon SOR office letter responding to questions by the Florida Action Committee (2020), visitors are not required to register, unique among states.  Registration is required within 10 days for a move into the state, so in my Visitors Guide I recommend not staying any longer than that for any single visit.  However there is no limit on return visits, so Oregon law allows me to follow my plan as described above.

After spending a night in the sleepy Oregon border town of Ontario I started thinking that for me at least it would make a good spot for a base camp.  The entire Northwest from Montana to the Puget Sound to California is within an easy day’s ride.  It’s a “twin city” of Payette in neighboring Idaho, so between those two and a few nearby smaller towns I’d have access to any of my daily needs, not to mention the “relatively cheaper gas” right across the state line.  Yet as a temporary Oregonian I’d be covered by the comparatively less restrictive laws there.  It all makes sense to me.

 Yellowstone National Park / Wyoming

From the 50 state visitor guide (Wyoming):

Wyo. Stat. 2019 §§7-19-301 through  7-19-320

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial registration and updates, including temporary trips and vacations. “Temporary residence” includes hotels, motels, camping areas & parks. §7-19-301(xi)(C).

Visitors must register within 3 business days. §7-19-302(c)(iv).

Per Rolfe Survey, visiting registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: Adults “who are required to register … pursuant to §7-19-302” may not reside within 1,000 ft. from schools. §6-2-320.

Presence restrictions:  Adults “who are required to register … pursuant to §7-19-302” may not enter school grounds if s/he “has reason to believe children … are present and are involved in school activity or when children are presents w/in 30 mins. before or after scheduled school activity” and may not “knowingly loiter on a public way within 1,000 feet from the property line of school grounds.” Various exceptions apply. §6-2-320.

Because §6-2-320 says these restrictions apply to adults “who are required to register … pursuant to §7-19-302”, and visitors in state for less than 3 business days are not required to register, such visitors would, in theory, not be subject to these restrictions.  However, this theory remains untested.

Duration & updates:

Lifetime; petitions for removal available. §7-19-304. Updates: §7-19-302.

From the 50 state visitor guide (Montana):

Mont. Code Ann. 2019 §§46-23-504 through 46-23-520.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial registration and updates; transients shall register within 3 business days of entering state. 

Visitors: Must register within 3 business days of entering the state for a temporary residence of 10 days or more, or for an aggregate period of 30 days in calendar year. §§46-23-504, 46-23-505.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None

Duration & updates:

Life. Petition to remove – T1 - 10 yrs.  T2 – 25 yrs.

Updates by mail: T1 – annual; T2 – 6 mo.; T3 –90 days. Transients in person - 30 days. §§46-23-504, 56-23-506.

From the 50 state visitor guide (Idaho):

Idaho Code 2019 §§18-8301 through 18-8414

I.D.A.P.A. §11.10.03.000 through 11.10.03.012.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

2 working days for initial registration and updates.  Transient registrants must report location every 7 days. §§18-8307, 18-8308.

Visitors: Statutes do not address registration requirements for visitors.  However, "Temporary lodging" means any place in which the offender is staying when away from his or her residence for seven (7) or more days. 18-8323 (1)(h). Added Aug. 2024.

Temporary volunteers or employees:  Must register if in state for more than ten consecutive days, or for an aggregate period of 30 days in a calendar year.  If “employment involves counseling, coaching, teaching, supervising or working with minors in any way,” must register “regardless of the period of employment.” §18-8303(6).

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

May not reside or loiter within 500 ft. of school, and may not reside within more than one person also required to register, with certain exceptions. §§18-8331, 18-8332.

Presence restriction:  Day cares, unless picking up or dropping off one’s own children. §18-8327.

Duration & updates:

Life.  Petition to remove – 10 yrs.  Sexually Violent Persons must update every 3 months.  All others update annually. §18-8307.

Four days in Yellowstone: July 2025

Herd of buffalo on their way to the river to get their morning drink

What? you say.  How can I have spent four consecutive days at Yellowstone National Park when the third day in Wyoming triggers an obligation to register there?

The answer, of course, is that in Wyoming it’s business days.  Therefore by entering the state early on Saturday and leaving late on Tuesday you can spend four full days at Yellowstone, which I can tell you is enough.  Enough days to see everything even with a family, but just enough so you don’t get tired of it.

But if you want more time in Wyoming, which offers a lot more than Yellowstone, I’ll show you how to spend just Wednesday in Montana or Idaho before re-starting the clock for Thursday – Sunday.

First let’s compare the visitor requirements of each of these three states.  Most important is Wyoming, where visitors must register within 3 business days. §7-19-302(c)(iv).  NOTE: “Within 3 business days” means the third day will trigger your obligation to register, so you really only get two days; however, it’s business days, so if you include a weekend that stretches it to four days (five if you can throw in a holiday).  Keep in mind that, as with many other states, partial days will count.  Also, Wyoming law defines “temporary residence” to include hotels, motels, camping areas & parks. §7-19-301(xi)(C), so they’ve got you covered no matter where you spend the night.

However, Wyoming has no limitations on the number of return visits per month or year.  This is an important consideration for registered visitors because it means that if you leave the state for at least two nights and one day (so that the intervening day can’t be counted against you as a “partial day”) you can return and restart the clock.  By planning carefully you can have the time you need to really see Yellowstone.  However, I advise against abusing this part of Wyoming law by coming back multiple times.  I doubt any local sheriff’s department would take kindly to it.

Yellowstone Falls as seen from Lookout Point

If you need to spend a little time outside Wyoming, the obvious choice for registered visitors is Montana.  That’s because unless you’re staying 10 or more days there (or 30 per calendar year) you don’t need to register.  Also, Montana has no statewide residency or presence restrictions.  So your Yellowstone trip can be split into two 4-5 day weekends with a mid-week side trip to Montana.  How bad can that be?

Yellowstone’s northern entrance (via U.S. 89) and western entrance (via U.S. 20) both take you to Montana, although the western entrance also takes you in short order to Idaho. Both entrances have tourist towns with motels, resorts and campgrounds for you to choose from as you are staging yourself for your Yellowstone visit.

Speaking of Idaho, as I noted in my most recent blog entry about that state, calling the Idaho SOR office is useless because all you get is an outgoing message that says they only answer questions from attorneys.  Therefore in discussing the number of days you can be in this state or what restrictions might apply to you while visiting I need to err on the side of caution.

Idaho statutes do not address registration requirements for visitors.  However, "Temporary lodging" means any place in which the offender is staying when away from his or her residence for seven (7) or more days 18-8323 (1)(h) and establishing such would presumably require you to register.

Where to “reside” – Montana

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

For my July 2025 Yellowstone visit I decided the best strategy of all – which I now recommend to you – is to never spend the night in Wyoming, BUT still conform myself to Wyoming’s number of days rule for my daily trips to the park.  That way neither state can possibly lay a hand on me.  The truth is you can’t get a campground or lodge reservation inside Yellowstone anyway except by reserving at least a year in advance.  No matter your accommodation, you’ll be staying somewhere outside the park and commuting in daily. 

You may ask, how should you go about reporting this down at your local registry office?  When you report travel you are required to include a “destination” in the form of an address or location where you will be “residing.”  For my trip that was a campground in Montana, about 20 miles from the West Yellowstone entrance. Even for this I had to make advance reservations because it was peak season and a weekend, so I already had everything I needed to report travel. 

But notice – that’s in Montana.  Technically you could just report that address, never say anything about Yellowstone or Wyoming, and no one would ever notice.  But for my trip I decided to cover all bases by asking the lady behind the bulletproof glass to include, down in the “Notes” section of my sheet, a list of the states I would be traveling through on my trip, and that of course included Wyoming. 

I do this frequently on longer trips – in fact this registry lady knows me well enough that she even asked me if I wanted to do that.  I do this because having it right there on your sheet answers all potential questions for any random cop that might stop me for some mundane reason.  And yet, because Yellowstone was only in the Notes and not listed as a destination, my local registry office would be notifying only Montana of my arrival, not Wyoming.

One other consideration – Because I was coming from Iowa and needed to avoid spending any extra time in Wyoming, I needed to bypass WY and instead approach Yellowstone though Montana.  That meant my Day 1 in Montana actually occurred one day before my Day 1 at Yellowstone.

To avoid crowds, get to the main attractions early in the morning (except Old Faithful)

Cistern Spring at Norris Geyser Basin

Day 1: The road network in Yellowstone is laid out in a Figure 8 pattern.  Nearly all of the main attractions – Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Falls, West Thumb etc. etc. – are located along these main roads and don’t require strenuous hikes. 

Yellowstone’s northeast entrance is its most remote and with the fewest staging services.  It was peak season and Saturday morning and I was concerned about crowds so I got to the gate mad early (5:50 am).  I was surprised by how few people were there and was greeted by a large herd of buffalo (hundreds!) lumbering across the entrance road on their way to get a morning drink from the Lamar River.

I didn’t know enough to follow my advice above on Day 1, but my first major stop was Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Falls, one of the places you should get to early, so that worked out fine.  What did not work out was Norris Geyser Basin which I didn’t get to until afternoon.  There was overflow parking available and they even have a separate path from there to the entrance – but it’s SO LONG and then you have miles of walking to do around the basin.  I was so beat I had to bail out and then trapse all the way back to overflow parking.  Uggh!  But I learned my lesson.

It's Grand !! It's Prismatic !!

PS – Feel free to skip Artists Paint Pots.  It’s a long walk (2 miles round trip), some of the stuff is still bubbling, but the Artists Paint Pots are mostly dried up, much like Mammoth Hot Springs (see Day 3).

Day 2: Why do I say you don’t have to get to Old Faithful early in the day?  Because the Parks Service has created an enormous complex for it with so much parking you’ll always find a space (just get ready to walk a ways).  That’s especially good because in addition to Old Faithful there’s a whole basin full of bubbling geysers and lots of trails. Also food and services.  You’ll be there for hours so it’s good to know you can make an afternoon of it.

The place nearby that you do want to get to early is Midway Geyser Basin, home of Grand Prismatic Spring.  Everybody wants to see it and you should too, so just get there early.

West Thumb is not as big a deal as it looks on the map, and I didn’t have any trouble parking in the afternoon.  Biscuit Basin is “closed due to thermal hazard”!

Yes that's it !! Old Faithful !!

Day 3: Skip Mammoth Hot Springs – Unfortunately, Mammoth Hot Springs has almost completely dried up in the past 10 years!  Yes there are a few things bubbling here and there but you don’t have to make this a focus of your attention or get there early.  Instead, here are some other cool places that get less attention:

Mud Volcano – Unlike Artists Paint Pots, this one is still going strong, you can find parking in the afternoon, and includes several other sights, so set aside over an hour.

Sheepeater Cliffs – Super cool, close to parking and there’s an even bigger cliff down a short walk.

Sheepeater Cliffs

Forces of the North Range Nature Trail – Most national parks include easy nature trails for us old geezers, they often feature something you wouldn’t expect at that park, they’re better than you think they’re gonna be and this is no exception.

Firehole Canyon Drive and Blacktail Plateau Drive – Scenic Drives with great views in Yellowstone.  How bad can that be?

Day 4: I set aside Day 4 to get back to a few things I’d had to bail out on before, and to see a few things a second time.  In the first category was Norris Geyser Basin Part 2 where I entered the parking lot at 8:30 am and easily found a great space.  I was fresh, the weather was cool and this time I enjoyed a nice walk through the basin.

In the second category was of course Old Faithful.  I arrived early afternoon, had no trouble finding parking, watched the geyser go off and had lunch at the grill.

Elk

On my way out of the park that last afternoon I stopped at a picnic area I had been passing along the Madison River and decided I had time to stop and enjoy it.  When I did I looked across the river and saw a herd of about 15-20 elk, just grazing in the scenery.  This was an apt bookend to the bison herd I’d seen on my first morning.

I stayed at my Montana campground that night before proceeding on to the Pacific Coast, so all together that was six days in Montana (including partial days) and four days in Wyoming (but only two business days).  Only Montana would be notified of my travel plans and I was well within their nine day grace period (because the 10th day triggers a registry obligation).  But I also conformed myself to Wyoming’s rules so I’d be covered no matter what.

Suppose you need more time in Wyoming?

As noted above, there’s a lot more to Wyoming than Yellowstone.  Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Wind Canyon, Thermopolis, and oh – you may even have business in Wyoming that you need more time to complete.

Also as noted, if you leave the state late Tuesday and spend the next two nights and Wednesday (so that Wednesday can’t be counted against you as a “partial day”) you can return Thursday and restart the clock without penalty as long as you don’t abuse the privilege.  That gives you until the following Sunday afternoon – nine days total of which eight were in Wyoming.

On your second pass through Wyoming I suggest going legit and “residing” right in Wyoming.  It’s your last two business days in state so there’s no fear – plus the fact that you’ll be running out of grace days in Montana by this time, so unless you want to commute in from Idaho there isn’t much choice.

In September 2023 I was in Wyoming for parts of three consecutive days, Thursday – Saturday.  You could say that trip was like the Part 2 trip I describe above because I stayed the two business day nights in Wyoming.  Because that third day was a Saturday I was in compliance with state law no matter how harshly you interpret it.  If you want to read about that see my Wyoming blog entry.

Epilogue:  Earthquake Lake Geological Area

As I was commuting back and forth from my campground off US 287 west of Yellowstone I kept seeing display boards for something called the Earthquaake Lake Geological Area.  Apparently in 1959 there was a huge 7.5 Richter Scale earthquake REALLY closeby.  On my last afternoon I had enough time left to go tour this geological area – they even have a visitors center! – only to discover that this earthquake had split the ground apart and raised one side up about 15 feet, creating a huge scarp! See photo!

But the most unnerving thing was that this happened so close to my campground that I could easily see the scarp from my campsite!  In fact the scarp is named after my campground, which got almost split in half by this fracture.

This made my last night at Cabin Creek Campground a little creepy, but if you think about it, every time you visit Yellowstone you’re walking on top of boiling magma that could go at any minute.  How much safer is that?