Lakota Nations:

First nations tourism in the Dakotas & Montana

Little Missouri River in Little Missouri National Grasslands, SD

From the 50 State Visitor Guide  : North Dakota

N.D. Century Code 2021 §§12.1-20-25, 12.1-32.15, 12.1-34-06

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 days for initial registration of “residence” (not defined).  3 days for registration of “temporary domicile,” defined as being physically present in state for more than 10 consecutive days, present in state for more than 30 days in a calendar year, or at a location for longer than 10 consecutive days. §12.1-32.15(1)(h), (2).

Visitors: Per N Dak. SOR office, visitors must register if in state 10 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency Restriction: “High-risk” offenders may not reside within 500 ft. of a public or private school. §12.1-32-13. 

Presence restriction: May not knowingly enter school without permission, subject to exceptions. §12.1-20-25.

Duration & updates:

15 to life. Frequency of updates determined by AG. §12.1-32.15.

Updates: Homeless – every 3 days. §12.1-32.15(2). Others vary.

From the 50 State Visitor Guide : South Dakota

S.D.C.L. 2021 §§ 22-24B-1 through 22-24B-36

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial registration and updates, §22-24B-2; however, state law includes Saturday as a business day. §37-24-1(2).

Per the S. Dak. SOR office, there is “wiggle room” in the 3 business day registration requirement for short term visitors, especially if you are passing thru on a road trip and not staying in one location for more than a few days. If your stay in any one place will exceed the 3 day requirement, visitors should “check in” at local police or sheriff dept. and provide info about intended length of stay.  Supposedly, if not more than 5-6 days you will not be required to register. “Check out” upon departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency restriction: “No person who is required to register … may establish a residence within” 500 ft. from school, park, public playground, or public pool.

§22-24B-23. “Residence” defined as the address a person lists for purposes of the sex offender registry.

Presence restriction: “No person who is required to register” may “loiter” within 500 ft. form school, park, public playground, public pool, or library unless registrant committed offense as a minor and was not convicted as an adult. §22-24B-24.  Petitions for exemption possible.

Supposedly, short term visitors who check in & check out according to the procedure described above (Registration Triggers & Deadlines) would not be “required to register” & thus not subject to these restrictions during their visit.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life; Petition to remove – 5 years.

Updates every 6 mo. §22-24B-7.

From the 50 State Visitor Guide : Montana

Mont. Code Ann. 2021  §§46-23-504 through 46-23-520.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Three 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.

Per Montana SOR office, visitors required to register should return to the locality where registered and “check out” and will be removed from registry. Whether this system works in practice is untested.

Duration & updates:

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

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

Visiting Native American Nations

Native American nations can be fascinating places to visit, but make no mistake – you might tell yourself you are entering a sovereign nation when you cross the reservation boundary but you aren’t.  You’ll still be bound by the registry laws of whatever US state you’re in. 

Nor should you get any funny ideas if you are of native ancestry that you can somehow escape your registry status by moving to the reservation of whatever tribe you belong to.  You can’t.  As you must already realize, the oppression of the registry will follow you onto the reservation whether you’re a visitor or become a resident.  That’s why I have placed the registry laws of North and South Dakota at the beginning of this blog entry, rather than any tribal registry laws.  There may be a few tribal laws on the books but they’ve got bigger concerns than having yet another outsider passing through.

Another point that must be clearly made to anyone planning to travel to Indian Country is that you are NOT going to a tourist attraction.  This is not Pennsylvania Dutch Country where you as a tourist are invited to gawk at the locals driving their buggies and eat at an expensive smorgasbord.  To the contrary, you are about to enter upon a place where quite frankly you don’t belong.  Your visit is merely tolerated, and as far as I’m concerned that is as it should be.

Visiting Lakota Country: Aug. & Sept. 2025

My 2025 Dakotas tour wasn’t intended to be a history and cultural lesson on Lakota Country, but it turned out to be just that.  Because of that and remembering the things I learned on my previous (2022) Dakotas road trip, I believe I’m now prepared to tell you the best way to visit Lakota Country, see most of it and have a great experience.  So here goes:

Begin your tour at Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National Grassland, ND

Why begin here?  It’s not even close to any Lakota reservation.  But earlier this year as I was touring the Ojibwe Archipelago I began to realize, if you want to know the story of America’s native peoples you can’t just look at the reservations.  You have to include all the public lands that preserve natural wonders in the region, because you can be pretty sure these places were and still are very important and sacred to that region’s native people.

Buffalo is a Lakota word.  Bison is a european word.

Taken together, Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National Grasslands cover an enormous area of western North Dakota at least as large Yellowstone.  With the exception of the scenic loop roads in the national park, this whole area is roadless and wild shortgrass prairie, punctuated by the badlands of the Little Missouri River Valley.  It’s all public land so it’s been preserved in as close to its original state as you can find anywhere.

In short, it’s the best place in America to see what Lakota Country must’ve been like before europeans arrived and screwed everything up.  The national park even has Buffalo herds (Note: Buffalo is a Lakota word, Bison is a european word).  It’s easy to imagine Lakota hunters following the herds as it might have been in the old days. (Note: there’s also prairie dog towns!)  That’s why your visit to Lakota Country should start here.

Prairie dogs

This is also where a young Theodore Roosevelt came for solitude and solace after his mother and first wife died in rapid succession.  Later as president he remembered this beautiful place as he was creating our national parks system.  So when you come to see this preserved piece of original Lakota Country, be sure to thank him.

Next, see how the Lakota and other tribes live today

Nakota/Dakota Nation (Montana – Ft. Peck reservation)

Northeastern Montana is quite similar to western North Dakota, and there is a reservation there to look at, so why not skip the National Grasslands and start here?  Answer: Because all of northeastern Montana is private ranches and farms, including on the reservation, and as nice as that looks it’s no longer much like its original state. 

Ft. Peck Dam & power plant just before dawn

The agricultural and ranch lands on reservations look about the equivalent of nearby off reservation lands, consisting of farms and ranches.  Just don’t expect to see buffalo roaming anywhere because they’ve been long ago replaced by cattle just like everywhere else.  Beef – it’s what’s for dinner.  You will, however, find more horses grazing on reservations.

The largest town on this reservation is Wolf Point.  It is a segregated town where the anglos live in relative splendor on the north side and the Nakota/Dakota live in relative squalor (but not as bad as I’ve seen elsewhere) on the south side.  A relatively healthy commercial strip along US 2 separates the two.

Abandoned church as seen from its graveyard

The tribal town of Poplar illustrates that if your Ft. Peck Community College graduates can’t find opportunities without leaving, you can’t keep them on the reservation by building a lot of tiny un-air conditioned government subsidized cracker box houses out in the middle of nowhere.  What you end up with is most of them are empty, boarded up and full of graffiti.

Aaniih & Nakota Nation (Montana – Fort Belknap reservation)

While the Fort Peck reservation is a comparatively close to the Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National Grassland, you’ll have to go most of a day out of your way westward to visit Fort Belknap, as I did in August 2026.  I found a reservation that’s in better shape than most.

If the attractive entry sign (see photo) is any indication, the Aaniih & Nakota people seem to get along well – notice the sign says “Nation,” not Nations.  You may say so what but I say the people who built that sign had to decide what to put on it.  They chose to say We Are One Nation.

As always, the agricultural economy of the reservation mimics the surrounding region, which in this case is a good thing.  I stayed at a motel in the nearby anglo town of Harlem, only because I couldn’t find anyplace in the Tribal headquarters town of Fort Belknap Agency.  My notes on Ft. Belknap Agency say, “not terrible,” which is WAY better than either Wolf Point or Poplar at Fort Peck.

PS – My notes on Harlem say, “not great,” and no, it wasn’t.

Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (North Dakota – Three Affiliated Tribes reservation)

Now it’s time to admit that the Lakota haven’t always been the good guys in this region’s history.  The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations banded together in the 1850’s partly to avoid going to war with the Lakota, who wanted to hog all the Buffalo to themselves.  Now they share the Three Affiliated Tribes reservation which I traveled through in 2022 but didn’t look closely at. 

My map says there is a Three Tribes Museum in New Town.  I couldn’t find it in 2022 but I wasn’t leaving the main highways much in those days.

Spirit Lake Tribe (North Dakota)

I know the Spirit Lake Tribe must affiliate as Lakota because I saw a Lakota-named School.  But most of their signs and symbols say Spirit Lake Tribe.

The tribal town of Ft. Totten looks okay as you drive through the commercial strip on SR 57, but turn off on a few random side streets and you will see some of the worst reservation poverty anywhere.

The Spirit Lake reservation sits on the south shore of the insultingly-named Devil’s Lake.  I assume we’re talking about the same lake here.  On the northern shore is the equally insultingly-named anglo town of Devil’s Lake.  Both town and north lakeshore seem to be doing fine, thank you.

Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Lakota Nations (North & South Dakota)

I traveled through parts of these nations in 2022.  The Native American Scenic Byway passes through the Cheyenne River Lakota reservation, sometimes criss-crossing the Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway (remember – the Missouri River, the european invaders’ main highway, bisects both North and South Dakota).  This scenic byway is absolutely stunning in its stark beauty. You’ll think you are driving through the set of Dances With Wolves … because you are.

One other point about reservation tourism – turn on your radio!  Most First Peoples have their own radio stations these days, often NPR affiliates, and there is nothing like driving through the set of Dances With Wolves with authentic Native war chants blasting on the tube!

Sitting Bull stands guard over the Missouri River

The only historical monument I saw on native land in 2022 was Sitting Bull’s Grave, which is right near the boundary between the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Lakota reservation, fittingly in the middle of nowhere keeping guard over the Missouri River, a few miles from SD State Road 20.

Unfortunately, outsiders and anglos decided they couldn’t live without putting a monument to Sacagawea nearby to serve as a cultural counterweight to Sitting Bull.  You should utterly refuse to visit that monument !! for the following reasons:

1. Sacagawea wasn’t even Lakota, she was Shoshone.  Anglos put her monument here to point out her connection to the very Missouri River exploration that killed off so many native societies.

2. Sacagawea isn’t even here !! She’s with her own people in a breathtakingly beautiful genuine Shoshone cemetery at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, where you will find a respectful monument to her.  You should visit her there.

Lower Brule Lakota Nation (South Dakota)

I traveled through this reservation in 2022.  The main thing I remember is you can see the reservation poverty in the tribal town of Lower Brule from the main road.

Oglala Lakota Nation (South Dakota – Pine Ridge)

I visited the Oglala Lakota Nation for the first time in late August 2025.  I had entered South Dakota from the east and picked up a nice glossy brochure with a map at the I-90 welcome station (see photo).  This gave me confidence that I could drive around without getting lost and see the things the Oglala Lakota Chamber of Commerce wanted me to see.

Unfortunately, nothing about this reservation lived up to the brochure.  Oglala Lakota Living History Village – sounds interesting, right?  Too bad it’s been closed for years and growing over with weeds.  Oglala Lakota College Historical Center – It’s a nice looking college but I couldn’t find the historical center.

Wounded Knee

Then there is Wounded Knee.  You would think that for such an important site, the Oglala Lakota would have made it a show piece of education and quiet contemplation both for themselves and the outsiders the brochure is trying to attract.  No.  See photo.  Note poor maintenance, dirt trails and hokey trinket stalls.

Pine Ridge is a larger than average tribal town.  It contains all the tribal offices, health and welfare services you would expect in the tribal town, and has more and better commercial services than most tribal towns, owing to its location on US 18.  Residential areas are pretty bad but not as bad as I’ve seen elsewhere.

Learn about the Lakota and other native cultures

Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center 

Chamberlain, SD

Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center

The good news is this is a good museum that tells the Lakota story, it’s close to I-90 and there are billboards to get you to the right exit.  The bad news is there’s no sign telling you to turn left at the bottom of the ramp (DO NOT go to the South Dakota Hall of Fame), and it’s located on the campus of the Lakota’s old overlord, St. Joseph’s Catholic Indian School.  The school has even imposed its will on the Lakota by establishing its own museum of school history right across the hall in the same building.  I refused the invitation to go there, but you should go to the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center.

Dignity sculpture

Also in Chamberlain – Dignity of Earth And Sky sculpture at the I-90 scenic overlook.

The Black Hills, SD

Most of the Upper Midwest was originally rolling grasslands punctuated by badlands.  But right in the middle is a very unusual and beautiful outcrop of mountains we now call the Black Hills.  You can hardly blame the Lakota and other Plains Indians for considering all of those mountains as sacred, some unusual features even more so than others. 

Invading europeans had little appreciation for anything sacred or beautiful, only what was profitable, so most of the Black Hills were included as reservation lands in the original US treaty with the Lakota.  That probably would have satisfied everybody except that George Custer couldn’t resist marching his ass up there and discovering gold.  From that moment on he would only be satisfied with stealing all the sacred lands and slaughtering the people of the region.

There is, however, a silver lining to this tragedy.  It turned out that the mineral resources, while significant, are confined to a relatively small part of the Black Hills.  Teddy Roosevelt had the foresight to preserve as much of the rest as possible in national parks, forests and grasslands.  The result is that many of the most sacred lands have been preserved, and the Lakota and other tribes have access to them.

Go to Wind Cave National Park – This is a great park and a great cave tour. Wind Cave has about 90% of all the boxwork in the world.  But the reason you need to include Wind Cave in your Lakota cultural tour is that the Lakota and other first people believe their ancestors emerged from the underworld through the original cave opening. 

Wind Cave guide telling the Lakota origin story

Very fortunately the anglo family that first occupied this land decided not to blow up this original opening to enlarge it.  Instead they blew open another entrance about 50 yards away.  Nowadays the Parks Service bends over backwards to accommodate native needs, and your cave tour will begin with a walk over to the original entrance where the guide will tell you the Lakota origin story.

DO NOT go to Mount Rushmore – Anyone who has any respect for the native people of this region should refuse to visit Mount Rushmore or the nearby Borglum Rushmore Museum.  As you must realize by now, carving presidents faces into the side of a Black Hills mountain is a desecration of sacred lands.  Besides, they make you pay to get in, their entire visitors center is a tawdry commercial enterprise, and when you finally see the carvings they’re not as impressive as you have been led to expect – especially compared to Crazy Horse.

Avoid anything Custer-related – As the most evil villain in the history of the Plains tribes, it is criminal that his name is plastered all over so much of the Black Hills and you should shun all of that as much as possible – hotels, restaurants, roadside attractions, the town of Custer, all of it.  However, you won’t be able to avoid Custer State Park because it has the big Buffalo herd.  It also preserves a large and beautiful part of the sacred Black Hills.  Just refuse to spend any money in their gift shop until they change the name of the park.

Complete your tour at Crazy Horse Memorial

They make you pay to get in Crazy Horse too but this time it’s worth it.  The visitor center includes the largest and most complete collection of cultural artifacts I have seen.  There are talks and performances.  The gift shop is enormous and stocked with authentic stuff.  There’s even an over-priced Lakota-themed restaurant so you eat lunch without guilt.

"My lands are where my dead lie buried."

Crazy Horse pointing at Wounded Knee and demanding justice.

Then, of course, there is Crazy Horse.  In the Top This competition between Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore, the Lakota people have made extra sure that their monument will never be topped.  When complete it will consume an entire mountain – presumably one that’s not sacred – and unlike Mt. Rushmore which is hidden in the hills, Crazy Horse is right there by the main highway where he can’t be ignored. 

Now that Crazy Horse’s finger and hand have been revealed, it’s obvious why his face and finger were the two most important body parts to be carved first.  To me, with part of the mountain also cleared, it now looks like he is emerging from a whirlwind, pointing directly at Wounded Knee and demanding justice.  There can be no more fitting conclusion to your tour of Lakota Country.

Authentic teepee at the Crazy Horse Cultural Center

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

 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.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

 DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS SERIES

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?

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler