Right now we’re in between the second and third fee free admission week of the summer at Yellowstone Park but there is still plenty going on worth checking out. Between July 20 and August 14 there will be live web cam broadcasts from the park with Park Ranger George Heinz showing us some of the marvels of the interior and giving us a little history and a virtual Yellowstone tour. The web cam itself is located near Old Faithful Geyser and will present viewers with live shots of the geyser erupting. It will also show eruptions of Beehive, Lion, and Giantess geysers. If you get lucky you might even catch sight of a bison, elk, coyote, or bear wandering into the camera’s view.

If you’re planning on visiting Yellowstone National Park this month there are a few must-see’s and some must-do’s that you won’t want to miss. Bicycling, boating and fishing are popular activities among Yellowstone tourists and you have to take some time at the Canyon Visitor Education Center. Learn all about Yellowstone’s supervolcano and how it affects all of the life around it. Another site to visit while you’re in the area is the Museum of the National Park Ranger in Norris, where you can find our how the ranger service began and the truth behind some of the popular legends of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon.

If you’re planning on going on a Yellowstone Tour in the winter you might want to start planning now. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has proposed a drastic cut in the number of snowmobiles that will be allowed in Yellowstone Park this year. The current limit is 720 per day and the proposal calls for a cut-back to 318. The average last year was only 205 daily but the busiest day did bring in 426, so plan ahead. You need a permit to bring your snowmobile into Yellowstone Park and you can’t get around in there during winter without it.

The debate over snowmobiles in Yellowstone has been going on for decades. The plan being put forward by the Obama administration was actually proposed when Bush was still in office. Wildlife advocates would prefer no machines in the park at all and opponents are stating that the cap will hurt the tourist industry. Numbers are already down from ten years ago. In the 1990’s the average annual peak for snowmobile use was 1400 daily.