Though located in Gardner, just outside the park, Roosevelt Arch is the grand manmade landmark that signifies the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The arch was completed August 1903, but was dedicated April 24 of the same year, by President Roosevelt, at the invite of local Masons and residents who were constructing the arch. President Roosevelt was vacationing in the park at the time and had no plans to dedicate the arch and nor was he anticipating that it would be named after him. Area renovations have made this prominent icon more accessible for taking photos of family members in front of the arch. If the doors at the base of the arch are open, take a look inside the hollow arch and to get a feel for how it was constructed all those years ago.
From the arch, it is a short half-mile drive to the North Entrance. Herds of elk are often seen on the hills to the south and provide a fitting welcome to the park known for its abundance of wildlife. Notice the “hummocky” terrain of these hills. This irregular, mogul-like landscape is the result of a giant landslide that occurred relatively recently, geologically speaking.
As you turn southward and travel up the Gardner Canyon, on the east side is one of the few places in the park you can see sedimentary rocks. While most of the rocks in Yellowstone are much younger volcanic rocks (less than 4 million years old), these rocks are Cretaceous-aged (145 – 65 million years ago) and were deposited in a shallow inland sea at a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
The Roosevelt Arch was mentioned in our article titled: "Best Places to Go and Things to do with Kids in Each of Yellowstone's 14 Road Sections"
