It’s getting busy again in Cooke City, Montana, right outside the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. That means it’s time for the Alpine Motel to release the latest edition of its annual list of “expectations for tourists.”
No. 1 on that list? “This is COOKE CITY. NOT NEW YORK CITY.”
For the last several years, the Alpine Motel of Cooke City has tried to reach tourists before they become disappointed by what they find there. It seems the name of the tiny Montana town, population 77, is misleading to many.
“When they see the word ‘city’ behind Cooke City, they think we’re some big, booming metropolis with chain hotels and fancy restaurants,” Alpine Motel General Manager Chad Meador, told Cowboy State Daily. “The difference between expectation and reality prompts a lot of anger and frustration in visitors, and I wanted to maybe prevent a little bit of it before they got here.”
A Growing List
Meador has been the general manager of the Alpine Motel for six years. He first posted the list in 2021 to address the feedback he heard and received from people visiting Cooke City and Silver Gate (population 20) during their Yellowstone trips.
“I was continually shocked by people who came to our community without doing any research on where they were coming,” he said. “They expect a city and arrive in the middle of nowhere.”
In the years since, he’s added to the list to give visitors a glimpse of everything Cooke City is and isn’t. That’s why the annual list always starts with the same point: This is Cooke City, not New York City.
“There are some first-world services which you won't find here,” Meador’s list reads. “We have about 75 year-round residents. Some years we have a few more and some a few less. People come and go. During the summer months, that number usually doubles. But we are roughly 75 strong year-round.”
The other additions to the list include things obvious to anyone in the Greater Yellowstone region but often take tourists by surprise.
There are no law enforcement officers, EMS, or dentists in Cooke City or Silver Gate. There are several ATMs but no banks, only one public restroom, and a general store “with a good selection of groceries,” but the nearest supermarket is almost two hours away in Cody or Gardiner, and which is closest depends on when you’re visiting.
There isn’t a single air conditioner or elevator in any hotel or business in Cooke City. The lack of these modern conveniences means people have to resort to the old-fashioned solutions - open windows and stairs.
It’s also the highest-elevated town in Montana, sitting at over 7,580 feet. That might be hazardous for anyone with specific health problems.
“We have an amazing local volunteer EMS team, but they’re limited in their capacity,” he said. “I mention this for any visitors with respiratory or cardiac issues. We don't want to see you leaving town in an ambulance or helicopter.”
The Ore House Saloon is a popular spot in Cooke City, Montana. (Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr) 
The siding of the Cooke City Store could use a little work. (David via Flickr) 
A row of mailboxes in Cooke City, Montana. (tjabeljan via Flickr)
No Service With A Smile
What’s the most consistently dashed expectation in Cooke City? The lack of cell service.
“There are still entire towns without cell service, and we happen to be one of them,” Meador said. “Cell service is an expectation that isn’t met here, which prompts a lot of anger.”
Meador moved to Cooke City from Georgia specifically so he could unplug from the world in the wilderness of the Montana-Wyoming border. He and many other Cooke City residents value that lack of connectivity, but many visitors don’t share the sentiment.
“I moved here because it’s absolutely breathtakingly beautiful,” he said. “It's a place to unwind and disconnect and get away from all that craziness of a big city. If no cell service and sketchy Wi-Fi are your expectations, it’s great.”
One of the most potent warnings on Meador’s list is that the abundance of animals near or wandering through Cooke City are “not pets.” People joke about not petting the “fluffy cows,” but Meador says it’s a serious point to address.
“Every year, when I say I've seen it all, someone inevitably surprises me with their carelessness and lack of concern for wildlife,” he said. “Last year, I watched a man try to play fetch with a bison in the parking lot using a tennis ball.”
Cooke City is surrounded by the U.S. Forest Service on all sides. Animals wander unimpeded through the community, which can lull people into a sense of false security.
Meador once saw a woman trying to hand-feed a bison with an apple. And Stevie, the town raven, has been known to dive-bomb people. Yellowstone asks visitors to keep at least 25 yards between themselves and the “placid” wildlife, and the same applies in Cooke City.
“When you see the foxes or the wolverine we had in our parking lot once, just leave them alone,” he said.
One Way Only (Mostly)
Now that the West Entrance of Yellowstone is open, more traffic is trickling into Cooke City. Tourists expecting to travel straight through the Northeast Entrance to Cody or Billings will find themselves frustrated once they reach Cooke City.
“It’s starting to pick up a bit, but they don’t start plowing (the plug) until the second Monday in May,” Meador said. “We still have a lot of snow up here, especially in the backcountry.”
This means two different “clientele” are frequenting Cooke City, which Meador said can lead to its own frustrations.
“We’re still getting snowmobilers and skiers, but now we're getting a lot more park visitors,” he said. “When those two clienteles meet, it’s not always a pleasant thing.”
Despite the name, there’s no future where Cooke City becomes a city. In his list, Meador hopes his list informs visitors on the geographic and logistical oddities of his adopted home.
“Cooke City and Silver Gate are the only two towns in Montana you cannot drive to from Montana,” he said. “No matter how you drive here, you have to drive through Wyoming first. If you're anywhere else in Montana, you must leave the state and drive significantly through Wyoming to get to Cooke City.”
He’s also adamant that Cooke City is “the most isolated community in the lower 48” during the winter. He’s not wrong – between October and June, access to Cody via the Chief Joseph Highway is cut off, and the only route to civilization is the two-hour drive through Yellowstone to Gardiner.
“People always come for me in the comments about this one,” he said. “But it's true.”
The candy section of the Cooke City general store is old-school. (tjabeljan via Flickr) 
The general store in Cooke City, Montana. (tjabeljan via Flickr) 
People hang out at Beartooth Plateau Outfitters in Cooke City, Montana. (Eric Laureys via Flickr)
The Same Changes
Cooke City will never become a “city” because it hasn’t even become a town. Both Cooke City and Silver Gate are unincorporated communities and census-designated places.
Everything that frustrates tourists about Cooke City endears it to Meador and its other denizens. His list touts the one-room schoolhouse, the mild climate, and the people who make it a wonderful place to escape from everything, even if it’s the steady stream of Yellowstone tourists.
“It’s a unique place because not much has changed,” he said. “The population fluctuates by five to 10 people each year. The ownership of businesses changes, but the businesses stay the same. I see people on Facebook say nothing's changed in 50 years, and I think that’s to its benefit. We have the charm of a very small town here.”
Nevertheless, there will always be tourists expecting to find a city waiting for them outside the Northeast Entrance. That’s why Meador will keep posting and updating his list in the hope that expectations will be appropriately accommodated before they reach the minuscule metropolis of Cooke City.
“The list gets shared quite a bit yearly,” he said. “A lot of people who are planning to come here will see the list, and say, ‘I didn’t know.’ Well, now you do.’ But I still get people expecting Cooke City to be a city.”
Tourists have expectations for Yellowstone’s gateway communities, but Cooke City defies expectations at nearly every turn. What’s the ultimate takeaway from Meador’s list?
“If you're expecting an enormous city, keep your expectations low,” he said. “If you go through the West Entrance, they have a McDonald’s sitting right there. We don’t. Those things don’t exist here.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
