The Wonders of Yellowstone Travel Guide

By The Backseat View

Words and photographs can’t define Yellowstone.

She is simply awe-inspiring and GRAND.

The World’s First National Park is dramatically WILD at every experience, from the thermal basins to the vibrant colors of Grand Prismatic Springs, the stunning geysers, and the bison roaming the plains.

Yellowstone ignites your love of the land.

The hot springs and geysers result from the underground activity of a super volcano that Yellowstone sits upon. Yellowstone is over 3,000 square miles with one easily navigated large figure 8 road with an upper and lower loop. I was surprised at the park’s size and how slow traffic moves. Yellowstone is divided into five park entrances: North, Northeastern, West, East, and South. With so many entrances, there are endless options to explore the park. The Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, and Cody, WY, are neighbors to Yellowstone and should be included in your Yellowstone vacation.

Let’s open the Yellowstone Travel Guide and plan a wilderness experience to reset your soul.

When to Visit

The end of May, June, and September are the best times to visit to avoid the 4 million guests that come in July. August has an average of a million visitors. Fishing is best in July and August. We visited the first week of June, which had low crowds and snow still covering sections of the park. September has low crowds and fall foliage. Winter, November to April, is your third visit to the park to enjoy snowmobile rides with most of the park closed.

How Long to Stay

I could spend a summer in Yellowstone. I recommend spending at least 3-4 days there. We stayed a week in Yellowstone, then visited Cody, Wyoming, and Jackson Hole to round out our two-week trip. You can drive the Yellowstone loops in a day, but that’s exhausting, and you can only hit the highlights.

Where to Stay

• Keep in mind the park is massive, driving is slow, and all day in the car is not fun.
  
• I split my time between the West and the North. It’s too much driving to stay in one location.
  
• The Old Faithful Inn at sunset without crowds, with Old Faithful to myself, is priceless.
  

Old Faithful Inn

• Everyone wants a night or two in the ICONIC Old Faithful Inn for their lower loop days. The Inn’s availability decides if you first make the lower or upper loop. The best rooms with a view of Old Faithful have a shared bathroom, which I loved. I never saw one of the other women from the three rooms in the women’s bathroom, and it was five steps across the hall. It is so convenient that the entire family is ready to go in 15 minutes in nice, multi-shower bathrooms instead of waiting for a bathroom.
  

• If the Inn is booked, Lake Yellowstone Hotel is my next choice for lower loop days.
  
• All the hotels in Gardiner are just average but offer quick access to Lamar Valley in the north for early morning animal encounters.
  
• The hotels and 12 campgrounds in the park book 13 months out and fill up fast at yellowstonenationalparklodges.com
  
• Most people spend their vacation in the charming town of West Yellowstone. Traveling from West Yellowstone to Lamar Valley in the north takes over two hours resulting in 6-8 hours of driving.
  
• Screenshot all reservations because cell coverage is non-existent.
  

Where to eat

• If you have a hotel reservation at Old Faithful, make your dinner reservation at the Old Faithful Dining Room 60 days out. All other overnight park lodging guests can make a reservation 30 days out.
  
• Pack a cooler with sandwiches and snacks for lunch.
  
• The hotels and gas stations near Old Faithful, Grand Canyon, Grant Village, Fishing Bridge, and Mammoth offer food options. However, the restaurants are always expensive and packed, with an hour-plus wait.
  
• Gardiner and West Yellowstone have plenty of dinner options.
  

Top 10 Wonders of Yellowstone

Yellowstone is massive and filled with natural wonders. If you only have a day, drive the lower loop. With two days, try to see the top 10 wonders, which are Mammoth Hot Springs, Lamar Valley, Old Faithful, the Old Faithful Inn, Grand Prismatic Spring, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Lake Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Mount Washburn, the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

SECTIONS OF THE PARK:

You won’t have time for any hikes unless you have three or more days. While the Lower Loop in the South has more famous attractions, I’m starting in the North.

NORTH

The North has Lamar Valley, which is my favorite section of the park. We loved the cozy town of Gardiner, MT, nestled against the north entrance’s famous Roosevelt Arch. We did daily hikes and trips to Lamar Valley.

Mammoth

• Mammoth Hot Springs is uniquely beautiful, with light colors and stunning texture formations. EVERYONE COMES FOR THIS! It took an hour to see upper and lower Mammoth walking the boardwalks. Mammoth has a hotel, gas station, restrooms, cafeteria, and general store.
  
• The Roosevelt Arch is at the North entrance.
  
• The Golden Gate Canyon in the northwest.
  
• Tower Falls and Wraith Falls are easy, quick, beautiful one-mile round trip stops.
  

Lamar Valley

When you picture the buffalo roaming the plains of Yellowstone, that’s Lamar Valley. Lamar Valley is known as the American Serengeti, with bison, elk, wolves, and bears living by a river in the rolling plains surrounded by mountains. The land and river were brimming with wildlife, and there was always something exciting to watch.

We spent an hour using binoculars to watch the bear cubs eating a baby elk. Then, we stopped the car to get out and look around, and a grizzly stepped out of the woods, not 50 yards away, headed to a stream. Finally, the large bison herd causing traffic jams is a daily occurrence. Nothing prepared me for the bison stalking toward my window and staring inside. It was a little terrifying.

If you don’t stop, get out, and be patient, you will miss the best of Yellowstone’s animals. The animals are most active at sunrise and sunset. After half a day and 55 miles of driving in Lamar Valley, pizza at Miners Saloon and fudge are available at the northeastern entrance in Cooke City. After lunch, we hiked Trout Lake, a one-mile loop, and a part of Slough Creek to McBride Lake to fish.

Rafting/horseback riding

If you have more than two days to visit the North, go river rafting with Flying Pig or Wild West Rafting. There are paddle and saddle options for horseback riding and rafting. West Yellowstone has horseback riding options, too.

North East Entrance

We drove from the North to the Northeast Entrance and did not make the northern loop. The Norris Geyser Basin, located in the north loop, is one of the park’s hottest and most acidic areas and is closer to West Yellowstone than the North. The northeastern entrance opens to Cooke City and the Beartooth Highway. It is the least traveled entrance and opens from late May to mid-October. The Beartooth Highway is sky-high and filled with alpine lakes and snow-capped mountains. It is constantly rated one of the most beautiful roads in the country.

EAST

After a few days in the north, it’s time to start heading southeast. The East Section is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Mount Washburn, Hayden Valley, and Yellowstone Lake. The East Entrance leads to Cody, WY, the Iconic Wild West Town. The scenery drastically changes just a few miles outside the east entrance, so drive a few miles for the views. You can overnight at Canyon Village, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, or Cody.

Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon

The canyon with the rushing river is dramatic and spellbinding. The shocking turn in the scenery left me speechless as I stared into the canyon. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone has numerous pull-offs for views of the upper and lower falls. We spent about an hour around the canyon.

• Artist Point- 0.25-mile round trip, easy, FAMOUS VIEW SPOT OF THE GRAND CANYON OF YELLOWSTONE
• Uncle Tom’s Point- walk down 328 stairs to be close to the lower falls
• Grand View– 0.2-mile round trip, easy, starting point is a labeled pull-off, view of the north rim of the canyon
• Inspiration Point– 0.2-mile round trip, MODERATE, down 50 steps to views of the canyon

Mount Washburn

Mount Washburn is over 10,000 feet in elevation, so it was covered in snow in early June. We rarely see snow in Alabama, so we were thrilled!

Hayden Valley

Hayden Valley is a rolling valley filled with animals, bumper-to-bumper cars, and tour buses. For animal photo ops, arrive at sunrise or sunset.

Mud Volcano

This is a 0.7-mile round trip to see the Black Dragon’s Caldron and Dragon’s Mouth, basically weird bubbling mud.

Yellowstone Lake

• Lake Yellowstone Hotel is an elegant National Historic Landmark. It’s my second option if the Old Faithful Inn is booked.
• We fished at Gull Point on Yellowstone Lake.
• Guided Fishing Tours and boat rentals are available from the Bridge Bay Marina, located a few miles from Lake Yellowstone Hotel, starting mid-June. Advance reservations are required.
• The Fishing Bridge Museum and Visitor Center are worth a stop.
• Pelican Creek Trail and Storm Point Trail are one and 2-mile lake area hikes.
  

WEST

The West Section is the most famous and crowded, with Old Faithful, Old Faithful Inn, and Grand Prismatic Springs. It takes a minimum of two days to see half of this. There are more places to pull over and basins to walk around than I care to mention.

The town of West Yellowstone is charming, with shops and restaurants, where most visitors enter the park and stay. The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is fun for an hour watching the grizzlies and wolves for $16.50/each.

• The Norris Geyser Basin has the Porcelain Basin, with a 0.5-mile boardwalk, and the Back Basin, with a 1.5-mile round-trip walk. This area is technically north but fits best with all the geysers in this section.
  
• Artists’ Paint Pots is a 1-mile, easy, round trip with mud pots, steam vents, and small geysers.
  
• Fountain Paint Pot is a 0.5-mile loop with mud pots, fumaroles, geysers, and hot springs.
  
• Biscuit Basin has geysers and colorful pools such as Black Opal Pool, Jewel Geyser, Sapphire Pool, and four others.
  

MIDWAY Geyser Basin–

• MUST DO!! WHY YOU CAME, EVEN in the RAIN!
  
• The 0.5-mile easy loop, GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING, and Excelsior Geyser will be packed with people. Early morning steam can make it foggy and hard to see the colors, so we returned at midday.
  
• A Grand Prismatic observation overlook at the BEGINNING of Fairy Falls trail allows you to see the Grand Prismatic from higher-up, fabulous views. It’s about a mile roundtrip with steep areas. Park at Fairy Falls, a mile after Midway Geyser Basin. This is where the best photos of the Grand Prismatic are taken.
  
• Hiking options are Fairy Falls at about six miles total, and Mystic Falls at 3 miles.
  

OLD FAITHFUL

• OLD FAITHFUL, the park queen, needs no introduction. After eight times, I was still mesmerized and impressed every time. The Old Faithful visitor center has a board with future eruption times.
  
• GET HERE EARLY OR LATE to avoid a million tourists.
  
• The Old Faithful area has a few restaurants and a gas station.
  
• Enjoy the huckleberry ice cream and the view from the Old Faithful porch.
  

Old Faithful Inn

• The Old Faithful Inn is my favorite place to stay because of its history, detailed architecture, and peaceful views. Everyone should go inside and visit. The stunning Inn was built in 1903 and is the WORLD’S most extensive log construction.
  

• The Upper Geyser Basin has three miles of looping trails surrounding Old Faithful.
  
• Observation Point is a 1.1-mile loopwith a moderate uphill climb. Follow the boardwalks, going behind Old Faithful to climb a mountain and look down on it erupting. I loved it, but due to the climb, it’s for older kids.
  

• Lone Star Geyser is a 5-mile roundtrip, 12-foot-tall cone decorated with pink beads. I planned to rent bikes. However, the main road was too busy for kids on bikes.
  

SOUTH

The South section of the park leads from the West Thumb Geyser Basin to the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole.

• It is a 2-3 hour drive from the North section to the South section of Yellowstone.
  
• West Thumb Geyser Basin is a 0.5-mile boardwalk offering spectacular views of Lake Yellowstone and my second favorite big, BLUE pool. At this point, I don’t know if it was the Abyss Pool, Black Pool, or the Collapsing Pool. I was tired of reading signs. Also elk will visit the basin in the early morning, before the tour buses.

• Yellowstone Lake Overlook is a 2-mile, easy, round trip, starting on the west side of the West Thumb Geyser Basin parking lot, with views of Yellowstone Lake.

Elk were literally almost laying on the boardwalk. The photos were taken with my phone. After an essential list of experiences and realizing how big the park is, let’s plan.

Planning Tips

• Download the Yellowstone app!!!
  
• PICK UP A MAP at the entrance because cell coverage is nonexistent.
  
• Buy the 7-day Yellowstone pass ($35) and the Grand Teton Pass ($35) or the America the Beautiful National Park pass ($80), which lasts all year for all National Parks. The America Pass takes a few weeks to arrive in the mail.
  
• The park is handicap-accessible with boardwalks.
  
• Animal traffic jams, excited photographers blocking the road, and road work result in SLOWLY moving through the park. It takes much longer to get where you’re headed than you expect.
  
• Take the miles you plan to drive and double that for a time-to-travel MINIMUM.
  
• Upper loop is 70 miles & lower loop is 96 miles
  
• The north entrance to the northeastern entrance (Lamar Valley) is 55 miles.
  
• Yellowstone has limited food options, so pack drinks, snacks, lunch options, and a roll of toilet paper for the restrooms.
  
• All the hotels in the park have restaurants, but they are crowded and expensive.
  
• I loved the book YELLOWSTONE, The Official Guide to Touring the World’s First National Park, published by The Yellowstone Association.
  

AIRFARE/Rental Cars

• Yellowstone has nearby airports in Bozeman, MT, in the north and Jackson, WY, in the south. However, check the rental car prices before booking any flights out of these airports.
• Our cheapest flight ($400 per ticket) was a round trip out of Salt Lake City, Utah.
• The drive from Salt Lake City to West Yellowstone is five hours, adding two days to your trip for traveling from the airport and back.
• While flying into Bozeman and out of Jackson is ideal, it was over $2k more in airfare and rental car pricing.
• Having a car is necessary to visit Yellowstone.
  

Supplies

• We stopped at the Salt Lake City Walmart to buy a week’s supply of snacks, sandwich food, paper towels, a cooler, bug spray, and water for the picnics ahead.
• West Yellowstone and Gardiner have grocery stores for supplies.
• Altitude sickness medications such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Emetrol, and Zofran should always be in your car.
• I packed in layers with a warm jacket and comfortable walking shoes.
• Binoculars are necessary.
  

10 Day Itinerary

My minimum trip would be four days in the Yellowstone area with a 9-14 day itinerary.

• Day 1- Flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, and pick up the rental car.
  
• Day 2- Drive six hours to Gardiner, MT. We loved Yellowstone Bear World in Rexburg, Idaho, with it’s cubs, bears, and deer petting areas.
  

• Day 3 & 4 – overnight in Gardiner, MT, to explore Lamar Valley & Mammoth.
  
• Day 5 -Drive the 3-4 hours of the scenic Beartooth Hwy to Cody, WY, to visit the Buffalo Bill Museums, Old Trail Town, and overnight. The Top 10 Activities in Cody invites you to adventure in the WILD WEST.
  

• Day 6 & 7 – Return from Cody by the East Entrance and spend two nights in the Old Faithful Inn. Explore the lower loop with the Canyon, Grand Prismatic, and all the geyser basins.
  
• Day 8 & 9- Spend two nights in Jackson to explore the Grand Tetons, Mormon Row, and Jenny Lake.
  
• Day 10- Make the 5-hour drive to the airport.
  

14 Day Itinerary

• My family followed a 14-day trip itinerary and added extra days in:
• Gardiner for rafting
• Old Faithful Inn for fishing & hiking
• Jackson exploring the Tetons
• A day driving back to the airport
• I plan extra days because someone (Taylor) will get altitude sickness and spend two days getting medical care.

If you want to see my actual 14-day Itinerary, I’ll share it with you. There were so many more goals each day, but this is what we managed. I tried to work in the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore and Glacier National Park but the amount of driving was excessive.

Pricing varies depending on the year, but I did 14 days for $9K. The airfare, rental cars, and gas were $3k, hotels averaged $4k at $300/night, and $2k for food, museums & Bear World.

Recap

It’s a lot, I know, but it’s worth the effort.

1. Decide on your days in June or September
2. Select an airport, Bozeman, Jackson, Salt Lake or drive
3. Finalize itinerary
4. Book the park hotels, Cody and Gardiner’s hotel a year out
5. Book airfare and rental car 3-4 months out
6. One to two months out book dining reservations at Old Faithful
7. Order the America the Beautiful Pass a month out
8. Pack layers, it’s always cold, binoculars, altitude sickness medication
9. Drive around the park with your snacks and car phone charger
   

Last thoughts:

Slow down, breathe in the fresh air, and wait for the bears to appear.

Do not overpack your vacation schedule and miss the best of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone changes you, so take the adventure and experience the wonder and awe of YELLOWSTONE.

Thank you for reading The Wonders of Yellowstone Travel Guide and check out The Grand Teton Travel Guide. If this is not the year for Yellowstone, check out our other road trips.