Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, had been on my bucket list for a long time and it was time to check it off! With its close proximity to Grand Teton National Park, the two parks make for a perfect road trip. Yellowstone covers 2.2 million acres and Grand Teton 310,000. Covering such an expansive area can be overwhelming and requires careful planning. In this post, I’ll share our 7 day itinerary through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, including maps, tips, highlights, and more.
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Grand Teton is actually part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and even though the two parks are so close, they couldn’t feel more different. Grand Teton offers jagged mountain peaks and glacial lakes while Yellowstone offers geothermal features, canyons, tons of wildlife, plus much more.
Grand Teton can definitely be done in one day, although 2 days are needed to really do the park and its great hiking trails justice. Meanwhile, you can spend a week in Yellowstone and barely scratch the surface. I would recommend an absolute minimum of 2 days for Yellowstone alone. We had 3 full days in the park and while we saw most of the main attractions, we also skipped a few things from being so tired and didn’t get the chance to really explore many hikes. If you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone, be sure to check out my Yellowstone Vacation Guide, where I discuss the highlights of each area in the park, how much time you’ll need for each area, and much more!
Know Before You Go:
Airports. The closest airport is in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. However, this is a smaller airport, so it’s more expensive and can be more difficult to find direct or convenient flights. We had a ton of Southwest points and a companion pass (one of us flies free), so we looked to fly with Southwest. The nearest airport that Southwest flies to is Salt Lake City, so we flew into SLC and drove to Jackson which is about a 4.5 hour drive. Bozeman, MT is also only 1.5 hours from the north entrance of Yellowstone, so this could be another option, but this also a smaller airport.
Seasons. We heard the joke multiples times on this trip that this area has 2 seasons, winter and 4th of July. By the time the snow has fully melted and all roads and services are fully operating, it’s not long before the next winter begins. The short summer is also fire season and the haze from fires over 100 miles away did obstruct our views. We went in August, which is already early fall with mornings in the 30s and 40s. In fact, Jackson and Yellowstone got snow only a few days after we left! August also marks the time when the elk and moose antlers are fully regrown. They shed every winter and regrow by August, just in time for the fall rut, or mating season.
Of course, coming in any month or season has pros and cons. I’ve heard Yellowstone in winter is absolutely beautiful, but it’s also difficult to get around as access to the park is restricted to over-snow travel. You can check the NPS website to learn more about seasonal highlights when choosing the time of year to visit.
Planning. In Yellowstone specifically, there is a lot of ground to cover so planning is crucial. It’s important to think about your driving route for each day. Yellowstone has one road, called the Grand Loop Road that goes around the entire park and basically makes a large figure 8. You will likely have to double back on some portions of the Grand Loop Road at some point, but you definitely want to minimize this because it wastes a lot of time since everything is so spread out. For this reason, lodging location is also really important to think about. For example, Canyon Village would be a great place to lodge since it’s right in the middle of the park. You can easily get to any area in the park and back in one day. Whereas if you are staying in the Old Faithful area and want to see Lamar Valley, it’s a 2+ hour drive EACH way. And that’s not including any stops. We realized this after we had booked our accommodation in the Old Faithful area for the entire time and ended up changing our plans to have one night up near the northeast entrance. This actually worked out perfectly as there are more attractions on the southern loop than the northern one.
Walking. You’ll likely hear that all of Yellowstone’s amazing sites are right off the side of the road. And while this is true, relatively speaking, the sights are not just pull outs and overlooks. They are large areas with boardwalks that could be up to 2+ miles to see all the attractions. When there are crowds, you may easily need to add a mile or more if you don’t get a parking spot in the parking lot and end up having to park somewhere along the road.
Because there was so much ground to cover on this trip we didn’t plan any long day hikes like we normally would on a national park trip. But once we were there, I was glad because we were averaging over 7 miles of walking per day just going from site to site and doing shorter trails. Just be prepared. A good pair of hiking socks works wonders in preventing blisters! Check out my packing list to make sure you are fully prepared!
Crowds. Hundreds of thousands of people (over half of the park’s yearly visitors) visit Yellowstone in June, July, and August. I was slightly nervous about this and ready for the worst. However, we really didn’t experience any major traffic or delays due to crowds, even in the areas that were under construction. This is not to say that you shouldn’t be prepared and always make sure to allow yourself plenty of of time getting from point A to point B. Don’t overpack your itinerary. You can escape crowds pretty easily by starting your day early and venturing out more than a half mile from the parking areas. The most crowded areas for us were Jenny Lake in Grand Teton and Midway Geyser Basin (Grand Prismatic Spring) in Yellowstone. We waited in line to park, waited in line to go to the bathroom, and then walked amongst large crowds from one spot to the next along the narrow boardwalks.
The other place where you will notice the crowds is cafeterias, lodges, and dining rooms. We were able to avoid this completely by getting an early start (eating all meals on the early side), and keeping food on us or in the car. We skipped out on buying lunch most days and ate what we had with us.
GyPSy Guide. For $10, you can download the GyPSy Guide App for Yellowstone and Grand Teton Combo Tour. This is WELL worth the $10 in my opinion. It provides directions as you go as well as history and background info on what you’re seeing. It’s like having a tour guide with you but on a self-guided tour. Download the app before leaving while you are connected to wifi. Then, the app can run while you keep your phone in airplane mode. Just make sure you have a car charger for your phone because it will use a decent amount of battery.
Wildlife. The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem has the best wildlife viewing in the lower 48. This area is home to bears (black bears and grizzlies), wolves, moose, elk, bison, plus much more. Wildlife viewing can be the highlight of your trip, or quite the opposite. Its park rules to stay 100 yards from bears and wolves and 25 yards from bison, moose, elk and all other wildlife. It’s easy to get too comfortable around bison and elk, especially since they are literally everywhere, and they seem to be so calm and not mind our presence. However, they are unpredictable and can be aggressive and attack without a moment’s notice. Take bear spray with you if you’re hiking (and keep it on you, not in your bag) and be smart and respectful of wildlife.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1 SLC TO Jackson (~280 miles, 4.5 hrs):
As I mentioned earlier, we flew into SLC and so we had an entire day set aside just to arrive in Jackson. We rented a car, got lunch and drove straight through to Jackson. When we arrived, we had dinner and picked up bear spray, groceries and any last minute things we needed before exploring the parks. You can rent bear spray at Teton Backcountry Rentals on Cache Road in Jackson, right before entering the park. It’s $8 a day with a cap at $40. And yes, you should absolutely rent bear spray if planning on doing any hiking at all in either of these parks (unless, of course, you’re visiting in the winter).
Day 2: Grand Teton National Park (Jackson to Colter Bay: ~40 miles, 1 hour):
Our first day in Grand Teton National Park, we decided to focus on the area near Jackson Lake Lodge and Colter Bay Village and the scenic overlooks along 191. We always try to catch an epic sunrise, so we started our first day in Grand Teton early at Oxbow Bend and Willow Flats. However, the mountains were completely invisible from the haze from the wildfires. I honestly didn’t even know there was supposed to be a mountain in the view until someone else mentioned it. Apparently the day before was crystal clear so we arrived just in time for the haze. Even without the mountains, the sunrise was beautiful.
We then had an early horseback ride from Jackson Lake Lodge around Emma Matilda Lake and Christian Pond. This was a really cool and fun way to experience some of the trails in the park and I’d definitely recommend it. This was actually Chris’s favorite part of the trip. If you’re a beginner, you may want to stick to the 1 hour tour. We did a 2 hour tour and I started to get really uncomfortable towards the end. After our ride, we had lunch at the Blue Heron Lounge in Jackson Lake Lodge, which had great views and great food!
From here, we headed to Colter Bay Village and did the Lake Shore Trail. The trail was an easy 2.5 mile loop, and worth the stroll if you have the time, but I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute must.
On the way back to Jackson, we took 191 along the Snake River stopping at Schwabachers Landing, Mormon Row, and Snake River Overlook. Since we were a little closer to the Tetons here, the views were slightly better.
Day 3: Jackson to Old Faithful Lodge: (~100 miles, 2.5 hours):
Our second day in Grand Teton National Park, we focused on Teton Park Road and the lakes. We started our second day in Grand Teton with a scenic sunrise float down the Snake River. Clouds and haze seemed to have cleared a little (or we were just so close that the mountains were actually visible) which was really nice. It was very cold on the water and we definitely didn’t bring enough layers. But, we saw a few bald eagles, beavers, 3 young bull moose (although pretty far away), and some red tail hawks, so it was definitely worth it! This was one of the trip highlights for me. You get to see and experience parts of the park that you wouldn’t get to on foot and you increase your chances of spotting wildlife. After our float, we stopped at Dornans for breakfast/brunch. The sourdough pancakes and french toast were good, but the view is what makes this such a great stop!
Next, we did the Taggart Lake-Beaver Creek Loop trail, which was an easy 4 miles. We were here early enough that you could see the reflection of the Grand Tetons in the lake. After continuing passed the lake, the trail climbs over a glacial moraine and then down into the valley passing through a pine forest and grassy meadows. It’s a perfect hike for families or if you are short on time but still want to hit some trails.
After the hike, we made our way to Jenny Lake. We tried to stop at Leigh Lake and String Lake, but there was no parking. At Jenny Lake, cars were parked on the road for over a mile away from the parking lot, but we got lucky and were able to grab a pretty close spot from someone leaving. It was raining when we arrived, so we ate lunch in the car and by the time we were finished it cleared up. We ended up taking the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake and hiking to Hidden Falls. Inspiration Point was closed, so we turned around and did the first mile or so of the Cascade Canyon Trail up to the mouth of the canyon and Cascade Creek. Clouds were rolling back in so we went back and continued our drive up to Yellowstone.
On our way out of the park, we did the short drive up to the summit of Signal Mountain. Even with clouds and haze, the views were incredible, so I can only imagine being here on a clear day! Considering this is just a short drive to a few overlooks, I think it’s definitely worth the stop.
I had heard about the pizza at Leeks Marina and it was about dinner time as we finished our drive to Signal Mountain, so we decided to make the stop for dinner. It’s absolutely worth all the hype (and I’m a New Yorker – very picky about my pizza)! We got four cheese florentine pizza and buffalo bread and thoroughly enjoyed it – so much so that I forgot to even take a picture.
As we were finally about to exit Grand Teton, we finally saw some wildlife right on the side of the road. A black bear with her two cubs running, climbing, and playing. A ranger was at the scene to make sure the people and bears were safe and he actually ended up blocking the road off. There were a ton of people already parked and out of their cars watching the bears when they decided to run across the street, probably only 10 yards or so away from us. It was crazy how the bears didn’t even seem phased by all the people scurrying about trying to keep a safe distance and get pictures at the same time.
We made a few quick photo stops before arriving at Old Faithful Lodge Cabins where we stayed for the next 3 nights. When we finally turned into the Old Faithful area, we were in awe at all the geysers and steam. It seriously felt like we were on a different planet. We also saw our first bison right near the Lodge which felt promising. We were really excited to start exploring Yellowstone.
Day 4: Yellowstone National Park (Geyser Basins from Old Faithful to Norris: about 60 miles, 1.75 hrs):
We slept in a little and took our morning a little slower. We had breakfast and coffee at the lodge cafeteria and then headed outside to watch Old Faithful erupt and walk around Upper Geyser Basin. While getting my national park passport stamp in the visitor center, the rangers announced that Beehive Geyser was about to erupt in about 20 minutes. We ran out to catch the eruption and it was even more impressive than Old Faithful! It was roaring, reaching 200 feet and soaking everyone on the downwind side!
Even though the whole area only takes up about 1 square mile, Upper Geyser Basin has the worlds highest concentration of geysers. You can spend hours and walk for miles around this one area, and it’s all worth it. This was definitely one of my favorite areas in Yellowstone.
Next, we headed to Midway Geyser Basin, stopping at Biscuit Basin on the way. Biscuit Basin is where Sapphire Pool is located and also where you can access the hike to Mystic Falls. We also stopped at the trailhead for the Fairy Falls trail to hike up to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook which was a trip highlight. This is really the best view you can get, so this is a must. You’ll get a very different perspective of the spring at Midway Geyser Basin. It’s harder to appreciate the size and colors when you’re so close, but it’s still pretty awesome. This area was extremely crowded, but that’s to be expected as Grand Prismatic Spring is one of the highlights of the park.
We continued to Lower Geyser Basin, which is the largest basin in the park. It is best observed via Fountain Paint Pot Trail and Firehole Lake Drive. While driving Firehole Lake Drive, the app had told us before stopping at Great Fountain Geyser that if the geyser was bubbling, to stick around because it might erupt within 30 minutes. We saw a few other people sitting around the area and the geyser was definitely bubbling. So, we decided we would wait for a bit. Sure enough, more and more people started showing up and apparently the rangers had finally posted a prediction time (although it was anytime between noon and 4 pm). After 40 minutes of waiting (and seeing nearby White Dome Geyser erupt from our viewing location), it finally erupted and was so worth the wait. Great Fountain Geyser reaches heights up to 220 feet and it can last for over 2 hours! It erupts in bursts with some periods of quiet between them. The geyser is surrounded by small pools, which end up cascading during the eruption. This geyser really put on a show that no picture or video can do justice!
After the drive, we walked some of the Fountain Paint Pot trail, mostly to see the actual Fountain Paint Pot, which is a mud pot. We also drove along Firehole Canyon Drive to see Firehole Falls. There is a swimming area along this drive (one of only 2 in the park), but we were pretty tired so we skipped this. We were heading up to Norris Geyser Basin which was planned to be our last stop of the day but once we got to Gibbons Falls, we decided we were too tired to continue (Norris Geyser Basin can be over 2 miles of walking, which we were not up to at this point in the day) and we instead turned around and went back for dinner, souvenir shopping and another early night.
Day 5: Yellowstone National Park (Canyon Village, Yellowstone Lake and West Thumb: ~100 miles, 2.5 hours):
Our second day in Yellowstone, we completed the southern loop of Grand Loop Road. We started our day by driving to Canyon Village. Unfortunately Inspiration Point, Uncle Tom’s trail and the trails along the entire South Rim were closed for construction. We did see the 109-ft Upper Falls from the Brink of the Upper Falls lookout and the 308-ft. Lower Falls from Artist Point. We also drove along the North Rim, stopping at Grand View and Lookout Point and did the short hikes down to the Brink of Lower Falls and Red Rock Point.
On our way to Yellowstone Lake and West Thumb Geyser Basin, we stopped at Mud Volcano and a few spots in Hayden Valley for wildlife viewing. We also drove Gull Point Drive, which had some scenic lake views and offered a great spot to stop for lunch. At West Thumb Geyser Basin, the major highlights were the Abyss Pool and Fishing Cone hot spring.
When we got back to Old Faithful, it was predicted to erupt in thirty minutes, so we hiked quickly up to Observation Point so we could get a different viewpoint. On our way back down we saw a bunch of people rushing to see something so we followed along and got to see Beehive Geyser erupt again! This time we were on the other side so got a closer view. We ate dinner at the Old Faithful Inn Restaurant. You typically need reservations for the restaurant, but if you arrive early and with a small group, you have a good chance at getting seated pretty quickly. We were told we would have a 45 minute wait, but didn’t even wait 15 minutes.
Day 6: Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful – Silver Gate-Cooke City, Montana: 107 miles, 3 hours):
For our last full day in Yellowstone, we focused on the northern loop, specifically Mammoth Hot Spring area and Lamar Valley. We checked out of our Old Faithful Lodge Cabin, grabbed some quick breakfast to go and headed to our first stop of the day, Bunsen Peak trail. This is a 4.3 mile out and back trail to the summit of Bunsen Peak. It has an elevation gain of about 1,300 feet. I’ve seen this trail rated easy-moderate and also difficult from different sources. I personally would not call this trail easy. I was definitely taking a lot of breaks by the last few switchbacks to the top. I’m sure being at a higher elevation didn’t help. However, the hike was well worth it. It felt really good to get out in the mountains, away from crowds and the views were beautiful the entire way. The whole hike took us about 2-2.5 hours and it was a great start to our day.
Next we headed to Mammoth Hot Springs. We did the Upper Terrace Loop Drive. At one of the first stopping points along this drive, you’ll come to a large area with a lot of boardwalks. You can actually access the Lower Terraces from here, but you can also access them from the main highway. Here, we made sure to stop at Canary Spring because this was the easiest way to access this attraction. We also walked around to Mound Terrace before continuing on the Upper Terrace Drive.
There are a few parking areas along the main road where you can access the Lower Terraces. Here, we parked near Liberty Cap and just did a very short walk to Pallete Spring. We felt we had seen the best of the terraces between these two stopping points and didn’t feel the need to walk the entire area.
We ate a packed lunch and then made our way to the Boiling River, which was another trip highlight for me. The Boiling River is about 2 miles north of Mammoth Hot Springs and about 3 miles south of the north entrance. There’s a pretty large parking area on both sides of the road. We ended up needing to park a little farther down on the side of the road because both lots were full. We changed into our bathing suits and followed the easy, scenic trail for about a half mile or so upstream.
When you arrive, there’s a sign with rules and the risks of swimming and stairs that take you down into the water. Technically, you are swimming in the Gardner River where a hot spring enters the river. We got in the river and at first it felt fine, a normal, comfortable temperature. We had to walk with the current a decent ways to find an open spot to sit and get comfortable. As soon as you start walking in the river, you’ll experience the rush of very cold and very hot temperatures. The temperature would change so quickly and drastically, it was difficult to tell if you were freezing or burning. It IS possible to get burnt as the water temps can range from 100 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit! Which, as you can imagine, makes the 60 degree river water feel like an ice bath. There’s a sweet spot you need to find where you can fully relax and enjoy. You’ll know where the spot is because everyone will be sitting along the same line.
We sat in here for probably about 30 minutes or so. To get out, you need to walk against the current in the colder water. We watched many people struggle walking against the current. Water shoes were a HUGE help.
A few notes of caution: the water isn’t deep, but the current can be pretty strong, so just be careful, especially if you’re bringing kids. Also, thermal waters contain microorganisms that can cause rashes and infections. I wouldn’t recommend going under/submerging your head and face. And again, although obvious, the water can burn you. Keep a safe distance from the area where the hot spring water enters the river.
Feeling nice and relaxed after the boiling river, we enjoyed a scenic drive through Lamar Valley to our lodge in Soda Butte, Montana. Driving through Lamar Valley was another highlight. We were literally surrounded by bison! It was exhilarating having bison come right up to the car. Since it was mating season, we also saw males fighting a few times! We seriously probably spent a few hours driving through Lamar valley, stopping to view and photograph the herds of bison. We stayed at Soda Butte Lodge, which was great. The room was nice, large (especially compared to our cabin at old faithful) and clean. There’s a restaurant in the lodge as well, which was good (I mean, I got chicken fingers and fries, but I really enjoyed them…).
Day 7: Silver Gate-Cooke City, MT to SLC, through both parks (~440 miles, 9 hrs):
We had an early breakfast at the Lodge Cabin Cafe in Cooke City (the pumpkin bread was fantastic) before starting our drive back to Salt Lake City. We chose to drive back through both parks to hit anything we felt we missed, and potentially have the opportunity to see more wildlife. In Lamar Valley, we almost spotted wolves and a grizzly bear, but our binoculars and zoom lens weren’t quite good enough. Oh well! We stopped in Jackson for lunch and to return our bear spray. We arrived in SLC pretty late and then got on a flight early the next morning to head home.
Trip Highlights:
Best Food: Blue Heron Lounge at Jackson Lodge, Grand Teton (Leeks Marina was a close second)
Best Area: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone
Best Excursion: Scenic River Float, Grand Teton
Best Attraction: Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook on Fairy Falls Trail, Yellowstone
Best Wildlife Viewing: Lamar Valley, Yellowstone
Best Free Activity: Swimming in the Boiling River, Yellowstone
Best Hike: Taggart Lake, Grand Teton
Best Sunrise: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton
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