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Yellowstone lies on a supervolcano, which basically means the volcano has had an eruption of the largest possible magnitude. There is evidence of the supervolcano all throughout the park in the ten thousand geothermal features including geysers, hot springs, steam vents and mud pots. This one park contains half of the world’s geysers. As if that wasn’t enough to draw someone to Yellowstone, the park also is home to rivers, lakes, mountains, deep canyons, waterfalls, and the largest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48! It’s really no surprise that Yellowstone receives over 3 million visitors each year.
Planning Your Yellowstone Vacation
Table of Contents:
When to visit
There’s a lot to consider when choosing a time to visit Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone basically has 2 seasons, winter and summer. I’ve heard winter in Yellowstone is beautiful, but it’s an entirely different experience. By mid-December, you are limited to oversnow travel, so basically a snowmobile or snowcoach.
Roads and campgrounds start opening up again in May. During this time, you’ll see babies of the larger mammal populations in the park. Most services will be open by June 15. By September, certain services will start to close. Roads start closing and services and facilities are limited by October.
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! Going in August also meant that we got to experience the bison rut, but the haze from wildfires did obstruct our views. Moose and elk antlers were full grown by this time as well. Of course, coming in any month or season has pros and cons. See the NPS website to learn more about seasonal highlights.
How to Get There
There are several airports not too far from Yellowstone, but most of them are smaller airports (which means expensive flights that aren’t direct). You can fly into Bozeman, MT, which is about 1 hour and 45 min to the north entrance of the park. Jackson Hole, WY is about 1 hour from the south entrance, and Cody, WY is about 1 hour from east entrance.
We actually flew into Salt Lake City, UT because we had Southwest points and were combining Yellowstone with Grand Teton. So, we drove 4.5 hours from SLC to Jackson, WY where we started our Yellowstone and Grand Teton road trip. This is by no means a convenient way to get there, but it is definitely the more budget-friendly option. No matter where you fly into, you’ll want to rent a car and do a self-guided driving tour of the park.
Where to Stay
There are quite a few lodging options in Yellowstone, especially when compared to many other national parks. However, due to its popularity, they book up very quickly and can be pricey, even though they also are pretty basic. We were able to snag a cabin at the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins for $150 a night. The cabin was tiny, smaller than a typical hotel room with just a bed and bathroom, no refrigerator. We didn’t mind as we are here to experience and explore the park, so having a place to stay that was within the park was extremely convenient! It was easy enough to explore the entire lower half of the Grand Loop Road from here.
Lodging in Canyon Village would be ideal because then you are right in the middle of the park and wouldn’t need to relocate. Because the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins were on the south west side of the park, we decided to spend one night on the north east side so that we wouldn’t have to drive all the way back after making our way up there.
Lodging In the Park:
Old faithful Area: Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Lodge and Cabins, Old Faithful Snow Lodge
Lake Yellowstone Area: Grant Village, Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins, Lake Lodge Cabins
Mammoth Area: Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins
Canyon Village Area: Canyon Lodge and Cabins
Roosevelt Area: Roosevelt Lodge and Cabins
Campgrounds: Bridge Bay, Canyon, Fishing Bridge RV Park, Grant Village, and Madison
You can find all lodging options inside the park here.
Lodging Outside the Park:
West Yellowstone: We looked into the Explorer Cabins and almost stayed there but opted to stay in the park. There are plenty of other lodging options in West Yellowstone as well.
Silver Gate-Cooke City, MT (near the northeast entrance): We stayed at Soda Butte Lodge for a night, which worked out great. There are a few other lodging options in this area as well.
Other areas you can look into: Gardiner, MT (near the north entrance) and Cody, WY (near the east entrance).
Where to Eat
Each of the major areas of the park has lodges with different dining options ranging from gas station snacks, to cafeterias, dining rooms, cafes, delis, or restaurants. Although there are options in the park, I recommend having some food on you that you can keep in the car as you explore for the day. You’re more likely to experience the crowds when searching for somewhere to eat. Since we ate most of our meals pretty early, this was only ever an issue for us for lunch. So even when we were near a cafeteria or grill for lunch, we decided to just eat what we had in the car in order to avoid waiting or not finding seats. You can read more about dining options inside the park here.
Being that we stayed near Old Faithful for 3 out of 4 nights, most of our meals were in this area. We had breakfast had the cafes/delis 2 of the 3 mornings we were in this area. One morning we ate breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room, which opens at 6:30 am and is first come first serve. You can do either a breakfast buffet or order off the menu. For dinners in this area, we ate at the Bear Pit Bar/Lounge, which has a smaller menu with drinks, appetizers, and some smaller entrees, such as burgers. Another night, we had dinner at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room, which typically requires reservations. However, if you go early and have a small group, you can get lucky and get seated pretty quickly. If I’m being honest, the food is mediocre and overpriced. But remember you’re in a national park, here to experience nature, not fine dining.
Near the north east entrance, there were a few options in Silver Gate-Cooke City. We ate dinner at the restaurant at the Soda Butte Lodge, where we stayed. The next morning we grabbed breakfast at the only place that we found that was open when we left (before 7 am), which was the Log Cabin Cafe in Silver Gate, which was also good. The pumpkin bread was fantastic! We bought an entire loaf to take with us on the road!
What to Do
Planning is crucial. Check out my Yellowstone and Grand Teton road trip itinerary to see more details on how we planned out our trip. In this post, I’ll outline each of the major areas of Yellowstone, what the highlights are in each area, and how much time you will need to experience it. Keep in mind, to see (and enjoy) all of the areas listed below, you will want a minimum of 3 days. Check out the National Park website to see a map of the park.
Note: Clicking on the names of each of the areas will take you to a detailed map of that area.
Upper Geyser Basin
I’m not sure if it was because this was my first walk around geysers and hot springs in the park or because we saw the most eruptions here, but Upper Geyser Basin was my favorite geyser basin area in the park. This area has the highest concentration of geysers in the entire world, and it’s all in about 1 square mile (not including Black Sand Basin or Biscuit Basin). Some geysers are more predictable than others. You can find more information on the geysers in the Upper Basin area. Check in at the visitor center for the most up to date eruption times.
You could easily spend an entire day in this one area. You’ll definitely want to give yourself a minimum of a few hours here to allow time for walking the boardwalks, exploring some of the hiking trails, and waiting for any of the predictable geysers to erupt. Nearby Black Sand Basin and Biscuit Basin are much smaller basins, that really only require a quick stop. The boardwalk to Morning Glory Pool is about 3 miles round trip and is definitely worth it. The trail to Observation Point is about 1-1.5 miles round trip. One nice thing about staying in this area of the park is that you don’t have to do it all in one stop. We did the boardwalk one day, and then another day when we came back from exploring a different area, we ended up hiking up to Observation Point to get a different view.
Time Needed: minimum of 2-3 hours
Highlights: Old Faithful Geyser, Beehive Geyser, Daisy Geyser, Castle Geyser, Riverside Geyser, Grand Geyser, Grotto Geyser, and Morning Glory pool.
Hikes: Observation Point (1.6 or 2.2 depending on which route you take, moderate – strenuous), Mystic Falls (2.4 miles – moderate – strenuous), Howard Eaton trail (5.8 moderate takes you to Lone Star Geyser)
Midway Geyser Basin
This basin is small but home to 2 very notable features: Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring. Excelsior Geyser is a 200 x 300 foot crater that sends more than 4,000 gallons of water into the Firehole River each minute. Grand Prismatic Spring is the park’s largest (and most photographed) hot spring at 370 feet in diameter and over 120 feet deep. Make sure you hike to the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook off of Fairy Falls Trail for an epic viewpoint! You probably need about 1-1.5 hours for this area total, if you are hiking to the viewpoint along Fairy Falls trail as well (which you definitely should).
Time Needed: 1-1.5 hours
Highlights: Excelsior Geyser, Grand Prismatic Spring
Hikes: Fairy Falls (easy, 5+ miles depending on where you park and if you walk passed the falls to Imperial Geyser)
Lower Geyser Basin
This is the largest geyser basin in the park and can be explored via Firehole Lake Drive and the Fountain Paint Pots trail. The drive is a 3-mile one way loop and the trail is a 0.6 mile loop. If you’re not waiting around for any eruptions, these two loops can probably be done in less than 1 hour. We waited for Great Fountain Geyser for about 40 minutes (people we were waiting with waiting for several hours) and it was well worth it!
Time Needed: 1 hour
Highlights: Fountain Paint Pots trail: Celestine pool, Fountain Paint Pot (mudpot), Silex Spring, Fumaroles. Firehole Lake Drive: Great Fountain Geyser, White Dome Geyser, Firehole Lake.
Norris Geyser Basin
We skipped Norris Geyser Basin because we were feeling pretty tired by the time we arrived and there are about 2 miles of boardwalk in this area. With that, my guess is that you would want about 1-1.5 hours for this area. This is the hottest and most acidic hydrothermal area in the park. The geysers in this area are not as frequent or predictable as Upper Geyser Basin, which is also part of the reason we skipped it. However, it is home to the tallest active geyser in the world, Steamboat Geyser. Steamboat has actually been erupting more frequently this year, though it’s still not predictable. It happened to erupt while we were in the park exploring Canyon Village. We were definitely disappointed we missed that!
Time Needed: 1-1.5 hours
Highlights: Steamboat Geyser, Ledge Geyser, Black Growler Steam Vent, Porcelain Basin hot springs.
Hikes: Purple Mountain (6 miles out and back, moderate)
Canyon Village
Canyon Village is home to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. You can explore this area via driving and stopping at overlooks, or hiking along the rim of the canyon. Inspiration Point and the trails along the South Rim (including Uncle Tom’s Trail) were closed for construction when we were there so we probably only spent about 1.5-2 hours. If hiking the South Rim Trail, you may need closer to 4 hours for this area. Many of the hikes in this area were very short, but also very steep. Mount Washburn is a nearby very popular hike (a little north of Canyon Village). It’s 6.4 miles out and back, so if doing this hike along with Canyon Village, you could easily spend a whole day here.
Time Needed: 2-4 hours
Highlights: Brink of the Upper Falls, North Rim Drive: Brink of the Lower Falls, Lookout Point, Red Rock Point, Inspiration Point; South Rim Drive: Uncle Tom’s Trail, Artist Point
Hikes: Uncle Tom’s trail (0.6 miles out and back, steep), Red Rock trail (0.6 mile out and back, steep), Brink of Lower Falls (0.8 miles out and back, steep), North Rim trail (~8 mile out and back, moderate-strenuous), South Rim trail (~4 miles out and back, moderate), Mount Washburn (north of Canyon Village, ~6.4 miles out and back, moderate)
Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs contains Upper Terraces and Lower Terraces. The Upper Terraces can be seen via the short 1.5 mile Upper Terrace Loop Drive. From one of the pullouts along Upper Terrace Loop Drive, you can access the Lower Terraces via boardwalks. You can also access the Lower Terraces from several parking areas along the main road. Give yourself 1-2 hours, depending on how much walking you decide to do. If planning to hike Bunsen Peak, add an additional 2.5-3 hours.
Time Needed: 1-2 hours
Highlights: Canary Spring, Liberty Cap, Mound Terrace
Hikes: Bunsen Peak (~5 miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs, ~4.6 miles, moderate-strenuous)
West Thumb Geyser Basin
This geyser basin is different from the other in that it’s located right on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Many of the features actually lie underneath the water. The boardwalk is less than half a mile, so you really only need about 20 minutes or so to walk the entire loop. This basin is home to the park’s deepest hydrothermal pool, the Abyss Pool, at 53 feet deep. There a few short hikes that can be enjoyed from this area as well, so if you plan on doing any of those, allow for some additional time.
Time Needed: 30 minutes
Highlights: Abyss pool, Black Pool, Fishing Cone.
Hikes: Duck Lake (0.8 miles out and back, moderate), Lake overlook (1.5 mile loop, moderate)
Other Areas
Boiling River: This was actually one of my favorite parts of our trip! Relax and soak (not swim, the water is not very deep) in the Gardner River where water from hot springs enter the river mixing with the cold river water. You’ll find the Boiling River swimming area about 2 miles north of Mammoth Hot Springs. You’ll see parking lots on either side of the road, which is how you’ll know you’ve arrived. From the parking area, you’ll need to hike about 0.5 mile upstream, but it’s a flat easy walk. Make sure you have your bathing suit and I highly recommend wearing water shoes.
Lamar Valley: This is on the northeast entrance road, between Tower/Roosevelt area and the northeast entrance of the park. This was also one of my favorite parts of our trip! If you’re trying to see wildlife, Lamar Valley is the place to go. We planned it out so we could visit this part of the park during dusk and dawn to increase our chances of seeing wildlife.
Hayden Valley: Hayden Valley was not quite as epic as Lamar Valley but it was still scenic and we still saw plenty of bison here. Even just driving through the area and making a few quick photo stops was well worth it. We took our time driving through Hayden Valley on our way from Canyon Village to Yellowstone Lake and enjoyed watching bison and bald eagles.
Mud Volcano: Mud Volcano is a small area between Hayden Valley and Yellowstone Lake. It has a 2/3 mile boardwalk loop that features some muddy hydrothermal features. It’s worth a quick stop, even if you just go to the Mud Volcano and don’t finish the loop.
Firehole Canyon Drive: It’s a short scenic drive you may as well take if you’re passing the area on your way to Madison or Norris. Firehole Falls is a nice quick stop, but I do think most people come to this area for one of the only 2 swimming areas in the park (the other being the Boiling River).
Yellowstone Lake/Fishing Bridge: Driving by you’ll get some nice photo ops of the Lake. We did the Gull Point Drive which was the perfect place to stop for a picnic. The area also has some additional notable hikes (Pelican Valley, Storm Point, Elephant Back).
Tower/Roosevelt: The most notable attraction in this area is 132-foot Tower Fall. There are a few overlooks and some day hikes in this area.
Sample Itineraries:
To use this map, click on the arrow at the top left corner of the map to open the menu. Check the itinerary you would like to view (and make sure to uncheck the others). The different colors represent different days. Really you can follow these itineraries in any order and starting from any point.
One Day Itinerary: Although I wouldn’t advise only spending one day in Yellowstone, you do have a few options to try to make the most out of a one day stop. If you’re trying to see as much as you possibly can in one day, you can probably make it from Old Faithful up to Mammoth Hot Springs, OR Old Faithful over to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Either way, it’d be a very full day with much quicker stops. If it were me and I only had one day, I would probably just stick with the geyser basins from Old Faithful to Norris.
Two Day Itinerary:
Day 1: Old Faithful → Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: Upper, Midway, and Lower Geyser Basins, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Day 2: Mammoth Hot Springs→ Lamar Valley: Bunsen Peak (or Mount Washburn) hike, Mammoth Hot Springs, Boiling River, Lamar Valley
Three Day Itinerary:
Day 1: Old Faithful → Norris: Upper, Midway, Lower Geyser Basins, Firehole Canyon Drive, Norris Geyser Basin
Day 2: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone → West Thumb: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Mud Volcano, Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin
Day 3: Mammoth Hot Springs → Lamar Valley: Bunsen Peak (or Mount Washburn) hike, Mammoth Hot Springs, Boiling River, Lamar Valley
Four Day Itinerary:
Day 1: Old Faithful → Lower Geyser Basin: Upper, Midway, and Lower Geyser Basins and Firehole Canyon Drive
Day 2: West Thumb→ Hayden Valley: West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake, Mud Volcano, Hayden Valley
Day 3: Norris → Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: Norris Geyser Basin, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mount Washburn hike
Day 4: Mammoth Hot Springs→ Lamar Valley: Bunsen Peak hike, Mammoth Hot Springs, Boiling River, Lamar Valley
Any more than 4 days and you can space things out and/or include some additional hikes in each of the areas.
Have you been to Yellowstone National Park? What was your favorite area?
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