Yellowstone
Let’s be honest, there are millions of blog posts about Yellowstone, so the most likely reason you are here is because you asked my parents for advice while planning your trip and they sent you to my blog because as their sole daughter I am not only their greatest gift from god, but also planned a very fun trip where we spent eight days in magical, interesting, and i’ll be honest crowded park.
I did a ton of research to make the most of our time in the park, hours of reading blog posts like these, tour books, tourism department guides, reddit threads, tiktoks, and talking to folks I knew who’d visited are just a few of the ways I prepared for our trip and created our overall plan of attack. My research paid off, as I truly feel like I can cross this one off the list. We spent a good amount of time in the main “regions” of the park and had multiple once in a lifetime experiences during our stay. This post is going to be long, but I want to give you a full rundown of our itinerary, including tours taken, highlights, and things that missed the mark, so you too can plan out a trip that best suits your goals as a national parks visitor. If nothing else, I put my top tips at the front, so if that is all you are looking for you can grab those and be on your merry way.
The order of the regions listed mirrors our itinerary, doing a loop following the aptly named, grand loop road. One exception is that I combined West Thumb & Yellowstone Lake, we hit West Thumb as we entered the park and Yellowstone Lake as we exited.
My Top Tips
Stay! In! The! Park!!!!!! It is worth every penny, worth planning over a year in advance and staying up until the second reservations for your date open. You will save so much time, be able to see more, and do your best to avoid huge crowds
Stay in multiple places in the park! For the same reason as why you should stay in the park, you will save even more time, have access to more localized ranger programs for each area, and get to experience an area as it changes throughout the day
Pack lunches and consider packing a camping stove and cooking supplies. Dinner is very limited the further you are from the park perimeter. We had considered packing a camping stove but decided to just eat out for dinner or eat sandwiches. As I have said several times, the options are very limited in some areas. If I could do it again, I would have brought a camping stove and some pots and pans and done some cooking in any one of the ample, beautiful picnic grounds
You won’t see everything, that’s ok! The size of Yellowstone is hard to comprehend until you’re there. Add in the crowds, tour buses, and bison-induced traffic back ups and chances are even the best planned itineraries will have to be adjusted due to just not enough time, that’s ok! It just means you get to come back again someday ;)
Take your time! Yes, there is a lot to see, but don’t rush yourself! Enjoy taking in the lush scenery, interesting geothermal features, and stunning wildlife encounters. Be in the moment and try your best to enjoy every second of your journey in the park
Be ready for cooler weather! We visited over Labor Day Weekend and the week following it, back home in Virginia, it was 90+ degrees every day we were gone, in Yellowstone, we were lucky to get temps to reach 70 in the afternoons and it hovered right at freezing at night and in the early mornings. Small knit gloves were our friends, and our shorts did not get a lot of use compared to our pants!
Hydrate!! You are at a high altitude, doing a lot of walking, and have a lot you want to get to. Drink lots of water, throw a gatorade or two in there, and fuel your body properly for your marathon of a trip.
Old Faithful & Midway Region
We tackled most of the Old Faithful basin on our first day in the park. While Old Faithful herself is very easy to access from the parking and lodging areas, other geysers within the basin can be fairly significant walks. In my 6+ years as a Fitbit user, this day was my highest step count ever recorded, at just over 40,000 steps. So, if you want to see the basin in its entirety and catch a variety of eruptions, be ready to walk. The good news is, the boardwalks are well maintained, and the okay news is, the hills are not that bad… depending on how many miles you’ve done thus far that day anyway!!
We arrived a little before check in and just in time to pop a squat and watch old faithful erupt. After settling into our room, we explored the basin further and got to see Grand, Turban, and Spasmodic geysers erupt together, which started the second we got to them, crazy when you learn grand geyser erupts every 7-15 hours, with a +-2hr window for an eruption to take place.
The second day in this area was spent checking out grand prismatic spring, fairy falls, and midway geyser basin, as well as continuing to saunter through the old faithful basin to catch eruptions as we were back at our hotel. The fairy falls hike is a great way to start your day, make sure to head up to the grand prismatic spring overlook, which gives you a better view than anything up close, and so if you aren’t able to score a spot in grand prismatic’s absolutely miniscule parking lot, you can still see it and get some great photos.
Twilight on the Firehole Tour
We took the Twilight on the Firehole tour, which I cannot recommend enough. The tour takes you to several locations, which was how we crossed visiting Black Sand Basin off our list, as well as the newly reopened firehole lake drive, where we had an absolute highlight of our trip, seeing Great Fountain Geyser erupt as the sun set in the background. This is one of the tours that utilizes the iconic Yellowstone Yellow Buses, which my dad has been obsessed with since 2019, when we rode on one of the red Jammer buses in Glacier, which traverse Going to the Sun Road. The tour was just over two hours and at just about $60/pp, worth every penny, even if we hadn’t had probably the coolest sunset experience we could have hoped for.
Staying at the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins
We stayed in two of the double/twin cabins at the Old Faithful Lodge. While we had to walk to the clean but shared bathhouses to access toilets and showers, the location for the price simply could not be beat. Plus, guaranteed good parking spot by your cabin ;). During our two-night stay, we must have either seen or smelled Old Faithful erupt well over a dozen times, and yes, I said smelled. Nobody warns you that every geyser has a certain….ehem,… fragrance to them (thanks for that, sulfur!) with some way worse than others (stay tuned for that later on in the post).
My one issue with this hotel/area, and this sadly goes for all of the Yellowstone hotels, is the lack of dining availability, despite ample options. After our Twilight on the Firehole tour, all the restaurants were closed, this was 8:30 pm, so late, but not crazy late for dinner, especially when you have strong international visitorship. The hours are very limited, and especially in this region, where it is very crowded and tour groups abound, it can be nearly impossible at times to get food without an advanced reservation. Thankfully, since we pack lunches daily, we just made sandwiches whenever we couldn’t get into a restaurant, either due to occupancy or hours of operation, but it is certainly something to think about if you are the type of person who likes to 100% rely on restaurants and concessions for food.
Norris Geyser Basin
This was our main planned stop between Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs. As with many other locations, the parking lot was insane. We got super lucky and got a spot thanks to a ranger randomly deciding we were worthy of being directed to one when so many other cars were being turned away (??)
The Norris Basin was the most colorful of all the basins, and in my opinion, probably my favorite. That feels a little weird to admit, as we did not see any major eruptions — the steamboat geyser unfortunately was not active until a month after our trip :( And at this point this was our…. fifth (i think) geyser basin in two days, and yet, i did not find myself breezing through it. It is very different than upper, midway, and west thumb basins, and was a nice way to “cap off” the main geyser viewing portion of our trip. We spent probably an hour exploring the area, and then we picnicked amongst the trees surrounding the parking lot.
Mammoth Hot Springs
We split our time exploring the Mammoth Hot Springs up over the 2.5 days we spent in the area. It is a lot of stairs and narrow boardwalks, so we took advantage of staying mere steps away from the springs and visited in the early mornings and evenings when a lot of the hubbub died down. During the day, we did many of the “mini hikes” in the area, including Undine Falls, Wraith Falls, Forces of the Northern Range Nature Trail, and the Blacktail Plateau Drive. We happened upon a group of wolf spotters parked in one of the hiking trail parking lots, and they were kind enough to let us see the famed grey wolves through their spotting scopes, so cool!
Mammoth Springs Hotel
We stayed in two different accommodations here. My husband and I again stayed in a cabin without a bathroom, and my parents and brother stayed in the hotel itself. The cabins were absolutely adorable, spacious with a nice front porch, and ours was probably 20 yards away from the closest bathroom. A perk of the cabins is that you have a parking spot, which is not the case if you are in the hotel. Parking in the Mammoth Springs area can be very limited, so we were glad to have a guaranteed spot. The hotel room was full of old world charm, including a claw-foot tub and stunning fixtures, though my Mom’s favorite part was the air conditioning!! We enjoyed morning coffee and evening drinks at the Map Room Bar, which was the perfect place to play a round of cards after a long day on the trails. Overall, this was a really nice accommodation. It was more expensive than Old Faithful Lodge (even for our similar class rooms), but it was also much more spacious, and while very historic, felt more modern/updated in its own way. I would recommend staying here if you can, not only for its advantageous positioning, but also because it was just a nice place to stay overall, and I felt it was pretty fair priced.
Gardiner, MT
The town of Gardiner is only a 15-minute drive from Mammoth Hot Springs. We ate dinner there every night and restocked provisions in hopes of it lasting us the rest of our trip, as they had a pretty good grocery store in town. It is also home to the famous Roosevelt Arch entrance into the park. We really enjoyed Wonderland Cafe & Lodge as well as the Cowboys Lodge and Grill. Thankfully, with the town so close by, we were able to take a break from in-park food and had no issues getting food at any time of day. If you can’t get a reservation at the Mammoth Springs Lodge, there seem to be tons of great options in town. Just remember, the early bird gets the worm, and by worm, I mean parking spot by the Mammoth Hot Springs.
Lamar Valley
My Mom is a huge animal lover, so I am always sure to prioritize wildlife observation and encounters on my trips. Lamar Valley is truly a dream come true for my mom; thousands of buffalo, birds, wolves, and moose were just a few of the critters we encountered. I am more of a landscape person myself, and that did not disappoint either. Massive blue skies, the meandering Lamar River, and the stunning mountains made for lots of breathtaking vistas. Not to mention the traffic jams caused by bison crossing were quite the experience!
Wake up to Wildlife Tour
We explored Lamar Valley as part of the Wake Up to Wildlife tour. This sprawling, 5+ hour tour takes you from Mammoth Hot Springs almost to the Northwest Entrance. Make sure to bring your snacks, camera, and water. It is a bit pricey at ~$132/pp, and while we enjoyed it, I do think it is okay to skip. I didn’t learn a ton of new information that wasn’t already repeated dozens of times on signage throughout the park, and we were seeing the same stuff as the folks driving in front of and behind us. We had a really fun time, and we are 100% tour people, so I am glad we did it, but if you are looking to save a chunk of change, just spend a morning driving out to Lamar Valley on your own and armed with binoculars, a camera, and patience, you will get a near identical experience.
Cooke City & Silvergate
My dad was insistent we leave as few roads untraveled as possible, so we ended up driving to Cooke City and Silvergate, which are past the Northeast Entrance in Montana. These towns were cool with an interesting museum in the visitor center, fun shops, and good restaurants. I would have loved to have driven the Beartooth Highway, which you get to if you continue, but unfortunately, this was already 50 miles from our hotel, and there was much more to see in Yellowstone.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Chances are you’ve seen dozens of pictures of the Lower Falls tumbling into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, even without knowing that’s what you are looking at. It really is a spectacular view, with each pull-off point along the North and South Rim Trail scenic drives offering an amazing and slightly different vista to enjoy. We did the South Rim Trail drive during golden hour and sunset, it was very cool as a lot of the colors of the canyon walls popped in the changing light.
We opted to hike all the way down to the Brink of the Lower Falls from the North Rim Parking lot. It was so cool to get up close and personal with the roaring Yellowstone River and the floor of the canyon, but be warned, this short lil hike is no joke. 0.35 mi of switchbacks down to the canyon floor, and what goes up must come back down! Be ready for a blood-pumping workout as you regain the almost 300ft of elevation as you get back to the parking lot.
For both the North and South Rim drives, I highly recommend either going early or in the evening. Tour buses quickly pack parking lots, and the observation areas can get crowded. If you are an avid or even amateur photographer, the only challenge to getting an amazing photo in any of these spots is to get an unimpeded view.
Canyon Lodge
We spent only one night at the Canyon Lodge. The newest, largest, and most expensive of all accommodations we stayed in (though not the most expensive in the park!) it was a really nice place. My husband and I were in a Standard Lodge Room, which was in one of the modern lodges. It felt akin to a new Hampton Inn or a Hilton Garden Inn room, nice, modern, standard. My parents and brother stayed in a Western Cabin, which had a small sitting area and balcony, which was nice. While I highly recommend staying in multiple places in the park to minimize travel time, Canyon Lodge is the best option as a singular home base due to its central location. You would still be doing a lot of driving — ~90min to Old Faithful, an hour to Mammoth Hot Springs, and 30min to Norris Geyser Basin, for reference, it is better than staying in a single hotel outside the park!
My one complaint echoes that I had of the Old Faithful Lodge — not a ton of dining options, especially for dinner!! The only thing open for dinner was the cafeteria, and I am glad to report to you that the cafeteria food was good, overpriced, but a good meal nonetheless. Don’t let the dozens of negative reviews turn you away from the cafeterias when they are your only option for a good meal. My husband had really wanted to check out the very cute Canyon Fountain Grill, which was only open for lunch. We ate there before heading out, and it was very good! I just wish it were open past 6 pm!
Hayden Valley & The Dreaded Mud Volcano
Hayden Valley is like a condensed version of Lamar Valley with less impressive vistas in my opinion (still very pretty though!) and plenty of wildlife. We saw bison, birds, and a couple of foxes. Sadly I had to burst my family’s bubble that they were not in fact wolves, but we decided not to tell the other members of the public who thought they were — let them have this as a magical memory of Yellowstone :)
Following our drive through Hayden Valley, we reached the site I was most excited about — the Mud Volcano and all the surrounding geothermal features. Little did I know, this excitement was about to turn into pure misery and nausea. All the features in this area are very cool and active, but that is due to their high sulfuric acid content, which also makes them smell incredibly bad. I should have known this, seeing as these features boast names that conjure images of rather unpleasant things — Sour Lake and Dragon’s Mouth Spring are just two examples. Needless to say, there was a point where it took every ounce of self-control not to lose my lunch to the hot, stinky waters of the Churning Cauldron. Stink aside, this is a very cool area with lots of very active features worth checking out, just consider packing smelling salts or something!!
Yellowstone Lake & West Thumb/Grant Village
While I know it is toward the bottom of the blog post, West Thumb was one of our first big stops as we entered the park. It was very impressive to us as it was our first geothermal feature in the park. I am glad we started with West Thumb, it is certainly cool, but pales in comparison to all the other basins we visited — yes, even the stomach-churning mud volcano! I highly recommend starting your trip with West Thumb, it is small, not too crowded, and you get a good background about the geology and geography of the park, which provides good context before you get to the heavy hitters like Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, etc. Since we hadn’t seen any of those more “impressive” areas yet, we really took our time and savored reading all the signs and learning about the geothermal features within the basin rather than speed running them, which I think would have been the case if we had hit this area on our way back to Jackson.
We did check out the shores of Yellowstone Lake as the last main area of our trip. We enjoyed cruising along the shores and sauntering through many of the small, quick trails along the way. We drove along the East Entrance Road until it veered away from the lake at the Lake Butte Overlook. An interesting site for us was seeing the car repair shop at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center — it makes sense when you think about the immense scale of the park and the long distance to any sizeable towns.
Three Must Do’s & A Best for Who
Must Do’s
Wintess an Old Faithful eruption and explore the Upper Geyser Basin
Take a tour on one of the historic Yellow Buses
Take the North and South Rim scenic drives along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Best for Who
There are so many reasons Yellowstone is one of the most visited, crowded, and beloved national parks, beyond it being our nation’s first national park. The geothermal features are nothing short of incredible, the landscape is awe-inspiring, and the wildlife watching is plentiful. Even the most indoorsy, home-bodied type will find themselves awestruck and come away with amazing memories. This park really has something for everyone.
