The Perfect itinerary for your first visit to Yellowstone National Park
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The oldest National Park and arguably America’s most famous, Yellowstone National Park in Wyomina, USA, is one of the most unique places on Earth. There are stunning geysers, picturesque hot springs, vast valleys and a variety of wildlife thrives throughout the magical lands of this national park. If you are planning a visit here, this Yellowstone National Park Itinerary will help you cover the most unique and picturesque spots in the park and help you plan a memorable trip to this wonderland.
Table of Contents
• Day 1- Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs
• Day 2- Lamar Valley and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
• Day 3- Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful Geyser
• Day 4- West Thumb, Yellowstone Lake and Hayden Valley
Best Time to Visit Yellowstone National Park
The best time to visit Yellowstone is generally considered from June to October, however this can vary depending on your preferences. Below we have collated the Pros and Cons of each Month
March- May: The springtime in Yellowstone is generally a transition period from the snowy months. This period paves the way for a colorful summer, giving a fresh breath of life to the park. The big mammals awaken from their hibernation, the game animals move deeper into the valleys and wolfpacks start becoming more and more opportunistic. This is also the period when you can see baby calves learning from their elders and trying to keep up with their herds.
Overall, this period can have road closures but the active wildlife and the snowy landscape can make for a really special trip.
This is a great time to spot wolves and bears in Lamar and Hayden Valley, or throughout the northern region of the park.
June- August: This is mostly considered the ideal time to visit Yellowstone as the weather is reliable, park facilities are fully open and wild bison and elk are EVERYWHERE!
All the geysers and hot springs would be accessible at this time and the waterfalls would also be at their full flow. All lodging options are also open at this time and it marks the busiest period for the park.
Driving through the northern part of the park can turn into a safari experience with plenty of wildlife spotting including bears and wolves.
It is HIGHLY IMPORTANT to plan your trip during this time well in advance as everything, including rental cars in the area can get sold out.
September- November: This is basically the shoulder season to visit Yellowstone and pretty much everything is still accessible. The days will be shorter and much cooler and the wildlife can be very unpredictable at this time.
From October to November, there can be snowfall or rain or both, so it is very important to be prepared. Overall, this period is a great time to visit Yellowstone, and will be an amazing experience to avoid crowds and also save you some money on lodging and transportation.
December- February: This period in Yellowstone is usually characterized by heavy snow and there can be a lot of road closures. Some areas of the park are only accessible by either snowshoeing or using snowmobiles.
This however gives visitors a chance to see the splendid snow scenery, frozen waterfalls and furred up wildlife. There will be less crowds in the park too, but the lodging and food options would be very limited.
How many days should you spend in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is HUGE, it is even bigger than Puerto Rico! You can spend months in the park and not run out of new things to do, but it is not really possible for most of us.
For first time visitors, we would recommend at least 4 days to explore the park. This would give you enough time to visit most of the must visit spots but would still be a rushed trip with plenty of driving.
The best way in our opinion would be to have 5 days exploring Yellowstone National Park, 2 days exploring Grand Teton National Park and a day or two to relax in Jackson.
How to get to Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is easily accessible via road and being located on the border of three US states, there are plenty of airport options to fly into. Below we have listed the two best airports to reach this park.
Note: All distances and time are calculated with the nearest entrance station as the destination. Driving distances and time may vary depending on where you stay and how busy the park entrance is when you try to get in.
Jackson Hole Airport (JAC): Located in Jackson, Wyoming, this airport is almost 50 miles away and can take from 1 to 1.5 hrs to reach the nearest entrance of the park
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN): Located in Bozeman, Montana, this airport is almost 90 miles away and can take from 1.5 to 2 hrs to reach the nearest entrance of the park.
Where to stay on your visit to Yellowstone
There are plenty of accommodation options inside the park including lodges, cabins, traditional campgrounds and RV campgrounds. Plenty of visitors stay outside the park due to limited availability inside the park.
Accommodations inside the park
Ideally, you would want to stay inside the park to maximize the time you actually spend exploring. However there are limited accommodations inside the park and they can sometimes get sold out more than 10 months in advance.
We highly recommend booking early and you can tailor your itinerary as per the availability. Below is a list of the accommodations inside the park but we recommend Canyon Lodge due to its central location:-
Old Faithful Snow Lodge & Cabins: This is a great option if you are looking to be closer to Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring. Accommodations here can be more expensive than other towns on this list.
Gardiner, Montana: A great place to stay if you are looking for comparatively lesser crowds and is closer to Yellowstone’s best place for spotting wildlife, i.e. Lamar Valley.
Cooke City, Montana and Silvergate, Montana: These towns are located a bit farther from the main spots of Yellowstone but they offer access to the stunning Beartooth Highway
Ashton, Idaho: This rural town is a bit farther from others on this list but it would be comparatively more economical
Accommodations outside the park
Because of the park’s popularity, there are tons of accommodation options to choose from outside the park as well. This includes Hotels, BnBs and Campgrounds. The best towns to look for a place would be:-
West Yellowstone, Montana: This is a great option if you are looking to be closer to Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring. Accommodations here can be more expensive than other towns on this list.
Gardiner, Montana: A great place to stay if you are looking for comparatively lesser crowds and is closer to Yellowstone’s best place for spotting wildlife, i.e. Lamar Valley.
Cooke City, Montana and Silvergate, Montana: These towns are located a bit farther from the main spots of Yellowstone but they offer access to the stunning Beartooth Highway
Ashton, Idaho: This rural town is a bit farther from others on this list but it would be comparatively more economical. It is also possible to visit Grand Teton National Park while you are here as it is only a 1.5 hr drive away
Yellowstone National Park Itinerary
Here we have a four day itinerary for Yellowstone and each day covers particular sections of the park. You can easily cut days based on what you prioritize but we have also written a 1, 2 and 3 day itinerary as per our experience in the park.
Note: This itinerary would work great if you are staying in Canyon Lodge as it would cut the driving distances quite significantly
Four days in Yellowstone
This is the minimum amount of time we would recommend to visit Yellowstone national park. This will give you ample time to hit the park highlights but some days may still be long depending on where you base yourself.
Day One
Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs
We recommend starting the day early as these spots are pretty popular and parking can be a challenge after 8 AM during peak seasons. Also, both of these spots have high geothermal activity and get pretty hot during the day.
Morning
Explore Norris Geyser Basin
The Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest and the oldest geyser in Yellowstone national park. The basin contains many hot springs and geysers including the tallest active geyser in the world, Steamboat Geyser.
The Norris Geyser Basin is divided into two main areas: Back Basin and Porcelain Basin. Both of these are short loop hikes with numerous active geysers and colorful hot springs. The area gets much hotter than the rest of the park due to the heavy geothermal activity so it is highly recommended to be there in the morning to both: avoid the crows and beat the heat.
Afternoon
Lunch at Mammoth Terrace Grill or Picnic in the area and exploring Mammoth Hot Springs
After Norris Geyser Basin, it’s time to head towards Mammoth Hot Springs, which is another popular area in the park. But before that we highly recommend grabbing a snack and an ice cream from Mammoth Terrace Grill, perfect way to enjoy the warm days.
For visiting Mammoth Hot Springs, there are plenty of parking options available, with 3 different lots around the Hot Springs. There are multiple walking trails throughout this area and we recommend parking in the lot next to Mammoth Terrace Grill as you would start from pretty much the main spot in the area. The hike will take you through colorful, eroded rocks on mountain walls shaped by geothermal activity. The scenery here is very unique and interesting.
For those of you who love to hike, Sepulcher Mountain Trail is a long 12 mile hike which takes you through the entire mammoth area.
Bonus spot: If you have time, Undine falls is an amazing spot just a short drive from Mammoth Hot Springs. It is a picturesque waterfall, visible from a viewing platform. You can just drive to the platform and park next to it to have a great view of the falls. The area also has tons of bears, so take the necessary precautions and enjoy the wildlife from a safe distance.
Evening
Winding down in one of the many picturusque valleys within the park
For us, the best part of Yellowstone is just parking your car in its vast valleys and enjoying the peace, seeing the wildlife do its thing. The sunsets here are magical and the howling wolves make you feel like you are in a movie. We highly recommend spending an hour (or more) in Hayden Valley or Lamar Valley or other spots depending on your accommodation for the night.
Day Two
Lamar Valley and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Day two is a very early morning start as you would be driving all the way to Lamar Valley which is in the far northeastern corner of the park.
Early Morning
We recommend reaching Lamar Valley as early as possible to maximize chances of spotting wildlife and beating the crowds.
The valley is a long drive away from the canyon area and is a single lane winding road. There are tons of amazing views throughout but once you reach Lamar Valley, it feels like a different place altogether. The sheer vastness and size of the valley, dotted with a ton of wildlife, is just a sight to behold. You can spend as long as you want in the area, driving to and from, just enjoying the views and the wildlife.
You can spot all the animals of Yellowstone here. This includes Bears, Wolves, Elks, Coyotes and tons of Bison. The area is just filled with Bison and their calves and its just magical to see them thriving in this environment.
This area is often dubbed the ‘Serengeti of America’
Note: There can be a lot of ‘traffic’ jams in the area which are most often ‘Bison Jams’ which occur frequently as the animals try to cross the roads.
After exploring Lamar Valley to your heart’s content, you can head back to your accommodation to get some rest and fuel up for the rest of the day.
If you didn’t already have breakfast, we recommend having some at Canyon village. It is a really fun area with lots of options for all ages. If you are looking for a peaceful and quiet breakfast however, it would be best to grab something from here and head to one of the many picnic spots in the park.
Afternoon to Evening
Explore Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
There are two roads on two sides of the canyon:
1) North Rim Drive
2) South Rim Drive
North Rim Drive
This side of the canyon has multiple viewpoints and hiking options. All the viewpoints here offer a different angle into the canyon. The ‘Brink of the Lower Falls’ trail is a great hike in the area which gets you up close to Lower Yosemite Falls. It is short and steep but totally worth it.
You can also opt to walk through every viewpoint in the area via the North rim trail. Our favourite spots on this side were Inspiration Point and Lower Lookout Point. There are many other viewpoints here which are all amazing and worth checking out.
South Rim Drive
The south rim drive is a short distance away from the northern side. This side has some amazing viewpoints but it is also a great area to spot wildlife. We saw a lot of bears in this area, just hanging about looking for food.
The hiking options on this side include: Brink of the upper falls trail, Artist point overlook trail, Point sublime hike and Crystal falls hike.
We highly recommend visiting the Artist Point Overlook, it offers a picture perfect view of the canyon, we really loved it there.
Day Three
Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful Geyser
The spots that we will cover on day 3 are probably the most iconic spots and poster pictures for Yellowstone National Park. The striking colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring draws millions of visitors each year and the periodic eruption of Old Faithful Geyser never fails to impress.
Morning
Midway Geyser Basin
Start your day by exploring the Grand Prismatic Spring and avoid the mid-day crowds. There are plenty of ways to view this marvel. The most straightforward one is to park in the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot and do the boardwalk loop trail around Grand Prismatic Spring. This trail takes you up close to the spring but you see it from a surface level instead of a bird’s eye view. It is still a must do trail as you get to see some more amazing geysers and feel the warm mist around the springs.
Hike to Bird’s Eye View of Grand Prismatic Spring
To get a better look at the colors of the Hot Spring, take a short trail to the Grand Prismatic Spring Lookout. The trail starts from the Fairy falls trailhead which is a bit further from the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot. It is a 1.5 mile out and back trail which is an easy route with a bit of an elevation gain near the lookout.
Bonus Tip: If you would like to hike and explore more, you can opt to do the entire Fairy Falls Trail. It is a 4.8 mile out and back trail which takes you through the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook along with a few more geysers and waterfalls.
Optional: Lower Geyser Basin
If you have time after visiting the Midway geyser basin, head back up to the Lower Geyser Basin which is a comparatively smaller area with a number of Hot Springs and Geysers.
Do the Fountain Paint Pots loop hike here which is a picturesque and fun half mile boardwalk trail taking you through some very colorful and stunning hot springs.
Afternoon to Evening
Old Faithful Geyser and Upper Geyser Basin
Another iconic spot in the park, the eruptions of Old Faithful are always fun to witness. The area boasts tons of active geysers and hot springs with many of them erupting at regular intervals.
This area of the park requires some time to explore so definitely grab some lunch in the nearby restaurants in either Old Faithful Lodge or Old Faithful Inn. We highly recommend the Old Faithful Lodge area which has amazing food options and the perfect vibe.
Bonus Tip: The lounge area of the Lodge has a spectacular setup of windows which provide amazing views of the Old Faithful Geyser. We absolutely loved sipping on out coffees while watching the geyser erupt!
The Old Faithful Geyser erupts at intervals of 60 to 90 minutes which depends on the length of the previous eruption. If an eruption lasts longer, the next one may be 90 minutes away. However for a shorter eruption, the subsequent one may happen a bit early, around the 60 minute mark. So there are plenty of chances to witness the eruption.
The geyser also has a viewing platform on the boardwalk next to it. This is the most popular area to see the geyser and gets very crowded around every eruption.
Bird’s Eye view of Old Faithful Geyser
To get a better view of the geyser from a height, you can visit the Old Faithful Observation Point which is accessible via a short but steep hike. We absolutely loved packing some lunch and bringing here with us, It was perfect up there to have a sandwich while watching the Geyser erupt
Upper Geyser Basin Loop
After you are done exploring Old Faithful, head over to the visitor center and spend some time reading through the park’s history and facts. There are always some fun ranger programs going on so make sure to check them out.
When ready, head for the Upper Geyser Basin loop trail which is an easy boardwalk loop. The entire path is dotted with stunning hot springs and geysers which will leave you in awe. There is a photo opp at literally every step!
Our favorite spots on this trail include:-
a) Chromatic Pool
b) Castle Geyser
c) Morning Glory Pool
d) Grotto Geyser
e) Riverside Geyser
The loop trail will bring you back to the Visitor Center and you can get any souvenirs here before departing. If you want to catch the sunset, the Grand Prismatic Spring area would provide the perfect backdrop!
Day Four
West Thumb, Yellowstone Lake and Hayden Valley
The final day of our four day itinerary in Yellowstone is designed to be perfect for taking it a bit slow and just spend some time soaking in the vibe of Yellowstone before departing.
Morning
West Thumb and Yellowstone Lake
Start your day by heading over to West Thumb. This area is a highly active geothermal area on the banks of the Yellowstone lake. It is a very picturesque area with many hot springs and geysers. Our favorite spots in West Thumb include:
a) Abyss Pool
b) Black Pool
c) Fishing Cone
After exploring the west thumb area, head over to Gull point for scenic views of the Yellowstone lake. There is also a small beach in the area which is perfect for a picnic. If you are in a campervan, there is parking for that as well if you want to cook by the lake.
Optional: You can opt to do the Elephant back mountain hike to get more sweeping views of the area
Spend as much time as you want in the Yellowstone lake area or revisit any spot that you loved. We would recommend using this time to relax and catch up on your breath after the three tiring prior to this.
Evening
Around late afternoon or early evening, it is time to drive and relax in the vast valleys of Yellowstone and spot some wildlife in the area. Head over to Hayden Valley which is the perfect place to spend your evening.
This valley boasts amazing and serene scenery with a ton of wildlife. You can spot Bison, Elk, Coyotes, Bears and even WOLVES!!
We loved spending our time in this area and were able to spot so much wildlife. We would suggest getting some snacks and drinks, parking at your spot of preference, setting up a couple of chairs and just relaxing through the evening, enjoying the wildlife and taking in the vastness of Yellowstone.
Definitely wait here till the sunset as that golden light with the amazing scenery will surely be a delight!
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