Yellowstone National Park
Trip Assistant
How Much Time?
I’ve met a few people who spent one day in Yellowstone and loved it. So, I’m not going to say it’s impossible to see a lot and have a great time in a day, but it certainly isn’t ideal. The park is 2.2 million acres. But you can probably see everything in the highlights list in a day, as long as bison don’t cause too many traffic jams.
I’d recommend a couple things. If you want a base camp, camp/lodge at Canyon Village. It’s the most central thing. You’ll still spend a ton of time driving, but it’s much better than driving in and out of the park. I’d also try to spend one night at Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful). The busiest part of the park is the road between West Yellowstone and Old Faithful—it’s darn near the busiest area in all the parks. Unfortunately there isn’t a campground here. Only lodges. In addition to not having to deal with the traffic more than the minimum amount, you really want to spend time wandering around Upper Geyser Basin. It’s much more than Old Faithful. Several geysers have regular eruptions. If you love hiking/backpacking and waterfalls, consider heading to Cascade Corner.
Need to Know
- Reservations are required for camping. You can make them through Xanterra manages about 85% of the campsites. The rest can be reserved through recreation.gov.
- Most roads close for winter. You can still visit, but it’s a totally different experience, getting around the park by snowcoach or snowmobile.
- For the best views of Grand Prismatic Spring, go to the overlook (just south of the massive spring).
Highlights
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
- Grand Prismatic Spring
- Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful, Grand Geyser, Castle Geyser, Riverside Geyser, Morning Glory)
- Hayden Valley
- Lamar Valley
- Tower Fall
- West Thumb Geyser Basin
- Mammoth Terrace
- Norris Geyser Basin
- Gibbon Falls
- Great Fountain Geyser
Activities
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Boating
- Horseback Riding
- Biking
- Swimming
- Fishing
- Photography
- Snowmobiling
- Snowcoach Tours
- Snowshoeing
- Cross-country Skiing
Favorite Trails
Easy
Moderate- Dunanda Falls
- Uni0n Falls
- Bunsen Peak (spur to Osprey Falls)
- Osprey Falls
- Yellowstone River Overlook
- Mystic Falls
- Observation Point
When To Go?
Weather
Visitation
Summer is busy. Very busy, particularly between West Yellowstone and Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful) and Canyon Village. The park is huge, so it isn’t too hard to escape the crowds. Go hiking. Backpack. Check out Cascade Corner. Or travel in the offseason. October is still pretty good. In winter, the only road open is the road from the north entrance to Cooke City. You can get around the park, but it’s via snowcoach or snowmobile. Roads start to open up again in April.
Park Map Downloads
Road Trips
Helpful Tools
Below you'll see a Google Map to help plan road trips from the east (Wind Cave), north (Glacier), west (Crater Lake), and south (Grand Teton). It’s a good start, but I’d highly recommend making your own. Google My Maps, Wanderlog, and TripIt are incredibly useful trip planning tools. Find what works best for you! (Will make the map once roads are open in summer.)
There’s much more to our country. Here’s another Google Map with points of interest across all types of public land.
For campers, here’s a Google Map with National Forest campgrounds. National Park campgrounds are difficult to reserve (there are about 200!). With nearly 5,000 national forest campgrounds, you can usually pull in and find a spot.
Highlights
You're in for a treat, whichever direction you approach Yellowstone from. But, without question, the most spectacular option is Beartooth Highway. The only problem is the road first opens for Memorial Day weekend. Chief Joseph Scenic Byway stays open year-round, but, if you're trying to get to Yellowstone early or late in the season, you'll run into a closed Beartooth Highway, where there's a snowmobile staging area. It's not a bad idea to plan one trip just for Yellowstone outside its peak season and another separate trip just to enjoy Beartooth Highway and all the nearby hiking trails. There are literally thousands of miles of trails in Custer-Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests, and a tiny fraction of the number of visitors Yellowstone receives.
- Island Lake (WY)
- East Rosebud (MT)
- West Rosebud (MT)
- Woodbine Falls (MT)
- Natural Bridge Falls (MT)
- Lake Como/Bitterroot National Forest (MT)
- Holland Lake Falls (MT)
- Mesa Falls (ID)
- Sawtooth NF (ID)
- Lake Owyhee SP (OR)
- Succor Creek State Natural Area (4x4) (OR)
- Leslie Gulch (4x4) (OR)
- Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY)
- Bighorn National Forest (WY, fantastic hiking/backpacking destination)
- Devil’s Tower NM (WY)
- Jewel Cave NM (SD)
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