YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 3-DAY ITINERARY
Erupting geysers, bubbling mudpots, hissing fumaroles, boiling springs and absolutely gorgeous thermal pools make Yellowstone National Park one of the most visited parks in the entire United States and a Top Must-See Destination.
With more than 2 million acres of land, over 10,000 hydrothermal features and more than 500 active geysers (which is more than half of the entire world’s geysers) there is A LOT to do.
Yellowstone National Park is the World’s First National Park and it is the largest in the United States, outside of Alaska. With this large size and so many spectacular sites, it can be hard to figure out where to go, what to see and where to even start. This is where I’d like to help.
In this post, easily find Yellowstone National Park’s Top Sites, Must-See Thermal Features, How Long to Visit, What to Expect and How You Can See It All in 3 Action-Packed Days!
Let’s Go Discover Yellowstone with Your Traveling Feet!
HOW MANY DAYS DO YOU NEED TO VISIT YELLOWSTONE?
To see all of the main highlights in Yellowstone, you really need 3 full action-packed days. If you have less time, pick a few of the top highlights in Yellowstone for an amazing day. (See the 1-Day Itinerary suggestion near the end of this post.) If you have more time, then you can visit Yellowstone’s top sites at a more leisure pace or even add a few extra hikes and sites. Most people, on average, tend to visit between 3 to 5 days at Yellowstone National Park.
WHERE IS YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK LOCATED?
Yellowstone National Park is located in northwest corner of Wyoming.
(A small portion of Yellowstone, about 4%, is located in Montana and Idaho.)
Yellowstone National Park has 5 park entrances. Two entrances are on the northside, one entrance is on the east, one on the south and one on the west side of the park. This makes entering and exiting Yellowstone while on a road trip extremely convenient, but this can also add to the confusion, for many people, as to where to go and how to best get around this enormous park.
Yellowstone, many times, is included as a part of a bigger U.S. road trip with the top road trip additions being: Glacier National Park to the north, Grand Teton National Park to the south and Mount Rushmore/ Devils Tower to the East. (See more on these sites near the end of this post.)
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK MAP
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK OVERVIEW
The road system within Yellowstone National Park forms a Figure 8 with the entrance/exit roads radiating off of it.
The outside portion of this figure 8 circle is called the Grand Loop Road and this is where most of the top sites are. The Norris Canyon Road bisects the Grand Loop Road to create the figure 8 pattern. This road makes it very convenient to visit different sections of the park on circular loop drives.
YELLOWSTONE TOP SITES
Upper Geyser Basin & Old Faithful
Fairy Falls Trail to the Grand Prismatic Overlook
Midway Geyser Basin & Grand Prismatic Trail
Norris Geyser Basin
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs
Hayden Valley & Lamar Valley for Animal Sightings
ANIMAL JAMS
One potential delay that occurs often in Yellowstone, and is hard to avoid, is “animal jams.” This occurs when people stop on the main road to view animals that are near the road. These “animal jams” can cause back-ups for miles. Luckily, Park Rangers come to help move the traffic along, but these delays can happen at anytime so try and keep your itinerary somewhat flexible. Also make sure that you have some kind of snack with you, especially if you are traveling with children, in case this type of back up happens to delay your next meal.
(We got stuck in an “animal jam” for over an hour on our way out of the park to dinner one time. Our snacks definitely saved our family’s sanity during that long, slow drive.)
YELLOWSTONE 3-DAY ITINERARY
This action-packed 3 full day itinerary will let you see the Best of Yellowstone in a convenient route that traverses the park. Let’s get started.
DAY 1:
- Our family, using this itinerary entered the park at 7:30am.
MORNING: UPPER GEYSER BASIN & OLD FAITHFUL
- Begin your morning early with the main attraction in Yellowstone National Park – Old Faithful.
- Old Faithful is found in the Upper Geyser Basin (which is on the SW section of the figure 8 loop.)
- If you were staying at the Old Faithful Inn, just step outside to watch the show. West Yellowstone & Canyon Village are both about an hour drive from here. (This will take longer due to traffic during peak months.)
- Old Faithful predictably erupts every 60-100 minutes, for about 1.5 to 5 minutes and shoots up approximately 106-184 feet in the air.
- To find the next eruption time check Yellowstone’s website or simply look inside the Old Faithful Inn when you arrive. They will have the next eruption time posted.
- About 30 minutes before the eruption, people will begin filling the seating area surrounding Old Faithful. So if you are wanting to sit to watch the show, you’ll need to grab a spot at this time.
BOOKS ON YELLOWSTONE’S GEYSERS FOR CHILDREN
UPPER GEYSER BASIN
Just steps away from Old Faithful, you can begin exploring the Upper Geyser Basin. Here your journey will take you across boardwalks that cross a completely unreal landscape.
At Upper Geyser Basin, there are at least 150 hydrothermal features within just one square mile, making this the largest concentration of geysers on Earth!
Before heading out into the Upper Geyser Basin, know that there are five major geysers that are predicted regularly by the staff. These geysers are Castle, Grand, Daisy, Riverside, and of course Old Faithful. So look for signs to tell you when they should next go off next. Then plan your route through this boardwalk accordingly.
To walk the Upper Geyser Basin, we recommend walking Geyser Hill and continuing along the path until you at least reach Morning Glory Pool. If you turn around here, this walk is about 4.3 miles.
You could in fact walk all the way to Biscuit Basin or Black Sand Basin along this trail, but these two basins can also be reached by car. By driving to those basins later, you’ll be able to save your legs for other hikes later today.
Walking to Morning Glory Pool and back should take approximately 2.5-3 hours (not including the time to see Old Faithful.)
Traveler Tip: Please note that this trail is very exposed, so don’t forget a sun hat, sun screen, plenty of water and possibly snacks while walking this incredible trail.
A FEW UPPER GEYSER BASIN HIGHLIGHTS:
LUNCH: After walking the Upper Geyser Basin, it will probably be close to lunch time (and your legs will want a rest.)
There are several lunch options near Old Faithful to choose from, but do know that this area gets extremely busy and you may have long lines. Options include:
- Bear Paw Deli & a Dining Room at Old Faithful Inn
- A Cafeteria & Bake Shop at Old Faithful Lodge
- A General Store with a Concession, Grill & Ice Cream
- Or you can avoid the crowds and bring your own picnic lunch.
- This is the option we like. It allows us to see more of the park each day instead of spending it standing in line.
AFTERNOON:
STOP 1: FAIRY FALLS TRAIL TO GRAND PRISMATIC OVERLOOK
- Fairy Falls Trailhead is 10 minutes (5.3 miles) north of Old Faithful.
- Note: There is no restroom at this trailhead (at least that we could find.)
- This is a 1.8 mile roundtrip hike to Grand Prismatic Overlook
- At 0.6 miles into the trail it will split. Go left here for the overlook.
- This trail gains 230 feet to climb to the lookout.
- Allow about 1 hour to hike Fairy Falls Trail to this Spectacular Overlook.
Grand Prismatic is an absolutely spectacular spring that is completely bursting with intense, gorgeous colors. Even standing here in front of it, it’s hard to believe that this spring is actually real. And what’s even more amazing, is that this rainbow of beauty is simply due to different species of heat-loving thermophile bacteria! How incredible is that!
Grand Prismatic is also seriously impressive because it is the 3rd largest spring in the world. It’s larger than a football field! This is one stop in Yellowstone that you won’t want to miss.
Timing Tip: Grand Prismatic is best viewed near mid-day, when the sun is high and the mist is minimal.
Traveler Tip: This is an extremely popular/ crowded site in Yellowstone and parking can be difficult. Keep your itinerary flexible, and if you can’t find parking just go to the next site and come back later. All of the sites listed for this day are within minutes of each other.
STOP 2: MIDWAY GEYSER BASIN & GRAND PRISMATIC
- Just 5 minutes (1.7 miles) down the road from Fairy Falls Trail is Midway Geyser Basin’s parking lot. But chances are that there will be people parking all along the road leading up to this parking lot.
- This is where you can walk along Grand Prismatic at ground level.
- Walking along Grand Prismatic is a 0.8 mile one-way boardwalk.
Traveler Tip: Decide, based on the crowds, whether or not you want to see this now or return later in the day when the crowds will be less. This schedule gives you the opportune lighting but the crowds may make it more ideal to wait until later in the day.
- For our family (in the pictures above and below) we saw the overlook at Fairy Falls Trail at 1:30pm, but delayed our walk at Midway Geyser Basin until 5:30pm due to the insane crowds that day. To me, the colors were gorgeous at both times, but at the 5:30 time there was more mist and I had to wait for small wind gusts to momentarily clear the mist from the spring so that I could get good pictures.
Family Tip: This boardwalk has no railings when walking by Grand Prismatic and it would be quite dangerous if one should step off the path. (See picture below.) So please hold onto any younger children if walking this trail.
YELLOWSTONE BOOKS FOR KIDS
STOP 3: LOWER GEYSER BASIN & FOUNTAIN PAINT POT
- Drive 6 minutes (2.2 miles) from Midway Geyser Basin to Lower Geyser Basin.
- Fountain Paint Pot Trail is 0.6 mile, and it is primarily on boardwalks.
- See all 4 geothermal features here on this action-packed short trail. Erupting geysers, bubbling mudpots (that can shoot 30-40 feet in the air!), hissing fumaroles and boiling springs.
- Allow 30 minutes to walk the trail at Fountain Paint Pot.
A FEW FOUNTAIN PAINT POT HIGHLIGHTS
STOP 4: FIREHOLE LAKE DRIVE
- If you still have time and energy tonight drive 2 minutes (1.1 miles) to Firehole Lake Drive.
- Firehole Lake Drive is a 3.3 mile road, that lies right off of the Grand Loop Road. This road meanders quietly past some beautiful thermal features and manages to leave the crowds behind.
- This is also a nice relaxing way to end the day, in my opinion.
- For us, our kids were getting hot and tired, so here they were able to sit in our air-conditioned car and still see pretty much everything since all of the features here sit right alongside this road. (Chris and I still got out for a quick, closer look and picture, but this was a nice option to have at the end of a long day.)
- Firehole Lake Drive is also a good option to do if your kids are getting tired at any point in the day and need a nice little air-conditioned driving break.
- For us, our kids were getting hot and tired, so here they were able to sit in our air-conditioned car and still see pretty much everything since all of the features here sit right alongside this road. (Chris and I still got out for a quick, closer look and picture, but this was a nice option to have at the end of a long day.)
A FEW FIREHOLE LAKE DRIVE HIGHLIGHTS
At this point, you’ll head back to your hotel for the evening.
DINNER OPTIONS:
- You can go back to the Old Faithful area to have dinner. This is perfect if that’s where you are staying.
- You can have dinner in West Yellowstone, if that is where you are staying.
- Our family stayed in West Yellowstone, and just as a heads up, it took us 2 hours to get there from Firehole Lake Drive due to an “animal jam.” (There were 4 bison and 2 moose grazing among the trees alongside the road… And this is what caused the extra 1+ hour backup (making it almost 2 hours total of driving)… This drive usually only takes 45 minutes total.) So, it’s a good idea to have snacks in your car in case you end up having a later than expected dinner.)
- You could also eat in the Canyon Village if this is where you are staying. This is about an hour from Firehole Lake Drive (with the possible “animal jam” delay as well.
All times are approximations and are just to be used as a guide. Actual times may vary greatly depending on traffic, “animal jams,” and length of time spent at each site.
DAY 2:
MORNING:
- Day 2’s itinerary takes you around the lower loop of the Figure 8 in the park.
- Our family entered the park, with this itinerary at 7:30am.
STOP 1: GRAND CANYON OF YELLOWSTONE
- If you stayed in West Yellowstone, this is a 1 hour drive, plus the potential delay due to reentering the park.
- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is just over an hour away from Old Faithful Inn as well.
- If you stayed in Canyon Village, then you’re right there to start your day.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a 23 mile long chasm carved by the Yellowstone River. To best see this canyon there are 2 drives you can take.
Please note that these drives can get very crowded in the summer. If you can only do one of these drives due to the crowds or time constraints, try and drive the South Rim Drive for its iconic views.
- North Rim Drive – This is a one-way road that takes you to the Brink of Lower Falls, Lookout Point, Grand View Point and Inspiration Point.
- South Rim Drive takes you to Upper Falls View, Uncle Tom’s Trail (which has been closed for a while as of 2021) and the iconic Artist Point (see picture below.)
STOP 2: HAYDEN VALLEY
- This is 15 minutes down the road from Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
- Hayden Valley is a great place to spot animals. This is best early in the morning or in the evenings. If you were staying in the Canyon Village, I would come here first thing in the morning, before visiting Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
- Animals you may find here: Bison, black bears, elk, grizzly bears, wolves
STOP 2: MUD VOLCANO AREA
- Mud Volcano lies just past Hayden Valley.
- Follow the 0.6 mile loop trail to see turbulent pools of “boiling” water, a newly formed spring that explosively came to be in 1948 (Black Dragon’s Caldron) and a cave where you will swear a dragon must live (Dragon’s Mouth Spring.)
- Allow approximately 45 minutes to visit Mud Volcano Area
- And if you’re lucky, like we were, you may even see a bison enjoying a nice nap right beside Mud Volcano! (See picture below.)
Aside from seeing this bison chilling, my favorite spot at Mud Volcano was the Dragon’s Mouth Spring. This is to the far right when you approach the boardwalk loop from the parking lot, so make sure you don’t miss it.
Here at Dragon’s Mouth Spring there is a rhythmic belching of steam, swishing of water and a gurgling noise that echoes throughout this cave and it seriously sounds like a dragon is eating! Our whole family absolutely loved this and honestly I was just waiting for this dragon, that we could all hear, to pop his head out of this cave at any moment!
While you’re here, make sure you walk across the street from the parking lot to see Sulfur Cauldron. Here you’ll see a bubbling pool where sulfur rich gases rise furiously. (And the smell of sulfur fills the air.) This churning pool is ten times more acidic than lemon juice, and yet it is still somehow full of an abundant amount of life! (Organisms called Thermoacidophiles live here.)
LUNCH: Less than 15 minutes down the road is the Lake Village Area which has several dining options. There is also a general store here if you would like to make a quick picnic lunch along Yellowstone Lake.
AFTERNOON:
STOP 1: WEST THUMB GEYSER BASIN
- From Lake Village, you’ll take a 30 minute beautiful drive along Yellowstone Lake to get to your next stop, West Thumb Geyser.
- West Thumb Geyser Basin is a 0.7 mile loop.
- Allow approximately 30-45 minutes to visit West Thumb Geyser Basin.
- This is a unique geyser basin that lies along Yellowstone Lake.
WEST THUMB GEYSER HIGHLIGHTS:
Black Pool – which ironically now is a brilliant-turquoise blue pool. In 1991 this pool’s temperature began to warm, thereby killing the cyanobacteria that had caused it to be black in color. And today we have this gorgeous blue, lakeside hot spring.
The Fishing Cone – which is a chimney shaped geothermal pool that lies out in the lake. In the old days, fishermen would stand on the side of this geothermal and fish. And when they caught a fish, they would plop it right into this fishing cone and cook it in its boiling water!!
STOP 2: BLACK SAND BASIN
- From West Thumb Geyser, it is about a 30 minute drive continuing around the loop to get to Black Sand Basin. (This is right near Old Faithful where you were on Day 1 of this itinerary.)
- On this drive you will pass the Continental Divide! (This is the line that divides the flow of water to the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic ocean.)
- Black Sand Basin is a 0.5 mile out and back trail.
- Allow approximately 30 minutes to walk the trail at Black Sand Basin.
- Highlights here include Sunset Lake and Emerald Pool
STOP 3: BISCUIT BASIN
- Just 1.5 miles down the road from Black Sand Basin is Biscuit Basin.
- Biscuit Basin is a 0.7 mile trail.
- Allow approximately 30 minutes to walk the trail at Biscuit Basin.
- This Basin actually has a connecting trail (across the street) that heads back toward Morning Glory Pool and Old Faithful. If you were looking for a really long hike the first day, you could connect this basin to your Old Faithful hike.
- I personally like that there is a parking lot at Biscuit Basin which makes it easy to separate these two hikes and have a lot less walking.
- Highlights at Biscuit Basin are Sapphire Pool, Black Opal Pool, Wall Pool and West Geyser
STOP 4: FOUNTAIN FLAT DRIVE
- Fountain flat drive will be your last stop of the night if you are heading back towards West Yellowstone or Canyon Village for the night. If you are staying at Old Faithful Inn, then after Biscuit Basin, you’ll be right back at your hotel.
- Fountain Flat Drive is about 15 minutes (8.8 miles) from Biscuit Basin continuing around the loop.
- This is a short dead end road that has a small parking lot at the end. It is supposed to be great for seeing animals, but unfortunately we haven’t had a lot of luck here. Hopefully you’ll have better luck than us.
DINNER: After Fountain Flat Drive, you’ll head back to your hotel area for dinner.
- For our family, while using this itinerary, there was no “animal jam” this day and it was a quick drive back to West Yellowstone. We were back by 6pm this night. It was just over a 30 minute drive from Fountain Flat Drive to West Yellowstone.
All times are approximations and are just to be used as a guide. Actual times may vary greatly depending on traffic, “animal jams,” and length of time spent at each site.
DAY 3:
- Day 3’s itinerary takes you around the upper loop of the Figure 8.
- Our family ended this loop on the northside with a hotel in Gardiner, Montana which is just north of Mammoth. Staying on the northside will help cut down on driving today so that you can see more.
- With this itinerary, we were in the park from West Yellowstone by 7:30am.
MORNING:
STOP 1: ARTIST PAINTPOTS
- Artist Paintpots Trail is about 40 minutes (25 miles) from West Yellowstone, 40 minutes (26 miles) from Old Faithful Inn, or about 25 minutes (16 miles) from Canyon Village.
- The trail at Artist Paintpots is 1 mile.
- On this trail, discover steaming forests, a gorgeous view from the boardwalk and completely addicting to watch, bubbling mudpots. (I don’t know what it is, but there is something completely mesmerizing about watching mud pop up in the air and then splat back down on the ground in a rhythmic fashion. I loved this!)
- Allow approximately 45 minutes to walk the trail at Artist Paintpots.
STOP 2: NORRIS GEYSER BASIN
- 10 minutes down the road from Artist Paintpots is Norris Geyser Basin.
- Norris Geyser Basin is the most active and audible basin in Yellowstone and the landscape is completely unreal! It’s like you’re walking on another planet!
There are two basins here to walk through at Norris Geyser Basin.
- Back Basin is a 1.5 mile loop that cuts through wooded area and passes by the famous Steamboat Geyser. This is the world’s highest geyser (at over 300 feet) but it has completely unpredictable eruptions.
- Porcelain Basin (which is just bubbling with activity) is a 0.75 mile gorgeous loop. This is a great place to just sit and listen to all of the geysers, pools and fumaroles hiss, gurgle and spew all around you. The power of nature here is incredible!
A FEW NORRIS GEYSER BASIN HIGHLIGHTS
Timing Tips:
- If you arrive too early in the morning, this basin will have a lot of steam and it will be hard to see everything.
- If you arrive later in the day, Norris Geyser gets very crowded and it may be hard to find parking.
- We arrived at about 9:45am and it was busy but we had no trouble finding parking. When we left at 11:30am it was absolutely packed. (Experiences will vary, this was just our experience so that you can better plan your time.)
Visiting Tips:
- Allow 2 hours to walk both trails at Norris Geyser Basin.
- Bring plenty of water with you because this trail is exposed and the sun here can get hot.
- Try and keep your camera lenses away from the thermal steam while photographing everything (because silicone dioxide deposits are not good for the lenses and they are hard to remove.)
LUNCH STOP: SHEEPEATER CLIFF
- It is about a 30 minute drive to the Mammoth Lakes Area if you would like to grab lunch there. We chose to bring a picnic lunch and drove just over 20 minutes from Norris Geyser Basin to the Sheepeater Cliffs picnic area for our lunch.
- There are picnic tables right next to these unique columns of basalt so it’s kind of a fun place to eat lunch.
- Yellow-Bellied Marmots live here too.
- Warning: This picnic area can get crowded during lunch time. Also, if you have a big vehicle it would be extremely hard to turn around here on this out and back road.
AFTERNOON:
STOP 1: MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS
- Walk the 1.75 mile board walks that loop around the incredible Main and Lower Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.
- Then drive the 1.5 mile one way Upper Terrace Loop with your car. (This loop could also be walked.)
- There are several small pullouts and parking areas along this upper loop drive, so we recommend driving the upper portion and parking for short walks along this path.
- If you decide to walk the Upper Terrace Loop, please know that we saw both elk and a black bear while driving this path so keep your eyes open for wildlife here and stay safe.
- Allow 1.5 hours to walk and drive at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Mammoth Hot Springs simply took my breath away. The terraces here are absolutely gorgeous and I found their structures completely fascinating!
Traveler Tip: Palette Springs is located on the far right of the Lower Terraces (on the northside) and it’s not part of the main loop, so make sure you don’t miss this spectacular formation.
Absolutely Stunning Terraces!
My kids said that these terraces looked like caramel sauce flowing over the top of a yummy dessert and I agree!
STOP 2: LAMAR VALLEY
- From Mammoth Hot Springs to Lamar Valley is a 1 hour, one way drive. I know this is long, but we really wanted to see the best of Yellowstone’s animals and so for us driving to this valley was worth it.
- Before you head out, determine if you need to grab some food at Mammoth Hot Springs. Our family decided to just have a late dinner (we had snacks in the car.)
- Lamar Valley is an amazing spot to find animals in Yellowstone like bison, black bears, bighorn sheep, elk, grizzly bears, mule deer, pronghorn and even wolves.
- These animals are found best early in the morning or in the evening.
- For our family, we found a few animals on our drive out there (during the 5-6pm hour), but when we headed back towards Mammoth, on the same road between 6-7pm, there were animals everywhere!
Below is a few of our Animal Highlights in the Lamar Valley
We passed a Momma Grizzly Bear and her cub but we were too far away for me to get a good picture.
And we saw all of these animals above, plus more in just over 1 hour! Lamar Valley was amazing!
Do know that animals can be spotted almost anywhere in Yellowstone.
For example, our family saw these elk, in the picture below, while driving into the park one morning from West Yellowstone!
After your visit to the Lamar Valley, you’ll head to your hotel, thus ending 3 incredible action-packed days seeing the Best of Yellowstone.
WHERE WE STAYED
After our 3rd day in Yellowstone, with this itinerary, we stayed at the Yellowstone Riverside Cottages and this was absolutely perfect for our family! Our little cottage had 2 queen beds with bunks over the top, which was perfect for our family of 5. And each cottage had it’s own kitchen. We decided to take advantage of this, ran up to the local grocery store in Gardiner, and cooked spaghetti in our cottage’s kitchen.
This was wonderful, but the icing on the cake, was the hotel’s terrace that overlooked the Yellowstone River. Here my husband and I let our kids eat in the cottage (while watching some t.v.) and we brought our meal out to have a nice, romantic dinner for 2 with a stunning view. It was the perfect way to end our incredible trip to Yellowstone National Park.
YELLOWSTONE 3-DAY ITINERARY SUMMARY
Where to Stay: West Yellowstone, Old Faithful area, Canyon Village and the Mammoth/ Gardiner area (if you are heading north) are all great locations to stay.
DAY 1:
Morning:
- Old Faithful
- Upper Geyser Basin
Afternoon:
- Fairy Falls Trail to Grand Prismatic Spring
- Midway Geyser Basin & Grand Prismatic Spring
- Lower Geyser Basin & Fountain Paint Pot
- Firehole Lake Drive
DAY 2:
Morning:
- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
- North & South Rim Drive
- Hayden Valley
- Mud Volcano Area
Afternoon:
- West Thumb Geyser Basin
- Black Sand Basin
- Biscuit Basin
DAY 3:
Morning:
- Artist PaintPots
- Norris Geyser Basin
Afternoon:
- Sheepeater Cliff
- Mammoth at Hot Springs
- Lamar Valley
WHAT IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAY?
I realize that not everyone is able to have 3 full days in Yellowstone National Park, so below I wanted to give a general outline for what I think would be a good one day visit to Yellowstone, if you are just passing through.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE 1 DAY IN YELLOWSTONE
MORNING:
Old Faithful & Upper Geyser ~2 hours
Fairy Falls to Grand Prismatic Overlook ~1 hour
Grand Prismatic at Midway Geyser Basin ~1 hour
AFTERNOON:
Choose to go to either (probably not time for both)
- Norris Geyser Basin (just walk Porcelain Basin) or
- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone South Rim Drive
Mammoth Hot Springs
EVENING:
Lamar Valley for animal sightings
Stay in Mammoth/ Gardiner if you are going to Glacier next.
This 1-Day itinerary can be done in the reverse order as well.
YELLOWSTONE INFORMATION:
YELLOWSTONE ENTRY COST
$35 per vehicle for 7 days
(If you have a 4th Grader – it’s Free!)
Read More: Discover the Free 4th Grade National Park Pass (+7 More Ways to Save)
WHEN TO VISIT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK?
The best times to visit Yellowstone National Park to avoid the crowds is from late-April to May and then also from September to early-October.
From November to mid-April many of the roads in Yellowstone are covered with snow and are closed to all wheeled vehicles.
The summer is when most people visit Yellowstone with July and August being the most popular months. This also means that these months bring large crowds.
Also know that parking can be hard to find at popular sites in Yellowstone, so visiting early in the day can be extremely beneficial. Visiting early will also help avoid the long waits that can occur while trying to get into the park.
WHERE TO BEST SPOT ANIMALS IN YELLOWSTONE
Animals migrate in and out of Yellowstone, so what can be seen at any given location will vary, but below are a few of the popular destinations and what you might see according to Yellowstone National Park’s website.
- Fishing Bridge: Grizzly bears
- Hayden Valley: Bison, black bears, elk, grizzly bears, wolves
- Lamar Valley: Bison, black bears, bighorn sheep, elk, grizzly bears, mule deer, pronghorn, wolves
- Mammoth Hot Springs: Bison, black bears, elk, mule deer
- Madison: Bison, elk
- North Entrance: Bighorn sheep, bison, elk, pronghorn
- Northeast Entrance: Moose
- Old Faithful: Bison, elk
- South Entrance: Moose
- West Thumb: Elk, moose
YELLOWSTONE’S ANIMALS: BOOKS FOR KIDS
NEARBY TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
Grand Teton National Park: 60 miles, 1.5 hours
Glacier National Park: 380 miles, 6 hours
Devils Tower National: 375 miles, 7 hours
Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota: 450 miles, 8 hours
TRIP PLANNING TIPS
Make Reservations well in advance
Reservations open May 1st the prior year for summer
- For Summer 2023 reservations open on May 1 2022
- They open March 15th, the prior year, for winter
Lodges tend to fill up a year in advance but people do cancel so it doesn’t hurt to check back and see if there’s a lodge that you really want to stay at. Just make sure you get a reservation somewhere first and don’t expect a spot will definitely open up for you.
Now you are all set to have an incredible 3 days in Yellowstone National Park. I hope you love this park as much as our family does and that you have a fantastic time! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments sections below.
Have a Great Trip To Yellowstone with Your Traveling Feet!
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POPULAR TOURS NEAR YELLOWSTONE
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