Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin - Yellowstone itinerary Day #2

Read this post to plan the Yellowstone Vacation with kids - How to Plan Vacation to Yellowstone

Our Day #1 itinerary covering Yellowstone Waterfalls - The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Our Day #2 itinerary covering the mid-way geyser basin - The Grand Prismatic Spring

 On Day #2, we covered the midway geyser basin in the morning and Upper and Lower geyser basins in the evening.

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Upper Geyser Basin:

The upper geyser basin is composed of multiple paved paths and boardwalks which allows us to see many geysers from nearer. 

This is the place with the highest concentration of geysers. As we all know, Old faithful is the popular geyser in this area.

The Upper geyser basin loop is 3 miles and can be reached from Old faithful inn. 

Upper Geyser basin Trail

The old faithful inn was designed by Robert Reamer in 1903 which is a historic building with lodge pines. The architecture inside is beautiful and the place on the roof with seating to view the Old faithful erupt is well designed.

Old Faithful Inn

We started our trail for the Upper geyser basin from the Old faithful inn parking lot. There are many Bison happily resting near Old faithful inn and rolling in the dust.

The trail starts at the castle geyser. Castle geyser is a big cone and one of the oldest geysers in the basin. As of now, it's erupting every 10 to 12 hrs and the National park service displays the approximate eruption time for all the geysers.

We cross through the crested pool along a bridge and the other side has 3 geysers - Spasmodic, Grand, and Turban geysers. They all erupt at once every 1 to 3 hrs. This is fascinating to watch. The water rises above 10 ft.

The heat in this area comes from Yellowstone Volcano which is inactive. The molten lava or magma is as close as 3 to 8 miles underground in the Upper geyser basin. So, as close as we can get to danger :-)

The beauty pool is colorful to watch. Then we pass through several geysers like Giant geyser, Grotto geyser, and riverside geyser. We saw Grotto geyser erupting venting off a lot of steam and making loud sounds. There is a bench to sit on just before Grotto geyser. We also saw an Elk in this area up close!

Morning Glory Pool:

But, the highlight of this trail is Morning Glory Pool which is one of the not-to-miss locations.

The photos don't do much justice here and you should definitely watch this pool.

Morning Glory Pool

Unfortunately, this pool has become a victim of Vandalism. Since people dropped coins and trash in the pool, steaming vents closed making the temperature drop, blocking the natural spring water.

Orange and Yellow bacteria give the color to the spring that we see now. It would have been magnificent before the steam vents were closed. 

After this trail, we had dinner in Old faithful Inn watching the Old faithful erupt from the roof. This is an amazing view!

Old Faithful Geyser:

What's so special about this geyser that it has become an icon in Yellowstone?

Old Faithful has been faithfully erupting at regular intervals since 1872. The water can rise to 180 ft max when it erupts and it erupts every 60 -110 mins. The eruption might last between 1.5 to 5 mins.

Old Faithful Geyser

The national park service predicts the eruption to the exact hours and mins. Since it erupts almost every 1 hr / 1.5 hrs, it is easy to catch it erupt. We had dinner every day at Old faithful inn and watched the eruption at least 2 to 3 times in those 4 days that we spent in Yellowstone. 

Watch the video of the Old Faithful eruption.

This is the second not-to-miss location in Yellowstone in the Upper geyser basin.

During the eruption, the temperature of water in the Old faithful may reach 204 F. It releases around 3700 to 8400 gallons of water for each eruption!

Old faithful Observation Point:

We were too tired to walk to the observation point, but the trail to the Observation point is around 1.3 miles. From there, you can watch the complete upper geyser basin and the Old faithful.

Lower Geyser Basin:

The lower geyser basin covers all types of hydrothermal features like geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots.

We took the trail to the fountain paint pots only as we were tired by that time. The fountain geyser in this area seemed to be most impressive when it erupts. It is the most predictable geyser it seems.

Fountain paint pots are formed by mud pots bubbling and popping mud. They look a little pink and other colors which gave the name Fountain paint pots.

Fountain Paint Pots

Red Spouter is interesting to watch in that area. It is like a hot spring in winter, a muddy reddish pool in spring, and fumarole steam venting out in summer and fall. Isn't it amazing how it changes with seasons?

One more place to watch is Biscuit Basin. We couldn't stop there due to a time crunch. Biscuit Basin loop is a 2/3 of a mile hike that covers some colorful hot springs and geysers. This area is unpredictable and volatile. It recorded an earthquake at 7.5 on the Richter scale in 1959 it seems.

We wrapped up that day and returned to the hotel. The next day we covered Norris geyser basin, Mammoth hot springs, and Roosevelt Arch. Watch out for the next travelogue soon!

Until next time,

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell - [Book Review]

 Book Details:

Title: The Family Upstairs

Author: Lisa Jewell

Genre: Mystery, thriller, suspense

Publisher: Atria Books

Print length: 352 pages

Source: Copy from the local library

Blurb :

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA COVER TO COVER BOOK CLUB PICK

“Rich, dark, and intricately twisted, this enthralling whodunit mixes family saga with domestic noir to brilliantly chilling effect.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author

“A haunting, atmospheric, stay-up-way-too-late read.” —Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes another page-turning look inside one family’s past as buried secrets threaten to come to light.

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

In The Family Upstairs, the master of “bone-chilling suspense” (People) brings us the can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

My Review :

I got this book from our local library intrigued by the blurb. 

Oh my God! It's a perfect mystery thriller with a lot of unexpected twists in the story. I thought it is a horror while reading the first few pages. The story parallelly narrates  2 different time periods touching 3 to 6 characters.

Libby who unexpectedly inherits the ancestral house in Cheyenne walk is excited as well as curious about this inheritance. She tries to learn more about the house and the mysterious murders that happened 25 years ago with her friend and an investigative journalist Miller.

Lucy with an abusive ex-husband and 2 children, tries to come back to the house after 25 years to find the baby they left in the house long ago.

Henry is a pivotal point to the story and the most mysterious character. Clemency, Justin, and Phin play an important role in revealing the facts gradually about the house and their families.

Connecting the dots from past and present and reading the story from different people's perspectives is the most interesting part of the book. 

What's great?

Unexpected twists, parallel stories, interesting characters, and mystery maintained till the end.

What might have been better?

I would love to read more about Henry. The story ends well, but the curiosity about Henry stays when you finish the book. 

I didn't feel the title is apt. Yes, the mysterious family of David stays upstairs. But, I felt, there is more to the story overall.  

I would love to read more about David and his personality. A few pages from the perspective of David / Birdie / Justin / Henry Sr / Mom might have been better to understand the reasons for their strange arrangement. It really seems unbelievable that David could twist the mind of the main family members and use them to his advantage. I wasn't sure about his final goal. 

My Rating:

4/5

I recommend this book to readers who love suspense stories with multiple unexpected twists. 

Until next time,

Midway Geyser Basin - Grand Prismatic Spring - Yellowstone Itinerary Day #2

 Read the Yellowstone itinerary of Day #1 here. 

On Day #2, we covered the most important and vibrant places in Yellowstone. 

We started after 11 am to avoid traffic as we are going to visit the popular sites that day. We directly reached to Mid-way geyser basin first. 

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Midway geyser basin:

Midway geyser basin is actually a part of the lower geyser basin, but due to its isolated location, and being between lower and upper geyser basins, it's called the midway geyser basin.

The parking area at the midway geyser basin is not very big and so we parked the car on the side of the road just near midway geyser basin. For me, this is one of the not-to-miss locations.

The midway geyser basin trail is a 0.8-mile Broadwalk that passes through multiple hot spring pools like Excelsior geyser, Grand prismatic Spring, and turquoise pool. 

First, we passed through a wooden bridge and we saw the hot water with steam rushing to the Firehole River. This was pretty amazing to watch. It was very windy on that day and the heat from the Excelsior geyser was pretty evident.

Boiling water gushing to Firehole river

Excelsior geyser was once the largest geyser in the world. After its eruption in 1880, it became a thermal spring now discharging 4050 gallons of boiling water per minute. The temperature of the water would be around 199 F. The bright blue color is amazing to watch.

Excelsior geyser

Bacteria Mat and colors!

Here comes the most colorful spring in Yellowstone - The Grand Prismatic Spring. The temperature of the water ranges from 147 to 188 F. This trail is one sure way to walk near the bright blue, green, red, and turquoise colors. But, the best way to watch the colors is through the Fairy falls trail from up!

The trail passes through 2 beautiful, yet small pools - Opal pool and turquoise pool. 

As I mentioned before, the best way to experience the vibrant colors of Grand Prismatic Spring is to watch it from the top. We had a quick picnic lunch and We drove to Fairy falls trail, which is the next stop.

Fairy Falls trail / Grand Prismatic overlook:

This trail gives access to 2 trails - Grand Prismatic overlook and Fairy falls.

An easy 1.2-mile hike takes us through Grand Prismatic spring overlook. Even though the trail is easy, it climbs around 105 ft in 0.6 miles which makes it a bit tough on a sunny day. This hike even on a sunny day is 100% worth of your time.

The Grand Prismatic shows up bright with its blue, red, orange hues letting off steam into the air. This is the largest spring in Yellowstone and the third-largest in the world. This is also one of the most photogenic places in Yellowstone. The various colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring are due to the presence of microbes and due to the sunlight being scattered by mineral particles in water. 

From Overlook

Fairy falls trail is 4.8 miles out and back trail. We couldn't do this trial as we were tired by that time. Fairy Falls is 200m high and one of the spectacular waterfalls of Yellowstone.

We visited the Upper geyser basin which is the home of Old Faithful and the Lower Geyser Basin on the same day evening. But, since this travelogue is becoming too lengthy, will cover them in my next blog post.

Until next time,

Vegetarian Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Pavani Nandula - [Book Review]

 Book Details:

Title: Vegetarian Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Authentic Recipes Made Quick and Easy

Author: Pavani Nandula

Genre : Cookbook, Food

Print Length: 219 pages

Publisher : Rockridge Press (July 13, 2021)

Source: ARC from the author for review

Blurb:

Make Indian meals at home with vegetarian recipes for your Instant Pot

The Instant Pot makes it quicker and easier than ever before to cook up hearty dal, fluffy rice dishes, savory curries, and other meatless meals that capture the unique flavors of India. From restaurant favorites to regional home-cooking classics, this Instant Pot vegetarian cookbook is filled with recipes for a wide variety of meat-free Indian dishes that can be made entirely in your Instant Pot. Every recipe includes realistic time estimates that account for every step of the cooking process, including pressure-build and pressure-release time.

Inside this Indian Instant Pot vegetarian cookbook, you’ll find:
An Indian cooking primer—Learn how to stock your kitchen with common Indian ingredients and adapt traditional cooking techniques, like tadka (tempering) and bhunao (sautéing), to the Instant Pot.

Quick dishes—Many of the meals in this Instant Pot vegetarian cookbook come together in less than 45 minutes, and you’ll find convenient labels for super-fast recipes that take 30 minutes or less from prep to table.

Sample menus—Find menu suggestions for everyday lunches and dinners, dinner parties, holiday celebrations, vegan meals, and more in this Instant Pot vegetarian cookbook.
Staple recipes—Make your own Indian essentials from scratch, including ghee, paneer, peanut chutney, and garam masala.

Unlock the flavors of Indian cooking with help from this easy Instant Pot vegetarian cookbook.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

My Review:

The instant pot has made our lives easier - it takes just one pot, no spills, is easy to clean, carries multiple tasks like steam, pressure cook, ferment, etc.,

I use instant pot to make biryani, dal, fermentation of idli/dosa batters, and yogurt. But, I didn't know for what other recipes I can use this instant pot.

Pavani's book is both for beginners of the instant pot and also for people like me who are using it for some recipes. This is also for beginners in Indian cooking. Pavani introduces us to spices, lentils, legumes, and other ingredients used in Indian cooking.

 The book is categorized into appetizers, dal and bean dishes, rice dishes, curries and stews, vegetable and grain dishes, and staples.

I am familiar with a few curries, dal, and rice dishes, but never tried appetizers, grain dishes, and stews with Instant pot. Vegetable Momos seemed interesting to try. Spicy tomato rasam seemed easy and useful for everyday cooking.

I would love to try Rajma masala and Chana saag next time. I liked the recipes of Paneer Makhani and Baingan masala in the curries section. 

Hearty Vegetable and Grain dishes have a wide variety of recipes like Hakka noodles, Indian-style Mac and cheese, Indian-style burrito bowls, and Vegetable Frittata. 

I tried the Vegetable Biryani from the book as it is quick to make on weekend evenings.

I loved the design on each page of the book. Tip about how to make the recipe Vegan is useful. Some recipes also have cooking tips and variations. I loved the way the author mentioned the combinations to pair the recipe with. 

The photos for the recipes are appealing. 

My Rating: 5/5

I recommend this to all who love to try Indian recipes on Instant pot.

About the Author:

Pavani is a food blogger, recipe developer, and photographer at Cook's Hideout (cookshideout.com). Her blog is all about delicious vegetarian dishes from India and all over the world. She shares recipes that are easy to make and tasty to eat.

Until next time,

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck - [Book Review]

Book Details:

Title: The Wedding Dress

Author: Rachel Hauck

Genre: Women Fiction

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Print length: 351 pages

Source: Copy from the local library

Blurb :

Four brides throughout time. One dress that ties them all together. The New York Times bestseller from award-winning author Rachel Hauck!

Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift—and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can’t she find the perfect dress—or feel certain she should marry Tim?

Then Charlotte purchases a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new, shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and timeless in its design. But where did it come from? Who wore it?

Charlotte’s search for the gown’s history—and its new bride—begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with something unique to share. For woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte’s heritage, the power of courage and faith, and the beauty of finding true love.

Rachel Hauck sweeps the reader away in this New York Times bestselling tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love.

My Review :

I got this book from our local library intrigued by the blurb. Fortunately,  I got the large print which is very comfortable for my eyes. 

The story of the book is unique. A wedding dress connecting the stories of 4 women of different time periods. It's wonderful to read the contemporary story of a modern woman Charlotte. Charlotte is an independent and successful woman and owner of a bridal showroom that is popular in Birmingham.

The novel takes us through the story of Emily in parallel who is not afraid to voice her opinions on discrimination of colored people in 1912. I loved the character of Emily more than anyone else. She is not perfect, but never afraid of expressing her feelings. She is not clear about her love for Daniel but takes the right decision in the nick of time.

Charlotte is as confused as Emily when Tim decides to postpone their marriage. But, her interest in the dress is so high, that she cannot stop herself from investigating further to know the origin of the bridal gown that she buys in an auction sale. In this process of learning more about the bridal gown, she understands the love of Tim. Even Tim realizes his love for Charlotte.

Mary Grace's story is interesting too, whereas Hillary's story fades before others. 

Characterization and concept are a big plus for this novel. The title of the book is perfect and the blurb is very well written. 

What might have been better?

An equal strength of other characters like Hillary and Mary Grace might have been done better justice to the blurb. Their stories fade a bit before Emily and Char's. The story seemed to be focused on 2 characters.  

Tim's character is ok but seems like he matured immediately after his accident. Before that incident, their love doesn't look very genuine. 

There are some typos in the book that might have been avoided.

My Rating:

3.5/5

I recommend this book to readers who love women fiction and Historical fiction.

About the Author:

Rachel Hauck is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She is a Christy Award Winner and a double RITA finalist. Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times Book Club. She is the recipient of RT's Career Achievement Award.

Her book, Once Upon A Prince, was filmed for an original Hallmark movie. The Wedding Dress, The Wedding Shop, and A March Bride have all been optioned for film.

Until next time,

Yellowstone Itinerary #Day1

Time is just flying by and I couldn't get enough time to come to this blog post till now. 

Yellowstone National park with geothermal wonders and geysers is the first national park designated in the world. Yellowstone is not just an inactive volcano with hot springs and geysers, but a wonderful ecosystem with waterfalls, forests, mountains around, and a variety of wildlife. 

I am sure Yellowstone National park is a great place to visit for all ages and will meet the expectations of visitors. But, the traffic might be more than expected at most of the places. The trip becomes a bit overwhelming with a lot of places to cover and hike. So, it is recommended to plan the trip better and choose places to visit as per your interest. Check this post about the Travel guide to Yellowstone. 

We reached Yellowstone by evening from Jackson, Wyoming. Grand Teton National park near Wyoming is another beautiful park with zig-zagged majestic mountains which is worth a visit. Read the Grand Teton travelogue here. 

We took the accommodation in West Gate hotel in West Yellowstone near the West entrance. So many Wests :p The hotel is clean and great to stay with kids. The pool is well maintained and free breakfast options are great. 

This post covers the places covered in 1.5 days. On the first day, by the time we reached South Entrance, it's around 4 PM. On the way to the West thumb geyser basin, we saw beautiful waterfalls on the way. 

West Thumb Geyser Basin:

West thumb geyser basin is unique as the hot springs and geysers are on the banks of West thumb lake. The scenery is pretty amazing while walking on this boardwalk trail as we can see the vast lake and mountains too. 

The inner-loop trail is around 0.3 miles and the outer loop 0.5 miles. This trail is on Broadwalk and covers many hot spring pools, fumaroles, and geysers.

This is a good introduction to the park. Don't miss the abyss pool, Black Pool, and Fishing cone.

By the end of your trip, you will become familiar with these terms -

As per nps site,

This map is super useful to understand the places to visit and all the entrances. 

https://flic.kr/p/7JYsuX

After visiting West thumb, we turned left to follow the route to the West entrance. We drove through the famous geyser Old faithful in the Upper Geyser Basin, Midway geyser basin, Lower geyser basin, Madison junction, the west entrance to West Yellowstone. We had dinner at Old faithful inn on the way to West Yellowstone and watched the Old faithful erupt while eating. 

We didn't cover anything on that day, but I suggest you cover a small waterfall - Keppler cascades near the upper geyser basin (no hike required) and Firehole falls on Firehole canyon road if you have time. 

Day #1 itinerary:

The next day we started after breakfast and reached the west entrance around 11 am. The traffic was ok till Madison Junction, but from there it was going bumper to bumper. Since the west part is more popular this is expected at this time.

We quickly changed our plans ad turned left from Madison junction to cover Canyon. We didn't stop by Norrison Geyser basin as we plan to cover it later.

We reached Canyon by 2pm and we could do a small hike to Gibbon falls on the way. These falls are beautiful and the paved trail is only 0.5 miles.

Gibbon falls

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone:

One of the beautiful parts of Yellowstone is Canyon. We reached Lower falls road through North rim drive. 

Brink of lower falls is 0.7 miles out and back trail which is a must-visit! Don't miss this! It's amazing to see the rainbow while the water is gushing down. But, the trail is steep and it takes time with children to go down. Carry lots of water and snacks.

Rainbow

Lower falls is the largest waterfall in Yellowstone. This 308-ft waterfall is the most photographed location in Yellowstone. Lower falls can be seen from different viewpoints like Inspiration Point, Grand View, and Lookout Point.

Brink of Upper Falls is 0.3 miles out and back trail. Brink of Upper falls is not as steep as the brink of lower falls. Uncle Tom's trail is tough but provides beautiful views of upper falls. 

Upper falls is an 110 ft waterfall, not as majestic as lower falls, but is completely worth a visit. It can be reached by south rim drive. 

Artist Point:

Whatever I say in words, it is very less when compared to the grandeur of Artist point. I realized why it is called Artist point after watching the falls from the viewpoint. 

You need not be an artist to get inspired by nature, after all. If nature can impress a common man, an artist can paint a great painting, right? 

It is one of the not-to-miss locations in Yellowstone. 

Artist Point

If you feel hungry, don't forget to stop by Canyon village. There are several options to dine in there. 

After the canyon, we drove towards the West thumb geyser basin on Grand loop drive. We drove along Yellowstone lake. Yellowstone Lake is the largest high elevation lake in North America at 7000ft above sea level. The Yellowstone lake continues to West thumb lake where there are multiple underwater hotsprings, geysers, and fumaroles. 

Mud Volcano and Dragon's Mouth Hot spring: 

On the way to Lake village, you can stop by Hayden valley where you can spot wildlife in the evenings. We returned from Canyon in the evening and we spotted a lot of Bison, Elk, and Moose. We stopped at Mud Volcano near Hayden Valley.

Bison

Mud volcano is a 0.6-mile loop trail on Broadwalk. One of the most acidic features of the park known as Sulfur Caldron is here. The strong pungent odor of rotten eggs can be experienced here. 

Dragon's mouth spring is a highlight of this area. It is a hot spring with water bubbling out from a cave releasing gases. While it releases gases, it produces a booming and gurgling sound like the growling of an animal. Since there is a lot of pressure, steam also vents out from the cave at the same time. Pretty amazing to watch!

On the way to Lake village, you can hike to the Natural bridge if you have time. It is a 2.5-mile trail through the forest. 

We continued on the Grand loop drive crossing the west thumb geyser basin towards Old faithful. We stopped by Old faithful lodge for dinner. They have good veg dinner options as well.

It took around 45 mins to reach West Yellowstone from Old faithful. Thus we completed the lower loop of figure 8 in Yellowstone :-)

It is good that we changed our plan to cover Canyon on the first day instead of covering Old faithful and others that are busier in the mornings.

As usual, we got stuck in traffic for at least 30 mins while returning to West Yellowstone near Madison junction. Usually, people stop to look at a wildlife or for river access near madison causing traffic jams. Sometimes, animals cross the road and of course, they have the right of way :-)

Without knowing we easily hiked 7 miles on that day covering all the above places.

The next day's plan is to cover the most famous parts of the Yellowstone - Lower geyser basin, Midway geyser basin, Grand Prismatic Spring, and Old faithful inn in the Upper geyser basin. Stay tuned for the #Day 2 itinerary.

Until next time,

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Complete Guide to Visiting Yellowstone National Park

 This post might help as a guide while planning the trip to Yellowstone with kids.

Yellowstone National Park is the first National park in the world. This park gives us an opportunity to check the most wonderful hydrothermal and geological features on the earth by walking on the inactive Volcano! Now, coming to the point of How to Plan a Vacation to Yellowstone. 

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How to reach Yellowstone?

Flying to the airport nearby and renting a car is the best way to reach. The nearest airports are Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana (2 hrs to Park), Jackson Hole Airport in Jackson, Wyoming (1 hr to Park),  Idaho Falls airport (2 hrs to Park), and Salt Lake City Airport (4.5 hrs to park).

Image by Mike Goad from Pixabay 

Yellowstone National Park is majorly in Wyoming, but also spreads to some parts of Idaho and Montana.

Entrance Fee:

The fee is $35 / vehicle. There are 5 entrances - South Entrance (near Grand Teton/ Jackson), North Entrance (near Gardiner), west entrance (near West Yellowstone), East entrance (near Cody, Wyoming), and Northeast entrance (near Cooke City, Montana).

Where to Stay?

Of course, there are many lodges inside the park, but they require a reservation at least 8 to 9 months before.  There are many campgrounds as well, but the key is to plan early as summers get crowded and booked too early.

If staying outside, I suggest you stay in West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone is a cool town with great restaurants, hotels, and tourist facilities. The second option is to search around Gardiner. Other entrances might need more driving and beating the traffic.

Image by Olya Adamovich from Pixabay 

When is the best time to visit?

For the first-time visitors, Summer / early spring / early fall are better as they can explore all roads, waterfalls, and hike more.

In winter and late fall, most of the roads might close. Snowmobile and cross country skiing is popular during that time.

Summer is the peak season for Yellowstone. So, expect more crowds, and more traffic jams. Yellowstone is in mountains, so it will be cooler in the evenings even in summer. Shorts are fine for day time but light jackets are suggested for evenings.

If you want to beat the crowds, you may plan to visit in the early fall. Temperatures are moderate during the fall, but a few unexpected snowstorms might occur spoiling the plans, and road closures might be there. 

How many days to spend in Yellowstone?

I feel, 2 to 5 days is best to cover all major places in Yellowstone. Yellowstone national park covers over 2 million acres of land. It is very big. If you see the map, the grand loop covers most of the park. 

https://flic.kr/p/7JYsuX

The Grand loop is like a number eight with 2 loops - lower and upper. This whole loop takes 5 to 7 hrs. But, considering the traffic due to crowds / Bison jams, it takes 2 to 3 hrs to drive each loop (upper / lower) without stopping by at any places.

The upper loop covers Norris Geyser basin ( home to the tallest geyser in the world - Steamboat geyser), Mammoth Hotsprings, Roosevelt arch, Canyon area (Yellowstone waterfalls). Drive to Lamar Valley takes a few more hours which is not part of the loop. 

The lower loop is the region with more action. It covers the Lower geyser basin, Midway geyser basin (Grand Prismatic Spring), Upper geyser basin (Old Faithful), West thumb geyser basin, and Lake Village.

Here are a few tips to decide on the number of days you need to visit Yellowstone in the Summer:

1. The lower loop can be covered in 1.5 days. Lower Geyser basin is pretty quick to cover - Fountain paint pots and Biscuit basic are some that can be covered. This might take around 1 hr, but to reach this place from the West entrance through Madison junction takes 40 mins to 1.5 hrs depending on traffic.

2. Midway geyser basin is the most attractive and vibrant place with colors. A boardwalk to midway geyser basin and hike to Grand Prismatic spring overlook from Fairy falls trailhead will take around 2 to 3 hrs.

3. Even though the Upper geyser basin is famous for Old Faithful which erupts every 45 mins, there are many geysers to look at around here. The trail is around 4.9 miles loop and takes around 1.5 to 2.5 hrs. 

4. So, to cover 1, 2, 3 itself we need 1.5 days minimum. 

5. The next not-to-miss point is Canyon. To cover Upper falls, the brink of lower falls, and various scenic points / overlooks for falls, it takes a minimum of 3 to 5 hrs depending on the hikes you select.

6. Norris geyser basin takes around 1 to 2 hrs and this area is the most active and dynamic place. 

7. Mammoth Hotsprings area has many beautiful terrace springs. To cover all the springs, it might take 1 to 3 hrs, but there are many steps in the trail. Roosevelt arch is just 15 mins away.

8. While the above 7 places are not to miss, Yellowstone has many waterfalls which can be viewed with very little / no hike like Gibbon falls, Keppler cascades, Firehole falls, Tower fall etc., There are also some places like Yellowstone lake, Westthumb lake, West thumb geyser basin, Mud volcano which we can visit on the way driving from one place to another.

To be precise, I suggest a minimum of 4 days if traveling with kids as we need to consider food and restroom breaks.

Where to Eat?

Inside the park, Places like Old faithful, canyon village, Lake village, Mammoth hot springs have gas stations, food, and snack options. These places are good to relax and have lunch/dinner too. 

We loved the sandwiches from the terrace grill at the Mammoth Hot springs area and Oldfaithful lodge. Veg options are available at both of these locations. We didn't find many veg options at Old faithful inn. Lake lodge cafeteria / Lake hotel dining room near Lake village and Canyon cafeteria in Canyon region are good. 

Image by Alejandro Guzman from Pixabay 

Homemade ice cream in City Creamery in West Yellowstone came highly recommended. Huckleberry ice cream at the old faithful lodge is great.

West Yellowstone is a beautiful town with multiple dining options. Jackson is another option for good food. 

What else to Know?

Traffic is terrific in Yellowstone. We visited in mid of June and it's not peak season yet. Still, we got stuck in traffic every day for around 1 hr while entering the park and 1 hr while leaving the park. 

It is common for people to get down for fishing or to watch wildlife near Madison junction which caused many traffic jams for hours. Be prepared for traffic.

As mentioned above, food is available at major junctions in the park-like Old faithful, west thumb, Canyon, Lak Village, and Mammoth hot springs. But, there are queues at some places like Old faithful lodge at any point in time.

Restrooms are mostly available at all major hiking locations but expect queues there as well.

When traveling in summer, sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat are mandatory. Carry lots of water. Carry light jackets for evening hikes. 

Since many places have boardwalks, it might look easier, but each trail is a minimum of 1 to a 1.5-mile distance and we walk 5 to 7 miles per day without knowing by just visiting 3 to 4 places. So, plan accordingly if traveling with kids. Carry snacks and drinks like Gatorade to avoid exhaustion.

Broadwalk near Upper Geyser basin

Yellowstone is a big park and it takes a better plan to make the vacation happier. I hope this guide helps you to plan the trip. 

If you have any other questions about planning the trip, please leave your comments. I will reply back as soon as I can.

Happy and Safe travels :-)

Check here to read about visiting Grand Teton National park which is just 40 mins drive from South Entrance. 

Read the detailed Yellowstone travelogue below:

Yellowstone Itinerary Day #1 - Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and West thumb geyser basin

Yellowstone Itinerary Day #2 - Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook

Until next time,

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