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

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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).

Here are some Economical flight options to Salt Lake city:

Image by Mike Goad from Pixabay 

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

Car rentals from Salt Lake City

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. 

Accommodations near West Yellowstone:

The second option is to search around Gardiner. Other entrances might need more driving and beating the traffic.

Image by Olya Adamovich from Pixabay 

Accommodations near Gardiner:

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

Yellowstone itinerary Day #2 (Part 2) - Upper geyser basin and Lower geyser basin, Old Faithful

Yellowstone Itinerary Day #3 - Mammoth Hot springs, Roosevelt Arch, and Norris geyser basin

Until next time,

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