Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone was the first National Park established in the United States and is located in northwest Wyoming, but also enters into Idaho and Montana. It is known for having geothermal activity as it sits in the Yellowstone Caldera along with wildlife like large bison herds, elk, bears and wolves. A few of the most notable spots in Yellowstone National Park include Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs and Grand Prismatic Springs.

There are five entrances into the park. If traveling from Jackson Hole you will likely use the South or West Entrance. If traveling in from Montana, the North or Northeast entrance will be the most convenient.

The main roads running through Yellowstone make a large loop. Depending on the duration of your stay in Yellowstone, you may visit the entire park or just a portion of it. Below there are two single day itinerary options. The first provides stops along the lower loop, which is very feasible for a day trip if traveling to and from the Jackson Hole area. The second option provides a longer route and will make for a long day of driving, but doable if you are up for exploring as much as possible in a single day. Be sure to get an early start either way to take advantage of the park.

Single day Road Trip Itinerary

Depending on what your priorities are while driving through Yellowstone, you can drive the reverse route from that listed below. If you are eager to see Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Springs, drive clockwise. However, if you are keen to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Hayden Valley, drive counter clockwise. I did both and preferred driving counter-clockwise. Old Faithful will be busy regardless, whereas you can beat crowds and see more in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone if you visit earlier in the day.

Keep in mind that cell phone service is very limited in the park. For this reason, it is helpful to have an idea on some of the spots you would like to see and a general route since your GPS will not work. Download the Yellowstone app before visiting and enable offline usage so you have access to additional information.

Driving the Lower Loop

Start point: Jackson Hole 

West Thumb Geyser

If entering at the south entrance to Yellowstone, this will be one of the first places to stop. It is right at the bottom of the loop so can access this first regardless of the direction you choose to drive through the national park. The area sits on Yellowstone Lake and has a plethora of hot springs and geysers all in close proximity to each other. The ground here is active and dangerous, so there are clear boardwalks for visitors to walk along to observe the springs and water pools.

• Distance from Jackson Hole: 2 hours
• Rating: 5/10
• Not a “must do” as there will be many more opportunities to see geysers and hot springs throughout the park. However, it provides a nice spot to stretch your legs if driving up from Jackson Hole and the area is heavily concentrated with hot springs along with a view over Yellowstone Lake

Old Faithful

True to its name, Old Faithful has a fairly predictable eruption schedule. The geyser erupts up to 180 feet, averaging heights of 140 feet and will erupt typically for 1 to 5 minutes. Eruptions are expected about every 80 minutes with a 10 minute tolerance. There are boardwalks around the area along with a large viewing section that visitors flock to in order to see the geyser spray water up in the air.

• Distance from West Thumb Geyser: 30 min
• Rating: 9/10
• This is a “must do” for your first visit to Yellowstone as it is likely what the park is most well known for.

Grand Prismatic Springs

Giant, rainbow hot spring with spectacular colors located on Midway Geyser Basin. There are many different areas to see the large hot spring, as you can pick between going right up to the edge or hiking up a small hill for a view over the spring. The area at ground level can get very busy so would recommend considering the slight walk up to the viewpoint.

To access the viewpoint, park in the parking lot closer to Old Faithful and follow the path out to the Grand Prismatic Hot Springs viewpoint. It is a heavily trafficked out and back trail with a total distance of 1.6 miles and 200 foot elevation gain. The parking lot gets quite full in the summer, especially because it takes visitors longer to view the Springs, but it is worth the wait for a spot to see the magnificent colored hot spring.

• Distance from Old Faithful: 15 min
• Rating: 9/10
• This is a “must do” as the size and colors of the hot spring make it very unique

Gibbon Falls

Easily accessible waterfall from the main road. There is a small parking lot where spots turnover quickly as people walkout to see the waterfalls and then leave. Shortly after Gibbon Falls is where you will have the choice between the short or longer route. To take the smaller loop, head east towards Canyon Village. To take the larger loop, head north towards Mammoth.

• Distance from Grand Prismatic Springs: 20 min
• Rating: 6/10
• Not a must do, but a quick and easy stop if you have time.

Artist Paintpots

Hydrothermal area with colorful hot springs, mud pots and some small geysers. There is a 1 mile trail that enters the partially burned lodgepole pine forest and then goes through the wet meadow on a boardwalk.

• Distance from Gibbon Falls: 10 min
• Rating: 6/10
• Optional stop if time permits

Norris Geyser Basin

Oldest and hottest thermal area in the park. Note the parking lot often fills up here in the summer so many will need to park on the street if choosing to visit.

• Distance from Artist Paintpots: 10 minutes
• Rating: 5/10
• Optional stop if time permits

Canyon Village

The area around Canyon Village provides phenomenal spots to see and explore the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Yellowstone River runs through the 20 mile long canyon. There are many different options when it comes to visiting the canyon. The canyon can be accessed from both sides, the North Rim and the South Rim. North Rim Drive is frequently busier than the South Rim, but both sides provide equally spectacular views of the canyon, Upper Falls, and Lower Falls. The distance between the North and South Rim is less than a mile as the canyon has steep drops down to the river level.

South Rim

The South Rim tends to be less busy so if you are going to pick one side to visit, I would recommend the South Rim.

Upper Falls: The easiest way to view Upper Falls is to pull into the parking lot for Uncle Tom’s Point. There is a lookout of the falls about 100 meters from the parking lot where you can see the smaller, but powerful waterfall. From the Upper Falls lookout, either drive further down the road, or take the 2.5 mile out and back trail to Artist Point and enjoy views of the canyon along the way.

Artist Point: must visit viewpoint that provides an incredible view into the canyon and Lower Falls, which is larger than Upper Falls.

North Rim

The North Rim is busier, largely because there is a one-way road that consistently is backed up in the afternoons as the day gets busier. Once you get on the one-way road, there are numerous viewpoint stops where you can pull over to get out and view the canyon and waterfalls. Since there are so many stop options and minimal parking, the road gets quite backed up. Once you turn onto North Rim Drive, you will have no other options until you are off the one-way road section.

Red Rock Point Trail: Viewpoint overlooking Lower Falls. Visitors can observe from the road level or can descend down the path made-up of stairs and gravel to a lower viewpoint. It is one of the closest views available of Lower Falls and is just over 250 feet down from the road level.

Inspiration Point: This stop falls towards the end of the one-way road running along the North Rim and provides one of the best views of the canyon itself. You can hike along the North Rim trail or drive up to the nearby parking lot and walk down to the viewpoint.

• Distance from North Geyser Basin: 20 min
• Rating: 10/10
• This a must do, whether you stop at a few of the viewpoints or decide to spend most of your day here and get out and hike. The canyon is beautiful and will not disappoint.

Hayden Valley

Large valley in the park with rolling green fields and marshy terrain. Bison are known to spend time in the fields and often spotted right next to the road or out in the distance. In fact, there are often wildlife traffic jams in the area because cars have pulled over to observe the animals or wildlife is on the road requiring drivers to drive cautiously or wait until the animals have moved on.

• Distance from Canyon Village: 15 min
• Rating: 8/10
• Hayden valley is a beautiful area in Yellowstone, and provides a change to other areas in the park. For wildlife seekers, this is a must do as it is the most common location to see bison.

Mud Volcano

Large geyser area with muddy hot springs

• Distance from Hayden Valley: 10 min
• Rating: 6/10
• Optional stop just off the road

Yellowstone Lake

The largest body of water found in Yellowstone.

• Distance from Mud Volcano: 10 min
• Rating: 6/10
• When driving around Yellowstone, you are bound to drive by the giant lake at some point. Whether you stop or not depends on if you want to observe the lake or get out on the water.

End Point: Jackson Hole 

Distance from Yellowstone Lake: 2 hours 30 minutes

Driving the Grand Loop

Start point: Jackson Hole 

West Thumb Geysers

• Distance from Jackson Hole: 2 hours
• Rating: 5/10

Old Faithful

• Distance from West Thumb Geysers: 30 min
• Rating: 9/10

Grand Prismatic Springs

• Distance from Old Faithful: 15 min
• Rating: 9/10

Gibbon Falls

Gibbon Falls is where the choice comes to pick between the large loop and the small loop. To take the larger loop, head north towards Mammoth.

• Distance from Grand Prismatic Springs: 20 min
• Rating: 6/10

Artist Paintpots

• Distance from Gibbon Falls: 10 min
• Rating: 6/10

Norris Geyser Basin

• Distance from Artist Paintpots: 10 minutes
• Rating: 5/10

Obsidian Cliff

• Large obsidian cliff
• Distance from Norris Geyser Basin: 15 minutes
• Rating: 2/10
• Optional stop if doing the grand loop

Mammoth Hot Springs

Located in the north portion of the park, and very close to Montana, Mammoth Hot Springs has a high concentration of hot springs in a small area. The area is made up of an upper and lower section with boardwalks so visitors can safely explore the area and view the interesting rock formations created from the hot springs. There are active and inactive springs in the area, leaving different colors on the rocks and overall unique formations.

The thermal areas in Mammoth is different than in other parts of the park as the active areas are rapidly changing. The softer limestone reacts quicker with the hot spring activity and changes the color and shape through minerals deposited on the surface. The activity of the springs changes daily meaning one day a hot spring could be flowing over the rocks while the next day it is dried up and a hot spring has become active in a different area.

Upper Terrace Drive: 1.5 mile, one-way scenic road. If you plan to get out and walk around, this piece is not necessary as you can access better views from the boardwalks on foot.

• Distance from Obsidian Cliff: 25 min
• Rating: 9/10
• Must do stop if you doing the grand loop

Tower Fall

• Large waterfall located in the northeastern part of the park
• Distance from Mammoth Hot Springs: 40 min
• Rating: 7/10

Canyon Village

• Distance from Tower Fall: 35 min
• Rating: 10/10

Hayden Valley

• Distance from Canyon Village: 15 min
• Rating: 8/10

Mud Volcano

• Distance from Hayden Valley: 10 min
• Rating: 6/10

Yellowstone Lake

• Distance from Mud Volcano: 10 min
• Rating: 6/10

End Point: Jackson Hole 

Distance from Yellowstone Lake: 2 hours 30 minutes