SnapshotPlanning Your VisitWhen we visited the park, it was early June. I have visited Yellowstone a couple of times, but never in early Spring. After this trip, I think spring is the absolute best time to visit Yellowstone. The weather was perfect with comfortable temperatures all day. The wildlife viewing was amazing in the park, with baby animals everywhere! I would highly recommend this time of year to visit the park. Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, this is a huge park! You can do a lot in one day, but definitely not everything. If possible, plan on 3 days. 2. Try to plan a spring trip! Trust me. 3. Old Faithful and the geysers are totally worth it. Plan a day in this part of the park, and if possible stay at Old Faithful Inn. 4. We had zero cell service inside the park, make a plan before you go, use maps and signage to get you to places. 5. Plan for extra driving time around the park for a variety of reasons. We had many unplanned stops for animal crossings and viewings. It was such an amazing trip! How to Get There There are five entrances to Yellowstone National Park. All of them require entrance fees. East Entrance Driving from Cody, WY the east entrance is about an hour drive. There is only one road to follow from Cody. Head west on Hwy 14/16/20 to Yellowstone. This is a beautiful drive! Northeast Entrance Driving from Red Lodge, MT the northeast entrance is about a two hour drive. This is a scenic drive through the mountains and Bear Tooth Pass. Check road conditions before you leave. Heading out of Red Lodge, MT, take Hwy 212 west. This will also take you through Lamar Valley as you enter the park. North Entrance Driving from Bozeman, MT the north entrance is about an hour and fifteen minutes drive. It takes you through Paradise Valley and Gardiner, MT. It is a beautiful drive. Leaving Bozeman, head east on Hwy 90 to Livingston. Head south on Hwy 89 towards Yellowstone National Park. Follow the signs for Yellowstone National Park through Gardiner to the north entrance. West Entrance Driving from West Yellowstone, MT the west entrance is only about five minutes. The Yellowstone Airport is located here, along with options for lodging. Head east on Yellowstone Avenue and you will enter the park. From the entrance it is about a 30 minute drive to the main Grand Loop Road. South Entrance Driving from Jackson, WY it is about one hour and fifteen minutes or from Moran, WY it is about a 35 minute drive. You need to drive through Grand Teton National Park from the south, which has its own set of fees. Leaving both locations, you head north on Hwy 89 to Yellowstone National Park. Additional Maps Provided by the Park Where to Stay Inside the park There are nine lodges at six different locations in Yellowstone. They are all run by the parent company of Xanterra, however, Yellowstone National Park Lodges is the name of the company that handles specific lodging for this park. Most lodges are open May to October, but two lodges are open for short periods in the winter as well. Mammoth Hot Springs Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins This property is located near the north entrance of the park. They have a variety of rooms in a recently updated hotel, as well as a variety of cabins available. Some cabins have more amenities available for larger groups. The hotel has some winter accomodations available as well as summer packages. Tower Junction Roosevelt Lodge Cabins These cabins are located in a quieter part of the park, with few nearby attractions or food. If you are looking for a quieter place to stay in the park, this is it. They have two types of cabins available, with no wifi or A/C, so you can reconnect with nature. This is located at the turn off for Lamar Valley, where there is plenty of wildlife to be seen. Canyon Village Canyon Lodge and Cabins This Lodge is located at the highest elevation in the park, closer to the west entrance. There are multiple two-story buildings here, multiple food options, cabins, and hiking. There are beautiful, paved walking paths to get between buildings here. There are also nearby hiking and lookouts at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the falls. This is a good midway stop in the park. Lake Village Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins This elegant hotel provides beautiful accommodations along Lake Yellowstone. This is the closest lodge to the east entrance and Cody, WY. There are fine dining options here as well as cafeteria style options. If you are looking for a little bit finer accommodations, this is a great option. Lake Lodge Cabins The lodge and Cabins here are a more rustic stay and experience. The lodge have a beautiful front porch with rocking chairs to enjoy the view of the lake and beautiful log craftsmanship. There are three styles of cabins available to rent for a rustic stay that has you reconnecting with nature. These cabins are located near the east entrance of Yellowstone and Fishing Bridge. Grant Village Fox Lodge This hotel is located the furthest south in the park, near the Grand Tetons and south entrance. It is nearby the southern tip of Lake Yellowstone. The hotel is a traditional set up and style for lodging, with nearby food and attractions. Old Faithful Old Faithful Inn This is one of the most beautiful, historic hotels I have ever visited. We love just walking around inside of it when we visit. It is listed as a historic site, and they still allow lodging here. This is one of the most popular places in the park, so plan for it to be busy. There are a variety of types of rooms available with different amenities. It is near Old Faithful, and has viewing options from your room. It is about halfway between the west and south entrances to Yellowstone. Someday I want to stay here! Old Faithful Lodge Cabins For a more rustic stay in one of the most popular parts of the park, staying in these cabins is a great option. There is no A/C in these cabins, but they are near many local attractions and other amenities. It is about halfway between the west and south entrances to Yellowstone. Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins The newest accommodations at Old Faithful, with summer and limited winter options. This lodge is across the parking lot from Old Faithful, but still within walking distance to all amenities in this popular part of the park. It is about halfway between the west and south entrances to Yellowstone. Outside the Park There are Western town surrounding the park, but there will be about a 30-45 minute commute if you decide to stay outside of the park. It may be more affordable, however entrance to the park during peak times and add time to your visit, and entrance reservations may be required depending on the time of the year. Cody, WY (to the east) I have stayed in Cody before and done whitewater rafting and the rodeo here. It was a great time! The drive and wait to enter the park here was a little longer on the east entrance, so plan accordingly. West Yellowstone, MT (to the west) This is one of the closest towns to an entrance, and super quaint with plenty to do here. We loved the downtown district and coffee places on every corner! If you are going to Old Faithful, this might be your best place to stay. Island Park, ID (to the west) We stayed here for two nights and fell in love with Idaho. We highly recommend looking into Island Park for a place to stay. We stayed in a small one-room cabin at Henry's Lake State Park, but there are plenty of options for lodging here. This was about a 30 minute drive from the west entrance. Gardiner, MT (to the north) This cute and quaint town is just outside the north entrance and closest to Mammoth Hot Springs. There are plenty of options for lodging and attractions in this beautiful town. This might also be a good place to stay if you are planning a winter trip to Yellowstone. Red Lodge, MT (to the northeast) This is a small remote town, closest to the Lamar Valley entrance to the park. The locals recommended that we drive through the mountains this way to come into the park. It would have added an hour to our drive, but the recommendation was very tempting! Camping There are 12 campsites to pick from if you decide to camp while visiting Yellowstone. Make sure you practice good food storage, leave no trace, and respect the animals in the park. Mammoth Hot Springs Mammoth Campground This 82-site campground costs $25 a night for a tent site and is located near the north entrance of the park. The campground is open in May through December. Indian Creek Campground This 70-site campground costs $20 a night for a tent site and is located just south of Mammoth. This is a quieter campground with pit toilets available. Tower Junction Tower Fall Campground This 31-site campground is located near the Roosevelt cabins near the junction to Lamar Valley. These rustic sites have pit toilets, but are located near horseback riding in the park. Lamar Valley Slough Creek Campground This 16-site campground costs $20 a night for a tent site. This campground is located in Lamar Valley with lots of wildlife around. The campground has pit toilets and is open from June to October. Pebble Creek Campground This 27-site campground is located closest to the northeast entrance by Red Lodge, MT. It costs $20 a night for a tent site with pit toilets. This remote site requires some extra planning for amenities. Canyon Village Canyon Campground This popular 272-site campground costs $39 a night for a site. There is running water and flush toilets available. This is a centrally located campsite in the park, with the east and northeast entrances being the closest to the campground. The campground is open from May until September. Lake Village Fishing Bridge RV Park This 310-site campground costs $89-$99 a night for a site. This is the only campground with electric sites available for rental. The campground is located closest to the east entrance along Yellowstone Lake. The campground is open May to October. Bridge Bay Campground This 431-site campground costs $33 a night for a site. It is located along Yellowstone Lake, closest to the east entrance. The campground has flush toilets, but no showers. It is open May through September. Grant Village Grant Village Campground This 429-site campground costs $39 a night for a site. It is located near the south entrance of the park along Yellowstone Lake. It has flush toilets and showers available, and is open June to September. Lewis Lake Campground This 84-site campground costs $20 a night for a site. It is located the furthest south in the park, outside of Grant Village. There are pit toilets available and it is open June through October. Madison Junction Madison Campground This 276-site campground costs $33 a night for a site. It is located nearest to the west entrance. It has flush toilets and is open May through October. Norris Norris Campground This 111-site campground is located just north of Madison Junction on the west side of the park. It has pit toilets available. Outside of Yellowstone Camping Under Canvas If you are looking for a camp-like experience, this is a luxury camp option. There are different size tents and amenities available. There are locations in North Yellowstone (Paradise Valley) and West Yellowstone. Henry's Lake State Park We stayed two nights in a one-room cabin at Henry's Lake. It is one of our favorite places to stay. They also have tent and RV sites available. There is so much to do in this part of Idaho, and it is less crowded than Yellowstone, with only a 25 minute drive to the park or West Yellowstone.
Day 1 We entered the park by driving through Paradise Valley and stopping in Gardiner, MT for lunch. We loved this quaint little town, just outside of the park. This is also the place of the original entrance and you can get out and see the structures that are still standing. Almost immediately after entering the park, we started seeing wildlife along the roadside. Elk, pronghorn, and smaller animals and birds. We headed directly to Mammoth Hot Springs, about a fifteen minutes drive from the entrance. Here we visited Albright Visitor Center and got the kids set up with their Junior Ranger packets. We then headed to the Mammoth Terraces and walked the trails there. It was hotter on the terraces, and water is a good idea, even on these shorter boardwalk hikes. Next we headed towards Lamar Valley to do some animal sightings. We were told by locals at a gas station that this would be the best bet to see animals, and they weren't wrong. We barely entered the valley, and we saw animals and their babies. The first thing we saw were cranes along the marsh. Shortly after, we came across a baby grizzly bear on the hillside. There was a grizzly that had five cubs this year, and we think this might have been one of them. We continued into the valley and started seeing large herds of bison and their babies along the river. We also saw a wild badger, which was a rare sighting. The further into the valley we drove, the more we saw and some close to the road or crossing the roadway. This was my favorite thing we did in Yellowstone, the drive was stunning, and the amount of wildlife we saw was impressive. We didn't drive the whole valley, and eventually turned around to head to our hotel. We decided to stay in Canyon Village as a central location and having nearby amenities. As we were driving out of the valley, we came across a momma black bear and her two cubs playing off the side of the road. We stopped and watched them as well. In total, we saw seven bears while we were in the park. As we continued towards Canyon Village, we continued to climb in elevation. There was still snow on the ground here, and we had to stop and make some snowballs for a quick snowball fight in June. A core memory for sure! When we got to Canyon Village, we first went to the North Rim and explored the falls at different lookouts. These were easy walks and viewings of The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This led us to our lodge in Canyon Village. We loved this village layout. There were multiple lodge buildings and cabins here with paved walkways to everything. We walked to the canyon food court for dinner and breakfast. It was a great way to burn up some energy and enjoy the quiet time in nature. The night we stayed here, we had a buffalo that roamed the village for a while and some elk that stayed on the peripheral woods outside our room. It felt safe, yet wild at the same time. Day 2 We woke up early and headed to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The drive her took us to Artist Point. This is a famous viewpoint in Yellowstone, and has a stunning view of the falls at the end of the canyon. We continued driving Grand Loop Road, heading towards Hayden Valley. This is a well known area for animal sightings. We saw many buffalo along the drive, but the highlight was seeing a mature grizzly along the Yellowstone River. It was down in the valley, and we pulled over to safely view it from above. We sat and watched it for about twenty minutes while it fished and scavenged for food. In the distance, we also spotted a herd of elk. Next, we headed towards Fishing Bridge along Lake Yellowstone. We also came across Mud Volcano sulfur pot and stopped to let the kids see it. We didn't last long, and they had no desire to explore, so we kept driving. While we were driving, we had to stop and take a picture along a stunning turn off. The mountains and lake looked beautiful, and we captured one of my favorite family photos from the trip. Next we stopped at Fishing Bridge by Lake Village. We wanted to show our kids some for the fish you can see swimming here, but the water was turned up and running fast from all the snowmelt. So we kept moving and headed towards Old Faithful. The morning drive took us about two hours, during this time the kids finished their Junior Ranger books. The only thing they had to do was attend the Geysers Ranger program at Old Faithful. Old Faithful was the busiest part of the park, but there was still space for us to see everything we wanted. We watched Old Faithful and finished the ranger program, then went to the visitor center to complete the Junior Ranger pledge. This is one of the kids' favorite things to do at a National Park. Most parks offer it free, but some are starting to charge a small fee for the Junior Ranger book. After the newest Junior Rangers were appointed, we got lunch at the cafe in the village. We then explored the Old Faithful Inn, which is a stunning piece of craftsmanship. We got coffee at the second floor bistro next to the viewing platform for Old Faithful. We got water for the kids and headed out to the upper geyser basin. This loops around the backside of Old Faithful, which is far less crowded than the boardwalk side outside of the visitor center. We continued walking and viewing different springs, geysers, and sulfur pots. We walked about 1.5 miles along the boardwalk to Castle geyer and Morning Glory pool. After that, the kids were ready to head back, however there is more to see along these boardwalks. As a way to cool off, we stopped and got ice cream at the convenience store next to Old Faithful Inn. Day 3 On our final day, we headed back from a two day trip in Island Park, Idaho. We wanted to stop at Grand Prismatic Spring and Grant Village for lunch. Traffic this day was the worst of the whole trip. We ended up just going to Grand Prismatic Spring and driving through Grant Village without stopping. It was recommended that we get to Grand Prismatic Spring before 10am to avoid the crowds and also be able to find parking. We got there just at 10am, and it was already a full parking lot and heavy traffic. We got lucky and were able to find a spot after a few minutes of circling the parking lot. The hike up to the spring is about 5 minutes from the parking lot. It is a full boardwalk hike, and you are not allowed to leave the boardwalk. This is a high wind area, so make sure hats and any loose items are secure when walking. The spring is absolutely stunning and the most colorful thing we saw in the park. It is definitely work the stop. The other things we wanted to do, but ran out of time on this day was the Fairy Falls Hike, a few minutes drive from the spring, and explore Grant Village. We didn't have time for either, as we were headed down to the Grand Tetons. Where this fit in our Road Trip This was the first stop on our 8-Day road trip. We spent 2.5 days in Yellowstone before heading to other places in Wyoming and Colorado. This was the furthest north we were, and then headed south to Colorado for the rest of our trip. We stopped at countless towns and five different national parks, but Yellowstone was a favorite for my kids. Alternate Route My cousin was traveling from the south in Jackson, WY, through the park to the north to Bozeman, MT. They were trying to fit in everything they could with their one travel day through the park. Below is a text message I sent about how to make the most of their time. If I were trying to fit as much in as possible from the south, I would come up through Grant Village, and turn left to Old Faithful. We spent about 4 hours there, but you don’t need to. If you hike some of the geysers, bring water. We hiked to Castle Geyser, then turned back. It was about 1.5 miles. I would then drive up to Norris, cut over to Canyon. There is food and some lookouts along the North or South rim. South rim drive has the famous Artist View Point, but we did north rim and felt it was fine. I would then drive north to Tower Junction and turn right to go to Lamar Valley (might be labeled Northeast entrance). We drove this for a bit, but not the whole way and saw so much wildlife. Bison, black and grizzly cubs, cranes, badger, antelope. Turn around when you are ready, and head to Mammoth. There is food and visitor centers and gas stations here. We hiked the Hot Spring Terraces. Elk hang out here. This is the way out of the park from the North to head towards Bozeman. Gardiner is just outside of the park and super cute with food options as well. Good luck! NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information. Don't forget to follow along on Instagram @wanderlust_with_three
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