Yellowstone National Park is huge, and it takes planning to make sure you can make the best use of your time to cover as much of park. I spent six and a half days touring the park with one additional day touring Grand Teton National Park. These are some of the things I learned from my trip and a few suggested itineraries based on the number of days you plan to visit the park.
Tip 1: Visit during the off-peak season. This may not work if you have a family or an occupation that does not permit a spring or fall visit. However, pricing and crowds will be lower in the off seasons. This will make reservations easier for lodging and dining. I usually always had a place to park but a few places were difficult around Old Faithful even in the off season. I visited the last week of the summer season before they closed all the hotels in the first week of October. If parking was still an issue at that time of year, then it will be even more difficult in the summer peak season.
Tip 2: Book lodging inside the park and book early. I said before Yellowstone is huge, and you cannot drive 50 mph through the park. It is 20 mph. So, traveling from point A to point B is slow. That is fine if you are sightseeing. It is a waste of time if you are spending half a day driving from a hotel outside the park. You need to book early to secure a place. I booked 7 months in advance. If you are trying for summer, you will need to book earlier. Keep your expectations in check. Lodging in the park is perfectly fine. But you are not going to get TV, internet, and air conditioning. I see complaints about these 3 things on the internet all the time. You came to Yellowstone to see nature, not watch TV, or surf the net. You will survive a few days without these. Rooms come with fans, and you can open the window if you are too warm. If this is a concern this is an additional reason to visit in the off seasons during cooler weather.
Tip 3: Save money on lodging by booking less popular accommodations. It is more expensive to stay at the Old Faithful Inn than the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. You can still go inside and even get a tour of the Old Faithful Inn, eat in the dining room but you do not have to stay there. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is more expensive than staying in the Sand Piper Lodge. You check-in at the same desk, park in the same parking lot, eat in the same dining room, but the lodge is right behind the hotel in a separate building. You do not get a lake view, but you cannot see the lake at night anyways and are not guaranteed a lake view in the hotel either. Canyon Lodge is the newest hotel in the park and either due to that fact or since it does not have the same historical charm as the other hotels it carries a lower price.
Tip 4: Stay at multiple locations in the park to minimize driving. I stayed at 3 locations, Canyon Village, Old Faithful, and Lake Village at the Canyon Lodge, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and Sand Piper Lodge as mentioned above. I entered the park from the East Entrance and moved through the park in a counterclockwise direction using the hotels as a bases to cover the various sections of the park. From Canyon Village I covered Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower-Roosevelt, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Norris Geyser Basin. From Old Faithful, I covered the Lower, Midway, and Upper Geyser Basins, and visited Grand Teton National Park. From Lake Village, I covered everything from there along the lakeshore south to West Thumb and Grant Village.
Tip 5: Visit Northern half of the park first if visiting in off season when snow is possible. To avoid the potential of missing the Northern part of the park or getting stuck in the North part of the park visit this section first during a trip if it is accessible. During my trip snow came in at the end and made roads to the North impassable. Had I waited to visit Tower-Roosevelt or Mammoth Hot Springs until the end of my trip I would not have been able to access those locations.
Tip 6: Be aware of any roads under construction/repair and avoid if possible. There were 2 roads under repair during my visit. The East Entrance Road and part of the road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Geyser Basin. When it snowed both roads were closed. However, even before the snow the road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Geyser Basin was only open to one way traffic. Cars were stopped in the other direction for 20-30 minutes. It is helpful to know what routes to avoid. You are not able to stop, and sightsee along any roads under construction, so it is just best to avoid these roads all together.
In Yellowstone I did not hike in the wilderness a lot most was on the boardwalk paths, or short hikes to waterfalls. So, if you wanted to do some of the longer hikes and see all the popular sights in Yellowstone you would need to spend more time in the park than I did to do those things. My visit to Grand Teton was short consisting of driving and stopping at the pull outs. I did see Mormon Row and stopped at Jenny Lake briefly.
Suggested Itinerary for Yellowstone based on Number of Days
1 Day – Old Faithful or Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (Based on preference for geysers or waterfalls)
2 Day – Old Faithful and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
3 Day – Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,
4 Day – Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, either Norris Geyser Basin (more geysers) or Hayden Valley up to Tower-Roosevelt over to Mammoth Hot Springs (more waterfalls), Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
5 Day – Old Faithful, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Hayden Valley up to Tower-Roosevelt over to Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
6 Day – Old Faithful, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Hayden Valley up to Tower-Roosevelt over to Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Lake Village to West Thumb
7 Days + – All of 6 day itinerary plus visit Grand Teton National Park, or add additional longer hikes. There are several longer hikes to waterfalls in the Old Faithful area.
I hope these travel tips make your trip to Yellowstone an enjoyable and memorable occasion.
Update: June 14, 2022
On June 13, 2022, major flooding and landslides have resulted in the closure and evacuation of Yellowstone National Park for unspecified amount of time. This highlights how snow, rain, wildfires, landslides, etc. can at a moment's notice change access in these wilderness areas. Please always consult the website for the national park you are visiting for the latest up to date information as to access and restrictions impacting the park you are visiting. Travel safe.