Yellowstone | Life With Jackson

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE GOING TO YELLOWSTONE

There's only one way to see Yellowstone - by car. If you travel both the Upper and Lower Loops of Yellowstone, it will take you a full day. If you really want to see Yellowstone plan on spending at least a couple of days there. So if you're flying in, you're going to want to rent a car.

Yellowstone Natl. Park has numerous entrances. Generally, which entrance you use will be determined by what airport you fly into. Here's a map:

In general, Bozeman, Billings, and Jackson Hole will have the most flight options. The Yellowstone Airport and Yellowstone Regional Airport in Cody are both smaller airports and flight schedules are limited and fares generally high.

Before we get into exploring the park, you might want to download the free NPS (Natl. Park Service) guided tour app.

One app, every park at your fingertips. The NPS App is the new official app for the National Park Service with tools to explore more than 400 national parks nationwide. Find interactive maps, tours of park places, on-the-ground accessibility information, and much more to plan your national park adventures before and during your trip.The NPS App is currently available on iOS and Android mobile devices. It can be downloaded for free through the App Store and Google Play. Since cell reception isn't reliable at Yellowstone National Park, be sure to download the app and save for offline use before coming to the park. This can be done through the toggle switch located at the top of the Yellowstone section of the app.

You can book a guided tour of Yellowstone but in investigating current guided tour fares, I found them to be ungodly expensive, usually from $850 per person to over $1000 per person and then you're usually tied into their schedule, not necessarily your schedule.

Admission to Yellowstone Natl. Park is currently $35.

If you are entering at the South Entrance, you will first need to drive through Grand Teton National Park, which also has its own entrance fee of $35.

We recommend buying a National Parks pass like the America the Beautiful Pass if you plan on visiting both national parks, since it will save you money if you visit even just one more national park in the same 12 month period.

Most of the sites managed by the National Park Service are free to visit, but some require an entrance pass. You may also need a reservation at a few high-traffic sites.

Frequent visitors, seniors, military, and others may save money on entrance fees with an America the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, also known as an America the Beautiful or interagency pass. Review all pass options here and decide which pass is best for you.

To get a national parks pass, you can:

Visit a federal recreation site in person and buy the pass there.
Call 888-ASK USGS (1-888-275-8747), extension 3, and order the pass by phone. The hours of operation are 8 am to 4 pm Mountain Time.
Go online and buy the pass from the USGS store. You will have to pay processing and shipping fees for online orders.
Mail an application form (558KB PDF) and purchase the pass by mail.

Grand Teton Park is right next door to Yellowstone so when planning your vacation, you might want to consider buying an annual park pass and seeing both parks during your trip. It's actually most economical to purchase the annual pass for most people.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Old Faithful Inn

If you're planning on visiting Yellowstone during the peak summer months, know that places to stay will book up well in advance.

There are beautiful in-park accommodations in Yellowstone, like the famous Old Faithful Inn but you are going to pay a starting price of around $525.00 per night for what amounts to a standard hotel room with 1 or 2 beds.

Yellowstone National Park has a number of historic lodges and inns in the park. Rooms book up fast, so plan ahead if you're going to stay in the park. You can make reservations at Yellowstone hotels here.

Hotels in the park:

Canyon Lodge and Cabins
Grant Village Lodge
Lake Hotel and Cabins
Lake Lodge Cabins
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins
Old Faithful Inn
Old Faithful Lodge
Old Faithful Snow Lodge
Roosevelt Lodge

There's also soft sided and hard sided camping in the park, the areas depending on bear visits. When I was a kid and went the first time with my family, my dad took us in a pop up camper (soft sided). It was so cold my dad slept with his PJ bottoms wrapped around his head and what did we run into in the restroom first thing the next morning? Bears don't read signs.

During hubby's and my second trip we camped in the hard sided camping area (and never saw one bear!), sleeping in our conversion van and coupled that with traditional motel stays.

On our last trip we drove up into Montana and stayed 1 mile outside of the western Yellowstone entrance in Gray Wolf Inn & Suites . It was nothing fancy but all we were doing was sleeping there and occasionally cooking so the suite fit our needs and at a much more reasonable price than in-park accommodations.

Our reservations included a continental breakfast. There's a swimming pool, gym, firepit behind the Inn, laundry facilities on site, and free parking in the Inn's underground garage as well as outside parking.

We'd just bought a new conversion van so split our time between camping in/with that and motel stays occasionally.

The back seats folded down into a queen sized bed. We threw our camping stove and screenhouse in the van and off we went. This saved us a lot in motel/hotel accommodations, plus we were able to camp inside Yellowstone on the nights we wanted to - in the hard sided vehicle campgrounds. And it was much more comfortable driving across country in the van vs. a car.

Like the hotels within the park, the campsites in Yellowstone National Park also book up fast. You can make check campsite availability and make reservations here.

THE PARK ITSELF

Famous for being the world’s first national park (it was established back in 1872), Yellowstone National Park is a gorgeous area in the state of Wyoming that has become one of the most popular national parks in the USA.

Warning: You will smell a strong Sulphur smell through most of the park!

OLD FAITHFUL

Everyone identifies Old Faithful with Yellowstone.

But honestly? It's overrated. We sat there for over an hour waiting for the thing to blow and had just gotten up to leave when it decided to finally erupt.

I even said to my husband "We sat here for over an hour waiting to see that?!!"

He wasn't overly impressed either so it wasn't just me.

There's a much better geyser to see in Yellowstone and I'll tell you about it in a bit.

Note that Old Faithful doesn't go off like clockwork. It erupts every 45 to 125 minutes...so you could be sitting there twiddling your thumbs for over an hour like we were.

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS

The Springs are pretty unique, especially for their terraces, which were formed over hundreds of years as the calcium carbonate. Apparently, this is all formed from the hot water cooled and hardened, leaving behind the intricate structures.

Watch for elk while there! They like to graze around Mammoth Hot Springs.

YELLOWSTONE'S GRAND CANYON

Yellowstone has its own Grand Canyon. The views are stunning and it's a favorite hiking area in the park.

For the best viewpoints in the Canyon, head to Lookout Point and Red Rock Point, where you can take in the incredible sights of the Canyon as well as the waterfall from the Yellowstone River.

It really is one of the best things to see in Yellowstone.

OJO CALIENTE POOL

The constantly-boiling Ojo Caliente pool is well worth seeing, too. The pool is located near the Lower Geyser Basin. Though don’t ever attempt to go close to the pools, the heat (and gases) can be lethal.

HAYDEN VALLEY

If it's wildlife you want to see then head to Hayden Valley. Located just north of Yellowstone Lake, the area is a favorite spot to find elk, coyotes, bison, and bears.

There are also two well-known hiking trails in the area, the Hayden Valley Trail and the Mary Mountain Trail.

VISIT THE WOLF & GRIZZLY DISCOVERY CENTER

LAMAR VALLEY

If you would prefer to view wolf packs out in the wild, head to Lamar Valley. This is THE spot for finding wolves, as well as coyotes, grizzly bears, bison, and elk. For the truly serious wolf-fan, the Yellowstone Forever has wolf-tracking excursions throughout the park that you can always join. (They don't have their 2025 wolf excursions posted yet on their website so check back)

You might want to check out the rest of Yellowstone Forever's website though as they have a multitude of programs on various subjects available.

The best times to look for wolves and bears in Lamar Valley are in the early mornings and just around sunset.

VISIT STEAMBOAT GEYSER

This is the other geyser I mentioned previously. Steamboat is actually taller than Old Faithful and, with eruptions as high as 300 and 400 feet, Steamboat is in fact the tallest geyser in the world!

It is found in the Norris Geyser Basin, which formed around 100,000 years ago.

The area around Steamboat is the oldest active geothermal spot in the country and you can take daily tours from the Norris Museum make Steamboat and its surroundings easy to explore.

HAVE A DRINK IN THE MAP ROOM AT MAMMOTH INN

If you’re looking for a charming spot to unwind after a day of exploring Yellowstone, the Map Room at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is an excellent choice. Located in the historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, this cozy lounge offers a unique blend of relaxation and character.

The Map Room is named for its distinctive decor, featuring vintage maps and historic photographs that provide a fascinating glimpse into the park’s past. The room’s ambiance is both inviting and rustic, with comfortable seating and a warm, lodge-like atmosphere.

In addition to its drink offerings, the Map Room occasionally features live music or other events.

VISIT FORT YELLOWSTONE

Exploring Fort Yellowstone is a fascinating dive into the park’s rich history. Located near the Mammoth Hot Springs area, Fort Yellowstone offers a glimpse into the early 20th century when the U.S. Army played a crucial role in the protection and administration of Yellowstone National Park.

A self-guided walking tour is available, allowing you to explore the fort at your own pace. Informational signs and exhibits provide insights into the daily life of the soldiers stationed here, as well as the challenges they faced in preserving Yellowstone’s natural wonders. The tour also highlights the transition of park management from the military to the National Park Service, marking a significant shift in the park’s history.

GIBBON FALLS

The falls are about 84 feet tall and cascade gracefully over a broad, rock-strewn ledge, creating a wide, fan-like spray that is especially stunning in the morning light. The viewpoint is conveniently situated right off the road, making it easy to pull over and enjoy the view. A short, paved path from the parking area leads to an elevated vantage point.