Yellowstone + Grand Teton

Towns like Gardiner, Gallatin and Bozeman just outside the Park, offer a range of Yellowstone Activities, including rafting, ziplining, horseback riding, tubing and fly fishing.  Add a few days to your road trip so you can enjoy these adventures.

The absolute minimum amount of time you should allow yourself to do sightseeing in both Parks is 3 days: 2 in Yellowstone, doing the Upper Loop one day, and the Lower Loop on the other day. Grand Teton can be seen in one day.

If you have more time, add an extra day in Yellowstone. Its very worthwhile to allow yourself time in the geyser basin areas to wait for eruptions. Other than Old Faithful, the predicted geysers will often have a 1-2 hour window when the next eruption may occur, so its really helpful to have time to be patient and wait for things to happen. The different geysers gush in different ways, so each one has its own style!

With more time, you will also be able to enjoy several of the short hikes, and also relax and watch the wildlife that you spot along the way.

Geysers in Yellowstone fall into two categories of predictable and unpredictable.  Some, like Old Faithful are regular, erupting every 90 minutes or so, others, like Steamboat are more erratic, laying dormant for years and suddenly active with a string of eruptions.

So with an erratic schedule how do you plan your geyser watching?

The National Park Visitor Centers have latest predictable times listed on their website, in their app (must be on wifi) and in person.  And geysertimes.org is updated by dedicated “geyser gazers”. 

So it’s worthwhile to check in the night before if you want to spend some of your day geyser gazing.

There is no better way, clockwise or counter-clockwise are all excellent. It may be determined by which entrance you arrive through. If you have limited time, it can be nice to leave Old Faithful until later in the day so that you “build up” to this spectacular highlight. But allow enough time to spend at least a couple hours at Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin.

It’s quite exciting to see the many animals in Yellowstone and Grand Teton – both big and small. They are wild, so you need to remember their movements are never guaranteed and you always need to respect the recommended safe distances, keep in your vehicle and never feed. 

You can rent spotting scopes, camera lens and binoculars to safety see animals up close.

Suggested areas to spot some of the 67 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, fish and amphibians you’ll find in Yellowstone include;

Bison – Hayden and Lamar Valleys in Yellowstone. Around Snake river in Grand Teton.

Bears – Grizzles in the Hayden and Lamar Valleys and Black Bears around Tower and Mammoth

Wolves – Lamar Valley

Pronghorn – Lamar Valley and Gardiner

Elk – Gardiner and Grand Teton

Moose – Grand Teton on Moose-Wilson Rd

Unfortunately each park now collects its own entrance fees so you will need to purchase a separate pass each for Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

Depending on the length of your stay it might be best value to purchase an America the Beautiful annual pass which gets you entry into any national park without any time restrictions.