Traveling to Yellowstone, What you Need to Know!

How to Plan a Trip to Yellowstone

For Christmas I gave many husband a trip to Yellowstone National Park.  I planned it from start to finish and wrapped it up in a big red bow!  But I have to admit, I wish there were things I knew before planning this trip.  We had a great time, in the height of tourist season, but learned a lot along the way.  And I want to share with you what I learned while traveling to Yellowstone and what you need to know!

Traveling to Yellowstone

When traveling to Yellowstone you can get there in a plane, train or automobile.  We flew to Bozeman, Montana airport.  Then rented a car from TURO and drove to West Yellowstone, it was less than a 2 hour drive. I wanted to stay in West Yellowstone as it is only a 3 mile drive to the west entrance.  Keep in mind, West Yellowstone is a tourist town, but not very big.  So if you are looking for upper end hotels, stay in Big Sky.  You will not find that in West Yellowstone.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn and I have to say, it was clean and recently updated.  But it definitely isn’t first class accommodations.  But it does have an indoor pool, game room and attached restaurant.  We spent most of our day in the park, so it wasn’t a big deal for us as it was literally a place for us to sleep.  However, there are many hotels in the park and camp grounds.  For future trips, we will be staying in the park.  The Old Faithful Inn looks fantastic!

If you fly into Jackson Hole, you can see the Grand Teton’s and then enter through the south entrance of Yellowstone.  The south entrance is not as beautiful as some of the other areas of the park, but it is definitely an option. Plus you can go to the Grand Teton‘s first.  They are amazing and it was a trip we did in 2022!

Planning a Trip to Yellowstone and Your Itinerary

Upon arrival, we had no idea what we were going to do other than go to the park and hike and see as much wildlife as possible. Next time I will have a plan! But overall, we saw a lot and did well on wildlife sightings. The first day we got in the park easily as it was about 2 p.m. Most of the traffic to get in is between 7-11 a.m.  You can enter the park at anytime, 24 hours.

What you pay to enter

You only pay when there are attendants at the entrances.  If you are a veteran you get in free all the time.  Otherwise, a car is $35 to enter at the time of this writing.   There are several free days when anyone can get in for free too.  Just check the Yellowstone website and learn more on what you need to know when traveling to Yellowstone and getting in FREE!

We decided to cut the park into three sections.  This way we would see the entire park during our four day stay.  The first day we entered, at about 5 a.m., and went north to Mammoth Hot Springs.  We saw buffalo in the middle of the road, deer and elk!  Along the way we stopped at the Artist Pots (not very impressive) Gibbon Falls which was BEAUTIFUL and Norris Geyser Basin.  We also saw bears and coyotes. The Blacktail Plateau Drive is a dirt road that had beautiful meadow views and wildlife too.  You can only enter and exit one way as it is narrow.  But definitely worth driving through. When going to see the geysers, best to go late morning or afternoon.  In the morning there is steam that rises in the cool air and can obstruct your views.

My advise to see wild animals, go EARLY!  We saw buffalo everyday we were there, the other animals were more elusive. and please don’t be one of those people that think buffalo and other wildlife are friendly.  They aren’t, keep your distance!

Day Two

Day two, we went south.  Again, we started very early.  Biscuit Basin was interesting.  The best way to describe it was a dead landscape.  It literally looked like a nuclear bomb had hit it.  But the hot springs were beautiful in color.  Truly eerie, yet gorgeous. We saw Old Faithful, and we hit it perfectly!  Showed up 5 minutes before it “blew”!  We went to West Thumb and Yellowstone Lake, then we headed north again. This part of the park did not have a lot of activity in it so we went east at Canyon Village and decided to call it a day.

Day Three

Day three and final full day, was the best day, but also the earliest!  We left the hotel at 3:30 a.m. so we could get to Lamar Valley by sunrise.  My husband wanted to see wolves, and this is where you will find them.  But I wish I had been better prepared with binoculars, a scope and a phone adapter for the scope.  Another person was nice enough to help us, but these are items that I think are a MUST to have when traveling to the park.  And Lamar Valley, which is on the north east side of the park, is where wildlife was abundant!  We saw the wolves, hundreds of buffalos, antelope and a grizzly!  It was an early rise, but well worth the early morning hours!  It truly made the vacation!  In fact, it was the best day of the trip!  There was such an abundance of wildlife, I couldn’t believe it. Below I have videos of the buffalo we saw and the wolves!  Absolutely stunning creatures!

After our early morning we had breakfast at the Roosevelt Inn.  Definitely a rustic atmosphere, but a good place to get a warm meal and use the restrooms! And note that it has a much shorter season than many other facilities in the park.  It closes for the season at or before Labor Day weekend.

Most importantly, stay on designated trails and boardwalks.  Do not walk on any of the thermal areas and expect road congestion and delays.  We went right after July 4th and avoided most of these issues by getting to the park early.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can have a wonderful trip and see lots of wildlife (be respectful of the wildlife too!) in four days at Yellowstone.  My biggest regret was not having the scope so I could take my own pictures.  However, there were great people who shared theirs and gave me advice on what to buy for next time!  So when traveling to Yellowstone, be prepared for early mornings and lots of buffalo!

Products I purchased for our next adventure!

I have been playing with my new scope so I know exactly how to use it next time!  CLICK HERE to purchase from AMAZON!

And we need the phone adapter for the scope too!  That is how we made movies and took pictures of the wolves! CLICK HERE to purchase from AMAZON!

Last, buy a tall tripod.  A short table top tripod comes with the scope, but I suggest getting one that stands on the ground!  CLICK HERE to purchase from AMAZON!

 

More importantly, thank you for spending your time here at Colorado Kelly!  I love having you here and appreciate everyone that comes to visit and look forward to having you come back soon!

*This post may contain affiliate links! That means; I may get a commission at no additional cost to you!  I do not recommend any products/services that I don’t use and love myself!

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