Yellowstone National Park is an amazing wonder of the world. Okay so it’s not an “official” wonder of the world, but we think it’s pretty wonder-full. There are so many amazing things to see and do in Yellowstone, it’s easy to see why it was the first area to be named a US National Park and receive the protection that that offers. With all these amazing things to see, you could easily spend 3 months in the park. However, it’s hard to come by 3 months of vacation time, so we’ve put together a great 3 day Yellowstone itinerary for you to see all of the best that Yellowstone has to offer.
Crowds in Yellowstone
Because the park hosts almost 4 million visitors each year, crowds can be crazy. So visiting Yellowstone without a plan can mean you’ll spend more time getting to places and finding parking spots than you’ll spend actually enjoying your visit. So we’ve put together this 3 day Yellowstone itinerary to help you make the most of your time visiting this amazing park. We’ll also give you options for extending your stay in the park for up to one week.
3 Day Yellowstone Itinerary
People always ask how many days should you spend in Yellowstone? Well, the answer really depends on how much time you have, because you could spend it all here. But how much is reasonable? This 3 day Yellowstone itinerary really will give you the ability to see all of the top things that Yellowstone has to offer and it’s what we suggest to a first time visitor.
About Our Yellowstone Itinerary
Yellowstone National Park has two ring roads that create a figure-8 through the park. One the first day, we’ll enter via the north entrance and loop the north loop. On the second and third days, we’ll explore the south ring, with day 2 spent exploring geysers and day 3 spend exploring Yellowstone Lake and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Then we’ll exit via the south entrance, in case you want to move on to Grand Teton. This route will also work in reverse if you’re entering the park from the south.
When to Visit Yellowstone
Note that this itinerary will only work from May through October. For the rest of the year, roads may be closed due to high amounts of snowfall making some of these roads impossible. As park roads are fully open for only part of the year, you’ll find that this is one of the busiest parks, especially between late June through August. So prepare yourself for possible traffic jams if you’re visiting during these summer months.
When looking at a map of Yellowstone, you may be like me and imagine Yellowstone is a similar size to other national parks and therefore you can drive all the roads in a few hours. Well, Yellowstone is HUGE. It spans over 2 million acres of land. So when you take a look at the map and start planning out your route, it’s important to know that the scale is large and the drive time can even be more than what you’ll see on a GPS as traffic and construction can increase trip time. So my point is when you only have a few days, a plan for tackling this massive park is a must.
Day 1 – North Yellowstone
Morning – Mammoth Hot Springs
Before entering the park from Gardiner, stop at the Roosevelt Arch to take some photos of this great entrance sign.
Consider stopping just inside the park entrance at the Boiling River. This is one of the few areas in the park where you are able to swim in hot spring water.
Visit Mammoth Hot Springs during the morning and hope to see wild elk roaming the streets of town. Here you’ll also find a visitors center so you can ask questions, grab a park map and check out any road conditions or closures you may need to know about.
Afternoon – Mount Washburn
Leave Mammoth and consider stopping for a picnic lunch on your way.
Head East through the park. Stop to see both Undine and Wraith Falls on your drive. Consider taking the Blacktail Plateau Drive, which is a one way dirt road that may give you the option of spotting more wildlife. You do not need a 4×4 for this drive but it is a bumpy ride and you shouldn’t try it with a trailer or RV.
Stop for a quick look at Tower Falls and move on to Mount Washburn. Consider driving to the top of Dunraven Pass to get great views of the park.
Evening – Lamar Valley
Make it to the Lamar Valley by dusk. Find spots where other cars are parked as that’s likely where the animals are. We spotted so many great things here. Our favorite thing we saw was a wolf hunting for mice.
Stay overnight in Gardiner, Mammoth, Tower-Roosevelt, Norris or Madison.
Day 2 – Geysers
Morning – Old Faithful
Spend the day seeing so many types of hot springs and geysers. Start your morning early by driving to Old Faithful. By visiting first thing in the morning, you’ll avoid lots of the crowds and have a better chance at getting a good viewing spot. Check the geyser eruption predictions ahead of time so that you can make sure you time your visit with an eruption.
If you arrive before the eruption you plan on watching, walk the full upper geyser basin. This is a really great part of the park and is worth completing the full walk. Also consider checking the eruption predictions to see if you can watch another eruption while you’re in the upper geyser basin. We watched both Grand Geyser and Castle Geyser erupt and walked the whole of the upper basin and left by noon.
Consider having a picnic lunch while you’re waiting for a geyser eruption.
Afternoon – Midway and Lower Geyser Basin
Visit Black Sand Basin and Biscuit Basin for short walks to see more hot springs.
Walk to the Grand Prismatic Springs viewing area for the big overview of Grand Prismatic Springs with all the pretty colors. Then visit the Midway Geyser Basin and see Grand Prismatic up close – and less impressive. Enjoy the rest of the Midway Geyser Basin.
Then drive the Firehole Lake Drive through the Lower Geyser Basin. Stop and walk all the short boardwalks. This was actually our favorite place in Yellowstone and much less crowded than the other geyser basins.
Evening – Artists Paintpots
You should still have some daylight left so spend it on the short walk to the Artists Paintpots. Here you’ll see some more hotsprings and some of the best mudpots in the park. We liked mudpots so much because they made such funny noises. You’ll have to visit to hear it for yourself.
Stay in Madison, Norris or West Yellowstone.
Day 3 – Yellowstone Lake and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Morning – Norris Geyser Basin and Grand Canyon
Start the morning visiting the Norris Geyser Basin. Will you be lucky enough to see Steamboat Geyser? Probably not, but if it’s erupting, you’ve gotten really lucky.
Head to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Drive the North Rim Drive stopping at the viewpoints. Consider hiking some of the short trails to the viewpoints along the canyon.
Stop in Canyon Village for a picnic or purchase lunch at the lodge.
Afternoon – Hayden Valley and Yellowstone Lake
After lunch drive South Rim Drive along the Yellowstone River for move viewpoints of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Then drive through the Hayden Valley. It will be midway so you likely won’t see much except bison napping and drinking in the river. But keep your eye peeled for movement as you never know what you’ll see.
Next, you’ll find yourself in one of the stinkiest sections of Yellowstone. Visit the Sulphur Caldron to see some very interesting old hot springs.
Next, visit the Mud Volcano and take the short walk through this area.
After, you’ll find yourself driving along the shores of Yellowstone Lake, the largest high elevation lake in North America.
End your afternoon in the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Walk through this geyser basin which is located on the shores and sometime inside of Yellowstone Lake.
Want to Adjust the Itinerary?
One Day in Yellowstone
If you only have one day in Yellowstone, spend it doing the Day 2 itinerary. This will allow you to see all the best that Yellowstone has to offer with minimal drive time.
Two Days in Yellowstone
If you only have two days in Yellowstone, spend it doing the Day 2 and Day 3 itineraries. If you can fit Mammoth Hot Springs into your day, it’s definitely worth it but the extra drive time may not make it possible.
Four Days in Yellowstone
Complete the three day Yellowstone itinerary above staying overnight on day three in Grant Village, Old Faithful, Madison or Norris.
Add watching geysers erupt in upper geyser basin to your day four. You can easily spend an entire day trying to catch several eruptions. They are really cool to watch and this is a great way to spend a relaxing day in Yellowstone.
Five Days in Yellowstone
If you have 5 days in Yellowstone, we think the best things to do everything on the 4-day Yellowstone itinerary, plus some hiking. However, we’ve reworked some things from the other itineraries in order to cut down on driving time.
Day 1
Complete the North Yellowstone itinerary above, except don’t drive to Mount Washburn. Instead consider driving Bear Tooth Pass out of Yellowstone National Park. Stay in Norris, West Yellowstone, or Madison.
Day 2
Complete the day two Yellowstone itinerary above, ending it midday at the Midway Geyser Basin. In the late afternoon do the full hike to Fairy Falls including the hike to the Grand Prismatic Springs overlook. Stay in Madison, West Yellowstone, or Norris.
Day 3
Visit Lower Geyser Basin, Monument Geyser Basin, Artists Paintpots, and Norris Geyser Basin in the morning. Drive the Dunraven Pass and hike to the top of Mount Washburn. This hike takes you to the top of Mount Washburn and gives you panoramic views of Yellowstone National Park. Stay in Canyon Village.
Day 4
Complete the day 3 Yellowstone itinerary above, skipping Norris Geyser Basin as you’ve already visited. Stay overnight in Grant Village or Old Faithful.
Day 5
Check the Geyser eruption schedule and spend your day trying to see as many eruptions as possible. You’ll likely spend a lot of time in the Upper Geyser Basin as lots of geysers here erupt on a schedule. So in between eruptions, check out the inside of the Old Faithful Inn if you haven’t stopped in yet.
More Time
Yellowstone National Park is amazing. But what makes it more amazing is the fact that it is located right next door to Grand Teton National Park. So if you’d like to extend your Yellowstone itinerary, but aren’t interested in spending more time in Yellowstone, head south to Grand Teton.
If you would like to spend more time in Yellowstone National Park, consider doing some longer and more remote hiking in the park. Choose some hiking trails ahead of time and insert them into the Five Day Yellowstone itinerary above.
Where to Stay for Your Yellowstone Vacation
Staying in the park is definitely preferable. But it comes with a cost. You’ll pay far more to stay in the park than you would to stay in the surrounding towns but you’ll avoid having to wait in the never ending entry lines each morning. The lines to get in the park are always there but if you don’t think you can make it into the park before 8-9AM each morning, pay the extra money and stay in the park. It will save you tons of time.
There are three centrally located places to stay in the park that we’d recommend based on location. Norris and Madison both have campsite available. And Canyon Village has both camping and lodge accommodations.
Camping
We camped in Madison, it was a great central location within the park that gave us a central base to stay at each day we were in the park. Also, camping is a great way to stay in any National Park when you’re on a budget.
Lodges
You can also stay in one of the very cool park lodges. However, you’ll pay a premium for it. Old Faithful Inn is considered by some as a top thing do to in Yellowstone so you may want to consider staying there. However, we think the location isn’t the best so we didn’t decide to splurge to stay here.
Hotels
If you’re a morning person, you could stay outside of the park to save some money. West Yellowstone and Gardiner are the best places to stay as they’re closest to entrance gates. We stayed our first night at the budget friendly Super 8 in Gardiner and it was a surprisingly amazing stay with some of the best hotel staff we’ve encountered.
Wherever you choose to stay, make sure to book your accommodations early, 6 months early. Places in and around Yellowstone book up quickly.
Also, Yellowstone is HUGE, as previously mentioned. So if you are unable to get a nice centrally located place to stay, consider staying in multiple locations during your trip so you can cut down on your driving time each day.
Finally, these are our suggestions for planning your Yellowstone itinerary, but remember that this park is huge and depending on when you visit, lots of factors may cause you edit it a bit. We hope this has helped you to plan your Yellowstone vacation but feel free to leave any comments or questions below if you need help planning your trip.
