If you are planning a vacation to Yellowstone, you’ll want to know all of the best things to do in Yellowstone National Park. We’re here to help! We’ll help you understand all of the best attractions, natural wonders and things to see in Yellowstone. This list is full of the best that Yellowstone has to offer and all of the must-visit places in the park. We hope that these things to do in Yellowstone National Park will help you plan the best vacation ever!
Yellowstone National Park is made up of so many unique geological wonders. Therefore, it is a haven for a rock nerd like Scott. It’s also a great place to see so many amazing natural wonders all in one trip. As you drive through Yellowstone, you’ll see colorful hot springs, erupting geysers, herds of Bison and beautiful mountains. These amazing things to see in Yellowstone National Park will never fail to bring wonder and joy to every traveler.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
Time: 45 minute walk
West Thumb Geyser Basin is one of the southern most stops in the park. This geyser basin is located on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. Some of the geysers here are even in the lake! This area can be explored via a short boardwalk that travels through some boiling springs, stinky sulphur pools and mini geysers.
Watch Old Faithful Erupt
Time: 20 minutes for finding seating and watching the eruption
Old Faithful is one of the most predictable geysers, which is why it is always one of the top things to do in Yellowstone National Park for every visitor. This faithful geyser erupts every 90 minutes, give or take 10 minutes. It’s been erupting on a regular schedule since it was first recorded in 1870. The geyser shoots steaming hot water into the air to heights of up to 120 feet.
Besides the predictability, Old Faithful is one of the top things to do in Yellowstone because of the well developed viewing area and geyser talks that the park rangers put on. To see the eruption times, download the Yellowstone app. But make sure to get there early as seats fill up fast and the parking lot can be a gridlock nightmare. Also, while Old Faithful is pretty faithful, make sure to get there a few minutes early just in case it goes off ahead of schedule.
You can also see Old Faithful erupt from other viewpoints along the Upper Geyser Basin walkway. We liked watching it erupt from Observation Point. Though it did seem much smaller from this viewpoint than from the amphitheater.
Upper Geyser Basin
Time: 3-4 hours, including several eruptions
The Upper Geyser Basin has the largest concentration of erupting geysers in the world. Old Faithful is at the beginning of the walking loops and is the most famous. However, there are so many more geysers to see here.
You can take the boardwalks through this area to see the geysers and hot springs. It’s a really nice walk with a lot of interesting things to see on a short and accessible boardwalk.
Several of the geysers here will erupt on a schedule. Check out this website to see the predicted times. However, be warned that these are predicted times and the geysers may decide to be early, late or skip an eruption all together. We planned to stay in this area for half a day to catch Grand Geyser, the biggest geyser in the park, and far better than Old Faithful in our opinion. However, the geyser skipped an eruption and we wound up waiting longer to see it. BUT, we got super lucky and were able to see a non-predicted eruption of Castle Geyser, which went off for about 20 minutes.
Also, make sure to catch Morning Glory Pool and Grotto Geyser. These were some of our favorite features along the boardwalk.
Midway Geyser Basin
Time: 45 minute walk
The Midway Geyser Basin is a much smaller area to walk around than the Upper Geyser Basin. This area is mostly made up of beautifully colored hot springs. Grand Prismatic Spring is the most easily recognized hot spring in Yellowstone. You’ll also see some other beautiful pools here like Opal and Turquoise Pool. The stroll along the boardwalk is definitely a must-see stop.
However, keep in mind that this being such an easily accessible and insta-recognizable area, it’s generally packed! So come early or late in the day to find parking or you’ll have to walk miles to get to the parking lot from where you’ll actually have to park.
Grand Prismatic Spring Hike
Time: 1 hour hike + viewing
Know that when you walk the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk, you won’t actually get those great views of Grand Prismatic Spring that you see in pictures. We were a bit disappointed in Grand Prismatic after visiting from the boardwalk.
Alternatively, to get that overview that you see in pictures, you’ll have to hike to the overlook. To get to the overlook, park at Fairy Falls and follow the signs. It’s about a .5 mile walk and it’s relatively easy but it does include a bit of an incline.
(PS: Drones are not allowed so no getting out of the hike)
We visited early in the morning to get a good parking spot as the parking lot fills up quickly. It was quite a chilly morning and consequently we got a lot of steam. However, during a warmer part of the day, we think the colors would be better, but we know the parking would have been worse. If we could have seen all the colors, we would have seen a rainbow of colors as the orange edges of the hot spring blend into the deep blue of the center of the pool.
This rainbow of color is caused by the different microorganisms living in the pool. These extremophiles live in very narrow ranges of temperature so each layer of color basically has a different ecosystem living in it that color.
Firehole Lake Drive
Time: 1 hour drive with stops
Okay! So this was my absolute favorite thing to do in Yellowstone! It was just so surprising. We saw 4 geysers erupt as we drove through the one way loop. This was just plain dumb luck but some of these eruptions were better than the geysers we waited for at the Upper Geyser Basin. I mean just look at the Pink Lady, complete with rainbow, as it erupted for at least a half hour.
As you drive this 3 mile one-way loop, you’ll pass so many geysers and other geothermal features. You’ll find plenty of pull outs along the drive for you to do short walks to the geysers. We saw more geysers erupting during our drive than we did on our planned morning in the upper geyser basin.
Fountain Paint Pot
Time: 45 minute hike
This very short boardwalk will give you a great preview of all the different geothermal features that you can see in Yellowstone National Park. Admittedly, these features aren’t as impressive here as they are in other areas of the park, but with the short walk it’s worth a stop.
Firehole Canyon Drive
Time: 1/2 hour drive
This 3-mile one-way drive provides a scenic detour if you’re driving south through the park. The drive will take you along the Firehole River and give you views of Firehole Falls. I will say that this isn’t one of the best things to do in Yellowstone National Park, but it is worth taking the detour if you’re driving south through the park and have a few extra minutes to spare.
Artists Paintpots
Time: 40 minute hike
Of all the top things to do in Yellowstone National Park, this was Scott’s favorite. It is a bit of a hike to get to the geothermal features, but it was sooo worth it. You walk along a boardwalk loop to see some colorful hot springs.
But what we really loved the most were the bubbling mud pots. These were fascinating to watch and just so unique! You could see mud pots of varying viscosities and ages so it was just plain cool to see how the different mud pots behaved.
Norris Geyser Basin
Time: 1.5 hour hike
Don’t skip a stop at Norris Geyser Basin! This is another quiet walk that will take you to some beautiful stops.
One of the most impressive things to do in Yellowstone National Park is catch Steamboat Geyser going off. This is the parks tallest geyser. However, it appears to go off on its own schedule. We met couples in Yellowstone who’d been to the park 5 times just to see the geyser go off. When we visited, we missed the eruption, but it did go off when we were here and the next morning the geyser was still steaming. We thought one of the coolest things to see was the destruction the geyser wreaked on the trees in the area. It was definitely worth a stop.
Hayden Valley
Time: 45 minute drive
Hayden Vally is one of the most famous place in Yellowstone to spot animals. We did see a ton of bison here. So if you’re still searching for bison on your Yellowstone vacation, take a quick drive through Hayden Valley. They do get very close to the road here and sometimes even walk along the road. Be prepare to stop for Bison – they’re big and have the right of way.
Mud Volcano
Time: 1 hour hike
This is the stinky part of the park. And one of the most interesting things to do in Yellowstone National Park. These bubbling mud pits make really cool plopping noises and are fascinating to the inner child in all of us. This hike also includes the Dragon’s Mouth Spring. Dragon’s Mouth Spring is in a cave and makes a roaring sound regularly as it expels steam. It’s really cool!
Yellowstone Lake
Time: whatever you want
Yellowstone Lake is the largest high-elevation lake in North America and actually sits within the Yellowstone caldera (the big divot where the Yellowstone volcano previously erupted). This wildly unique lake is an amazing site. Drive along the shores of the lake or stop to have a picnic on the shores.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Time: 1.5 hours of driving and hiking
Who knew that you’d visit Yellowstone National Park and have the Grand Canyon thrown in as a bonus? We didn’t. And boy were we pleasantly surprised. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone spans over 20 miles and includes two very impressive waterfalls. Visiting the Lower and the Upper Falls will allow you to see the powerful river that carved its way through the geyser weakened rock.
Make sure to drive the road along the North and South rims because you’ll get great views on both sides. We hiked to Artist’s Point, Inspiration Point and the brink of Lower Falls. All of which were great hikes. But the Brink of the Lower Falls hike was strenuous with the elevation change. If it’s late in the day or you aren’t in great shape, skip it.
Mount Washburn
Time: 6 hours of driving and hiking
Driving around Mount Washburn will give you beautiful views of one of the tallest peaks in the park. You can also complete the 6.2 mile hike to the top of the peak from Dunraven Pass. From Mount Washburn you’ll get panoramic views of Yellowstone National Park as well as views of Grand Teton. This hike does take a half day, at minimum and has a steep elevation gain.
Tower Fall
Time: Quick roadside stop
This waterfall is a bit out of the way from other Yellowstone attractions. However, this Fall falls over rocks along the Yellowstone River and is a quick and beautiful stop.
Lamar Valley
Time: 2.5 hours driving the whole north road
This is unarguably the best spot in all of Yellowstone to spot wildlife. And spotting wildlife is one of the best things to do in Yellowstone National Park. This park is home to some amazing herds of bison, well-fed packs of wolves and beautiful herds of elk. You can spot it all in the Lamar valley. Your best chance of spotting animals is in the early morning for elk, in the early evening for wolves and during both the morning and evening if you’re trying to spot bison. Honestly, you have to be trying really hard not to see at least one bison during your trip to Yellowstone.
The north road has plenty of turn outs and viewing areas. So just make sure that you are using these turnouts to spot your wildlife and don’t contribute to the traffic jams along the roads. Also, make sure to pack binoculars so you can see the far off wildlife like the wolf and bear.
Urdine and Wraith Falls
Time: Quick roadside stop
These falls make for great roadside stops as you’re driving to the east side of the park and the Lamar Valley. We had a quick lunch at Wraith Falls and it was a great spot for a picnic.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Time: 1 hour hiking lower springs and 30 minutes driving upper springs
Mammoth Hot Springs are some of the coolest geothermal features in the park. This is one of our favorite things to do in Yellowstone National Park. These hot springs have formed a stepping stone-like terrace of individual hot spring pools that cover the hill. Because these hot springs are on the hill and water falls downhill, the terrace is constantly being formed and reformed as pools clog up and others break through the hill.
Boiling River
Time: whatever you need
The worst kept secret in the park is that you can soak your weary muscles along the banks of the Gardiner River where boiling water enters the cool river. There are a few other spots in the park where hot spring soaking is allowed. Make sure to only get in the water where it is allowed and know you’ll probably have to wade through really cold river water to get to the hot spring part of the river.
Do not attempt to actually take a dip in anything labeled “hot spring” while you are in Yellowstone National Park. You may wind up relaxing away your skin and life, rather than your stress.
Sheepeater Cliff
Time: quick stop
This quick stop is definitely worth the few minutes it takes if you are into rocks. These columnar stones make up the cliff side. This quiet stop is also a great place to spot some less famous wildlife, like this little pika.
We hope this list of our favorite things to do in Yellowstone National Park has given you inspiration for planning your own trip to this amazing park. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below.
