Along my 14-day roadtrip from New York to California with my girlfriend, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a beautifully long day in Yellowstone National Park, and we were determined to make the most out of our time we had. In this post, I will go over our itinerary for our epic day getaway in Yellowstone, along with recommendations to try and capture the most beauty from the park!
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Day Before
Our trip started with us arriving to Yellowstone in the evening, and our first priority was to eat dinner and take a shower. We were coming off of a 11 hour drive from Mt. Rushmore which made was want to settle into our campsite so that we could wake up refreshed for our first full day in Yellowstone.
Campsites and Hotels
Lewis Lake on Yellowstone Map, Yellowstone NP
Yellowstone has a plethora of lodging options raging from primitive campsites to grand hotels such as the famous Old Faithful Inn. Because our trip was sort-of last minute, I was able to book 3 nights at Lewis Lake Campground, located near the south entrance of the park.
Day in Yellowstone
Our first morning in the park started with a drive to Old Faithful Geyser to catch an early eruption and beat the crowds. We were lucky enough to arrive around 7:45 with the next eruption around 8:10, so we didn’t have to wait around long. Our first buffalo was seen along the way!
Bison seen along the road to Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone NP
We decided to fuel up on iced coffee and cereal, and walk over to the geyser around 8:00. After seeing what crowds were like in the afternoon, we were really happy that we decided to go early. This is something I definitely recommend! Keep in mind that Old Faithful Geyser erupts about every 2 hours, so you will have the chance to see it all throughout the day if you aren’t an early riser!
Getting ready to see Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park
After watching the eruption of the geyser, we decided to take a stroll along the boardwalks of Yellowstone which offer up-close-and-personal views of mini-geysers and hot springs. It reminded me of a museum exhibit, even though I had to remember that these pools were made from Mother Earth!
To cover the most distance as we could, we decided to take the Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful Observation Point Loop trail. This allowed us to see a majority of the hot springs and geysers along the trail. Here is a link to the trail on AllTrails:
Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful Observation Point Loop Trail Alltrails
Afternoon: North Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs
Next, we jumped in the car and headed north to tour different observation points such as the Fountain Paint Pot and Gibbon Falls. We then drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs, located in the upper-northwest corner of the park, taking us around 1.5 hours. This was a must-see, as the geometric formations of the hot springs was very cool to see!
We then drove around the parks North Loops past the Tower-Rosevelt and off to a picnic site near Canyon Village where we cooked up delicious quesadillas and veggies! After filling our bellies, we drove down to admire Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls. Although we were too tired to do the hike, I would fully recommend taking the short “Brink of the Lower Falls Trail” to gain the best view of the waterfall!
Evening: Hayden Valley
It was around 6 o’clock, and we were saving my favorite part for last. As the sun started to creep its way to the horizon, our car pulled into Hayden Valley to see spectacular glimpses of all the wildlife that Yellowstone had to offer. Heards of Bison, a pack of Elk, a pair of Coyotes, a small black bear, and a plethora of birds were all in view! The beauty of the scenery combined with the ability to see the variety of animals definitely put Hayden Valley at the top of my experiences in Yellowstone.
Capturing the sunset in Hayden Valley, Yellowstone NP
Conclusion
I hope that this guide provided some insight on some of the best sights to see in Yellowstone! Please let me know if there was anything that I missed or that you would recommend seeing within your day at Yellowstone. Cheers!
