Want me to plan your trip for you? Please reach out to me for help planning your next national park getaway, and I can help put together the perfect personalized itinerary for you!
Yellowstone National Park — spanning an area of almost 3,500 square miles between Montana and Wyoming — has been one of the most iconic landmarks in America long before a recent TV show made it even more famous. It’s one of those places I think every American should see someday (and I recommend to every nature lover from abroad, too). It’s a place of rivers and waterfalls and lakes and geysers — where almost 5,000 majestic buffalo now roam after they were once reduced to just one last herd in the West. Just a must-visit!
WHEN TO GO
The best time to visit Yellowstone National Park depends on what you want to see and do, and how crowded you want the park to be. A majority of tourists come in the summer, of course — when kids are out of school, there’s lots of wildlife around, geothermal activity is at its peak, and the weather is nice. You’ll want to book your cabins at the popular hotels inside Yellowstone almost a year in advance for these high-demand months. May and September are my recommended months to go, as they’re much less crowded. Outside of those months, you’ll start seeing fewer animals and more road closures, but it is possible to go year-round (but not all the entrances are open, so check their website). The Northwest entrance through Gardiner, Montana is the one open year-round and most reliable in colder months.
HOW TO GET THERE
First thing first, you will need to drive to Yellowstone (or rent a car at the closest airport). This isn’t really the kind of place you can easily visit with a shuttle, and I honestly just wouldn’t recommend it anyway. There are 5 entrances to the park (shown on the map below), and you should check the park’s official website to make sure the one you’re planning to use is open that time of year. You will need to show proof of accommodation, a national park pass, or pay an entrance feee. In the west, you can enter through the town of West Yellowstone, near the border with Idaho; in the northwest through the town of Gardiner, Montana (open year-round); in the northeast near Cook City; in the east, through the mountains between Cody and Yellowstone; and in the south, through Teton National Park between Yellowstone and Jackson, Wyoming. The closest airport is West Yellowstone (WYS), 5 miles from the west entrance — but this is a small, regional airport with Delta and SkyWest flights to Salt Lake City. I recommend the Jackson Hole airport (JAC) in Wyoming, 50 miles from the south entrance — or Bozeman, Montana (BZN) just a little over 90 miles from the north or west entrances. If you come from Jackson, the way I prefer to go, you can also stop in Grand Teton National Park — which is arguably even more beautiful than Yellowstone.
WHERE TO STAY
When I came to Yellowstone, we stayed at the historic Old Faithful Inn for 2 nights and Canyon Lodge for another 2 nights. You can’t beat the location if you’re one of those people who likes to beat the crowds and be on the trail (or at a landmark) at sunrise. However, you will need to book far in advance and pay a premium for the location. I wouldn’t say the accommodations themselves — from the rooms to the dining — were spectacular. My biggest complaint was the lack of phone service (T-Mobile didn’t work at all) and WiFi throughout the park, because my husband and I both have day jobs where we can’t be entirely off the grid for that long. In 2024, when a basic room costs $500+ at the Old Faithful Inn, I expect WiFi to be available in it — sorry, not sorry. To get more specific on each of the 4 main “villages” and the accommodations within them (campgrounds excluded):
- Yellowstone Lake Lodge & Cabins have no WiFi in the entire village, but the lake views are wonderful and their dining room is the best one in the park. You will need to make reservations for dinner as much as a month in advance, though.
- Old Faithful Inn has no WiFi in the main hotel or its rooms, but you can walk to the snow lodge and get WiFi there — which isn’t ideal, but better than nothing. I think this historic hotel is really cool to see, but I could have done without paying $500/night to stay there there and just walked around and had a drink on its 2nd floor balcony while watching the geyser go off. (Be careful when booking, as rooms in the old building here may not have their own bathroom/shower either.) Per the reviews, the food in the main dining hall here is not good at all — and I recommend the snow lodge for that, as well.
- Canyon Lodge has well-updated rooms, but the public areas are more cafeteria-style than anything resembling a bar or restaurant. The food options in the cafeteria can be pretty good and well-varied, though. There is spotty WiFi in the rooms (the main lodge and Washburn Lodge are most reliable) — and there is technically supposed to also be WiFi in the public areas of the village, but that was not working when we were there. For the price, we enjoyed our stay here much more.
- I can’t personally speak for Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, but it is supposed to have WiFi in the main lobby and the main building’s guest rooms, updated rooms, and an ok dining room.
If you’re cool driving a bit every day, I would recommend checking out lodging options in West Yellowstone (or near there). Under Canvas is a really cool glamping option out there, but there are also lots of affordable regular hotels, as well as luxury dude ranches. I’m happy to help you find the perfect spot for you if you’d like to hire me to help plan your trip!
WHAT TO SEE
Here’s a map that shows you the different entrances, clusters of restaurants/hotels inside the park, and what I think are the must-see spots. My 3 favorite things to see in Yellowstones were what I think are most unique to this national park: #1 the buffalo (at Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley), #2 the geysers (near Old Faithful, Mammoth, and Thumb Geyser), and #3 the canyon (or the views of it from Inspiration Point, Artist Point, and Red Rock Point).
I know that’s a lot of (potentially overwhelming) information — so please reach out to me for help planning your next trip to Yellowstone, and I can help put together the perfect personalized itinerary for you!
