We are so lucky to live in Southeast Idaho because we live within a few hours of Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is one of the best National Parks in the world. People spend hundreds of dollars and travel thousands of miles to visit a place that we can reach in just a couple of hours. We all should be visiting the park often. But it can seem kind of overwhelming to plan a trip to the park. There are so many great things to see and do in Yellowstone, where do you even start?
My family lived in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 2017. I was employed by Yellowstone National Park Lodges and we lived in our 25 foot RV in one of the Employee Campgrounds. I worked 40 hours a week, and the rest of my time was spent with my family in the middle of the best vacation ever.
Living in the park gave me insight into the best ways to enjoy a visit to the park. I want to share with you some of the things I learned.
This post is going to help you plan a successful day trip into the park. Day trips into the park are really easy to do from Southeast Idaho. This post is meant to be a brief overview of how to maximize your visit. I’ve included links throughout this post to sites with more in-depth information. Some of the links connect back to specific posts on my travel blog at www.51centadventures.com.
1. Buy the ‘America the Beautiful’ Annual Pass
The cost to visit Yellowstone National Park in 2019 is $35 for a 7-day pass. If you are absolutely sure that you will only visit Yellowstone once, and that it’s the only federally owned land you’ll visit this year, then go ahead and plan to pay that amount. But I don’t recommend doing that. Instead, you should buy the annual America The Beautiful Pass for $80. This pass will not only give you access to Yellowstone for a whole year, but you can visit any other National Park, National Monument, National Forest, and Bureau of Land Management Area for free for 12 months after you buy the pass.
You should definitely plan to buy the annual pass if you plan to visit Grand Teton National Park any time in the next year. Several years ago you could pay one fee to visit both Yellowstone and Grand Teton. That’s not the case anymore. Now you have to pay $30 to visit Grand Teton in addition to the $35 to visit Yellowstone. Add those two together and you’re at $65. Why not pay $15 more and have access to even more places to visit all year long?
Places in Southeast Idaho where you can use the pass include Craters of the Moon National Monument (normally $10 a car), Mesa Falls (normally $5 per car), not to mention all the National Forest and BLM land located throughout the state.
There are also some great National Parks within a days drive of Southeast Idaho. There are five National Parks located less than 8 hours away in Southern Utah. Glacier National Park in Montana is also less than 8 hours away. Even Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is within 10 hours. With a park pass you can plan a trip to Yellowstone now and then visit another national park later in the year. Also, since we live so close to Yellowstone you can visit the park multiple times in the same year and use the annual pass every time.
You can buy the pass at the entrance gate, but that will take up valuable time that you could be spending in the park. Instead, plan to buy the pass before your trip. You can buy the pass at any of the National Forest Service offices located in Southeast Idaho. You can also buy it online and have it sent to you.
2. Use the West Entrance
The West Entrance is located a mile away from the city of West Yellowstone, Montana. This is the entrance that is closest to Southeast Idaho. You may be tempted to drive up through Grand Teton National Park and enter Yellowstone from the south. That’s a good idea if you want to see the Grand Tetons, but it’s not a good idea if you want to spend most of your time in Yellowstone. The top speed limit in both national parks is 45 miles per hour. If you drive up through Grand Teton NP a lot of your time will be eaten up in that park. If you want to spend as much time in Yellowstone as possible then you don’t want to waste time on the slow roads in Grand Teton.
Still not convinced? Well, Google Maps says Old Faithful is 139 miles from Idaho Falls if you go through the West Entrance. Assuming traffic is good, your drive will take you 2 hours and 44 minutes from Idaho Falls to Old Faithful. Contrast that with what Google says about taking the trip through the Grand Tetons. It’s 186 miles and will take you 4 hours and 19 minutes. Save time, go through the West Entrance.
The Fountain Paint Pot area is one of the first geyser areas you can visit if you use the West Entrance.
3. Go Early/Stay Late
There is one drawback to the West Yellowstone Entrance Station – it’s the busiest entrance to the park. Even with four entrance lanes it still can be backed up at peak times (generally from about 9:00 am to 2:00 pm). And after you get through the entrance you are stuck in a line of cars driving around the park. During the summer from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm most park roads turn into giant traffic jams. The parking lots are even worse. Count yourself lucky if you can find a parking spot at many of the features during the day.
In order to have the best possible Yellowstone experience, you’ll want to get into the park as early as possible. Yes, that means you’ll have to wake up around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, but trust me it will be worth it to feel like you have the park to yourself for a few hours.
Also, the hot springs and geysers look amazing in the early morning. The cool air in the morning makes it so even the smallest fumerails have billows of steam emanating from them. If you want good pictures you’ll want to be in the park early.
You’ll also want to plan to stay in the park after 5:00 pm. Most everyone starts leaving the park in the early evening because they want to find somewhere to eat. Pack your own picnic dinner so you can stay in the park longer. You will enjoy having the park to yourself again. In the summer it doesn’t get dark until around 9:00 pm so you’ll have hours to enjoy a crowd-free park.
The best places to visit early and late are the most popular areas. These include places like the waterfall lookouts near Canyon Village (seriously, don’t even think about trying to visit Artist Point during peak times), Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Prismatic Spring, Artist Paint Pots, Norris Geyser Basin,and Mud Volcano.
4. Find somewhere to explore deeply during peak traffic times.
You may be wondering, “what am I supposed to do from 10:00 to 5:00 when the traffic is bad?” The answer is to find somewhere to settle down and really enjoy that area. Don’t try to drive from place to place all afternoon. Instead, pick somewhere and stay there. Here are some suggestions.
– Explore the area around Old Faithful.
The Old Faithful area has the largest parking lot in the park. You can nearly always find a parking spot at Old Faithful. Make sure you see the world famous geyser, but also plan to visit the other things in the area. You can stop by the visitor center to look at the displays and watch the educational movies. You can tour the Historic Old Faithful Inn. There are also many trails that start in the Old Faithful Area. You can walk around the Upper Geyser Basin and see things like Grand Geyer and Morning Glory Pool. If you’re up for long hikes the Black Sands and Biscuit Geyser Basins are accessible via trails that start in the Old Faithful area.
– Go on a backcountry hike
They say that only 1% of all visitors to the park venture more than a quarter mile away from the main road. That means that if you want a more intimate Yellowstone experience you should plan to go on a hike. Hikes range in difficulty, but some moderate hikes are Fairy Falls near the Midway Geyser Basin, Storm Point near Yellowstone Lake, Natural Bridge near Bridge Bay, and the hike to Lone Star Geyser.
– Spend time at the beach
Not many people know that there is a beach located behind the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center. The sand is a little rocky and the water is too cold to swim in, but this is a great place to let young children play when they are sick of being in the car. You’ll have great views of Yellowstone Lake, and the kids will have a chance to run free. Bring a blanket and relax on the beach while everyone else is stressed out in traffic.
-Visit the Lamar Valley
The Lamar Valley area is the least visited area in the park. It’s located in the northeast corner of the park which seems a little out of the way for those of us in Southeast Idaho. But actually, it’s out of the way for nearly all the visitors to the park. That means that there are fewer cars on the road. The Lamar Valley is a great place for wildlife spotting. There is usually a large herd of bison grazing in the valley. If you want to see more animals than people then you should plan to visit the Lamar Valley.
5. Go early or late in the season
Another way to avoid crowds is to visit early or late in the season. Park roads start opening in Mid April and stay open through early November. Planning a trip to Yellowstone in the Spring or Fall is a great way to see the park without getting stuck in the midst of the thousands of summer tourists.
There are some drawbacks to be aware of though. Not all roads open and close at the same time. Some areas aren’t accessible until Memorial Day and are shut off again in the early fall. Also, a lot of trails are closed early in the season due to bear migration or snow that hasn’t melted yet. So you may not be able to see as much of the park as you would like.
During our summer in Yellowstone, we found that late June was a good time to be in the park. Most of the trails were open, but the crowds of people were smaller than they were in July or August.
I’ve heard great things about Yellowstone in the fall, but so far I haven’t made it there for a visit during that time of year. I’m hoping to do that this year.
* * *
I hope these tips help you as you plan your day trip to the park. If you are interested in spending more time in the park there are several lodging options. Yellowstone National Park Lodges operates several lodges and a few cabins. These accommodations are popular so they are pricey and you need to make reservations several months in advance.
There are also 12 campgrounds in the park. Five of them are reservable. I suggest making reservations as soon as possible, but sometimes you can get lucky and find a spot within a few weeks of a trip. There are also seven first come first serve campgrounds. If you get there early in the day you may be able to snag a site at one of those campgrounds.
But even if you can’t stay overnight in the park you only live a few hours from the park. You can always come back for another visit another day.
That’s the beauty of living within a few hours of a spectacular national park.
