12 Tips for Your First Trip to Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park is one of the most popular travel destinations in the United States. With stunning landscapes (featuring over 10,000 hydrothermal features) and abundant wildlife a trip to Yellowstone is a discovery of some of the world’s greatest natural wonders. Spanning close to 3500 square miles, planning a proper Yellowstone itinerary is no easy task. Check out these 12 tips for visiting Yellowstone so you can maximize your time, save money, and see as many of the best attractions in Yellowstone National Park as possible.

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Book accommodations in advance or visit during offseason

With only 9 hotels inside Yellowstone National Park and over 4 million visitors per year, the accommodations inside the park get booked out fast. During peak summer season (July to August), the hotels are often booked out more than a year in advance. Though there are pros in staying outside the park, but staying inside the park allows you to wander around at night (with caution), and enjoy the sights with fewer crowds. Visiting during the offseason means less crowds, more hotel availability and lower prices.

Short on time? Stay in the park. Traveling on a budget? Stay outside.

If you are short on time, staying in the park will allow you to be closer to the sights and is a good option to maximize your time if you have only a few days in Yellowstone. If you are traveling on a budget staying outside of Yellowstone can be much more affordable. Outside the park borders food and lodging prices tend to be cheaper. Check out this Yellowstone vacation guide to make the most of your time in the park.

Staying outside Yellowstone National Park ? Consider staying in more than one location

Because Yellowstone National Park is huge (ranging across parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho) it’s a good idea to base yourself in several locations during your trip to see all of the best things in Yellowstone. There are a total of 5 entrances in Yellowstone, and they are located a minimum of 1.5 hours away from each other. If you want to visit the Mammoth Springs (one of our personal favorite attractions in Yellowstone) located in the northern part of Yellowstone, you want to stay in Gardiner, Montana. For other popular sights like Old Faithful or Grand Prismatic Spring the town of West Yellowstone in Montana would make a great base.

Plan Your Trip According to The Season

When planning your trip to Yellowstone, it is important to take the weather and seasons into account. In the summer months, it’s usually smooth sailing – roads are open, lodges are accepting guests, and etc. However, things can get a little tricky in autumn, spring, and especially winter. Snowfall might cause some of the roads to be completely closed, preventing visitors from seeing certain places in Yellowstone! Make sure you refer to the Yellowstone National Park official site before planning your trip.

Prepare for unpredictable weather

No matter the time of year the weather can b extreme and unpredictable. At night the temperature at higher elevation might even drop below freezing (32 degrees F) in the summer with daytime highs getting up above 80 degrees F. Bring plenty of layers, it’s not unusual to wear a jacket in the mornings and change into shorts later in the afternoon.

Don’t forget about the altitude

Many visitors often neglect the altitude when visiting Yellowstone National Park. The lowest elevation of Yellowstone is along Reese Creek (5,282 feet/1,610 meters) and the highest point in the park is on Eagle Peak (11,358 feet/ 3,462 meters). If you’re coming from sea level or not accustomed to altitude beware of the possibility of getting altitude sickness (headache, fatigue and shortness of breath are common signs of altitude sickness). Take rest breaks and be sure to stay hydrated.

Get an early start to avoid the crowds

With thousands of visitors a day during peak season many of the sights in Yellowstone can get very crowded.If you want to avoid the crowds try to visit these spots early in the day, especially for the Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful. Nothing ruins the geological wonders of Yellowstone more than being smacked by selfie sticks and shoved around like you are in a sweaty nightclub. Try to visit Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful before 9 am if possible.

Use offline maps to navigate through Yellowstone

Cell service can by spotty in Yellowstone. It doesn’t matter which service providers you have, you will not receive a signal in most areas of the park. To navigate around Yellowstone be sure download offline maps on Google Maps or use an offline map on apps like maps.me.

Bring plenty of food and water

Restaurants and other food vendors are scarce inside Yellowstone National Park. Often times, you might have to travel an hour by car just to arrive at a place where you can find some food. Bring your own snack and drinks means you don’t have to plan your day around stopping for food. Ideally, you want to have a big breakfast before entering the park in the morning, find a scenic spot to eat your packed lunch during the day, and then leave the park in the evening and find a nice restaurant in one of the towns nearby.

Check out the visitor centers to know the predicted time the geysers will erupt

With over 500 geysers erupting at various times a little research is needed to make sure you’re there for the show. Luckily for you, the visitor centers have a monitor with their predicted time of eruption. With this information, you don’t have to sit there and wait hours for the geyser to spring into action.

Check out the best spot for viewing Grand Prismatic Spring

For the best view of Grand Prismatic Spring make shure to view it from the nearby Fairy Falls Hiking Trail. Many visitors wanting to see the Grand Prismatic Spring will simply input the name in Google Maps and an while this location is correct, there is a better spot to view the world’s largest hot spring. The size is simply too massive for you to appreciate its beauty up close. On the Fairy Falls hiking trail is a Grand Prismatic Overlook, allowing visitors to see this magnificent beauty from above. This isn’t exactly a secret spot and the Fairy Falls Hiking trail can get quite busy.

Wildlife safety

When visitors come to Yellowstone National Park, they must understand that they are in a foreign territory. The park is home to grizzly and black bears, bison, wolves, and other wildlife. Do not approach wildlife (the selfie is not worth it) and carry bear spray when you go out hiking.

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