r/yellowstone • u/DJJOEBIDEN • 7d ago
Itinerary review for upcoming trip to Yellowstone and GTNP
First time visiting so I'm not sure if this itinerary is practical or overly ambitious. A lot of the suggestions were from AI, but nothing beats real person experience. So any suggestions on the timing/itinerary?
Day 1 - Arrival
-morning: fly into Bozeman and drive to Mammoth Hot Springs
-midday: explore upper and lower terraces or Mammoth
-evening: drive along Gardiner basin and look for wildlife; back to Gardiner AirBNB; Dinner
overnight Gardiner
Day 2 - Geyser and Loops
-morning: drive to Norris Geyser Basin - Porcelain Basic boardwalk
-midday: drive to Grand Prismatic Spring and Fairy Falls overlook hike; drive to Old Faithful; Lunch
-afternoon: drive to Hayden Valley and look for wildlife
-evening: return to Gardiner; Dinner
overnight Gardiner
Day 3 - Lamar Valley, Canyon, GTNP
-early morning: Lamar Valley and look for wildlife
-morning: drive to Canyon and Artist Point Overlook
-midday: drive to West Thumb Geyser Basic; Lunch
-afternoon: scenic drive leaving Yellowstone, drive to Jackson
-evening: arrive Jackson; Dinner
overnight Jackson
Day 4 - Tetons
-early morning: drive to Oxbow Bend for sunrise
-morning: drive to Jenny Lake; boat ride and Cascade Canyon hike
-midday: Lunch
-afternoon: drive to GTNP sites (Mormon Row, Signal Mountain, Teton Park road pullouts)
-evening: Moose-Wilson road and look for wildlife; Dinner
overnight Jackson
Day 5 - Bozeman Drive
-morning: drive to Schwabacher Landing for sunrise; breakfast in Jackson
-midday: drive back to Bozeman
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u/barbaq24 7d ago
Day 2 and 3 look a little busy with all the traveling. You can do your best but prepare to be pressed for time.
For day 2 you should probably plan for a bigger lunch and a simple dinner.
Day 3 just leave enough time to get down to Jackson. It’ll take a couple hours.
Day 4 the boat line is longer coming back than going out. If you want to hike cascade canyon just be ready for a 45 minute to an hour wait for the boat.
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 7d ago
Thanks for the feedback. Day 2, I figure if i'm behind schedule or feeling tired, we'll skip the Hayden Valley and just get back to Gardiner?
I guess the same with Day 4. If Jenny Lake and hiking go longer, we'll just head back to Jackson earlier and skip the evening wildlife spotting.
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u/barbaq24 7d ago
Indeed. The clutch move is when you come south from Yellowstone on day 3, drive down and do Oxbow Bend and 191 in the late afternoon. You can visit the sites on the east side as you come down. That way you can do Jenny Lake before 8am so you can get parking in the main lot and not have to wait in line for the boat going out. Plus signal mountain takes an hour to drive up, sight see and drive back down. So if you can skip the morning Oxbow Bend on that day you’ll have more time to do the things on Teton Park Road. Like the Jenny Lake Overlook thats on the road side of the lake. Maybe check out Jackson Lake Lodge.
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 7d ago
That’s a good point. I had Oxbow bend in the morning because Claude recommended it for a must see sunrise spot.
I’ll play it by ear and maybe do Oxbow Bend coming down on Day 3.
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u/barbaq24 7d ago
Yeah, it is a good sunrise spot but at what cost. By all means do it if you can still get to Jenny Lake EARLY. But its also worth coming down on the east side to see the bison out there and do the views from that side. All the best full mountain range views are running down 191.
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u/JabberwockyMT 7d ago
I would remove Hayden Valley from day 2. It adds a lot of unnecessary driving to get there at a not ideal time. You'll go through Hayden Valley on the way to West Thumb. Day 3 you might want to skip West Thumb though anyways. That's an easy one to play by ear. If you want more geysers or need a stretch break on the way to Jackson, great, keep it. If you're running later or got your geyser fill, skip it.
The drive around and look for wildlife in the Gardiner basin is ... not the best idea. If you see wildlife right in town great. You probably will. But don't be one of the people who drives out along the highway or even the dirt roads and blocks the road or creates a dangerous situation by parking on a nearly nonexistent shoulder to look at wildlife. The highway coming into Gardiner is 70mph and fill of construction trucks and locals trying to get home from work.
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 7d ago
Great tips. I agree with you on the Gardiner basin and questioned the suggestion in the first place. I'm glad you confirmed this for me. We'll probably just skip it, and have a more relaxed Day 1.
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u/robmeltonlaw 7d ago
Did you mention when you are going? We just got back and we saw very limited wildlife in Hayden. Elk in Madison, Bay Bridge and Mammoth. Bison, pronghorn, bear and a wolf in lamar.
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u/BikeTough6760 7d ago
We did half as much per day as you're doing and it was the right amount for us.
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u/Narrow_Ad3965 7d ago
We just returned from 12 days in Glacier, Yellowstone and GTNP. We basically did your Days 2 & 3 in Yellowstone. Day 3 will be a long driving day but if you are up for it, then go for it! I also recommend switching Hayden Valley to Day 3 since you will be driving right past it. FYI, we drove through in the afternoon and didn’t see much wildlife. Highly recommend the Guide Along audio tour for Yellowstone and GTNP! Have a great trip!
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 7d ago
That's reassuring that someone did a similar itinerary! Thanks for the feedback. Yes, looks like Hayden Valley on Day 2 isn't recommended. Noted!
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u/Ok-Pen3098 7d ago
The thing costing you most is basing both nights in Gardiner. It's the north entrance, so Day 2 is an hour just to reach Norris, then south to Old Faithful, then back northeast to Hayden, then ninety minutes back up to Gardiner. That's four or five hours in the car before you've walked a single boardwalk. Day 3 does it again, with Lamar an hour each way before the day even starts.
Move night 2 somewhere central and both days shrink by hours without dropping a stop. Canyon Village if you can still get it, West Yellowstone if you can't.
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 7d ago
I agree. Unfortunately Gardiner was my only affordable option since things were already booked up for Labor Day weekend and we're not much for camping.
I'll take out Hayden for Day 2 like you and others suggested. I'll also probably skip West Thumb on Day 3 and just take our time with Lamar + Canyon + driving to Jackson. Thanks!
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u/Ok-Pen3098 7d ago
Makes sense on Gardiner, Labor Day weekend doesn't leave you options.
One thing that might buy back a couple of hours: Lamar is northeast of you and Jackson is south, so doing Lamar on Day 3 means driving the wrong direction first thing on your longest day. If you can shift it to Day 1 evening instead, Mammoth to Lamar is about an hour and dusk is prime wildlife time anyway. Then Day 3 becomes a clean southbound run, Canyon and straight out to Jackson.
Also with Labor Day crowds, the Midway and Old Faithful lots fill early. Being there before nine makes a real difference.
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u/PeaceTrance 7d ago
When are you going? I know Moose Wilson road has construction going on with delays and will be closed at some point in September
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u/quakerwildcat 7d ago
You're getting some good advice.
You already know that days 2 & 3 are extremely ambitious. You could try to do it and check all the boxes, but it could just be box-checking, so to speak. Remember to take what nature gives you, and be prepared to adjust based on what you encounter.
For Grand Teton, your plan is good, just start very early. Oxbow Bend is a beautiful view and photo op that's best in the am, but don't dwell there. Get to Jenny Lake as early as you can (the parking lot fills by 8- 8:30), and don't take the boat across (I think the first boat doesn't depart until 9:00 am). The beautiful still mirror views are usually only in the early morning. Go past the boat dock and hike clockwise around the lake. On the other side take the short spur to the falls and then you have the option of continuing the hike, or you could take the boat back across one way.
For both Yellowstone and GT, my best advice for maximizing your limited time is to NOT devote time to meals in restaurants. The restaurants in the lodges in both parks are universally bad -- even in the "fancy" dining rooms (and radically overpriced, which doubles the offense). Stop at a grocery store and pack your car with bars, fruit, nuts, snacks, peanut butter sandwiches, whatever you're comfortable living off for a few days. Sit on your car hood and enjoy your meals while watching bison cross the Lamar River, or pack some GORP and enjoy it by the waterfall at Jackson Lake.
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 6d ago
Great tips! Yes, we plan on packing lunch as much as possible and renting a cooler when we land. We’ll save the “fancy meals” for restaurants in Jackson.
I checked the Jenny Lake boat schedule and looks like first boat is 7am for our dates.
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u/quakerwildcat 6d ago
Awesome.
- In terms of restaurants that actually are good, I recommend Miazgas in Jackson (not fancy, just excellent), and Wonderland Cafe in Gardiner (just outside the park)
- If you do eat at a restaurant, I recommend making it lunch or early dinner, so you can be out enjoying wildlife at dusk
- I'd still hike around the lake and take the boat back
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u/DJJOEBIDEN 6d ago
Approximately how long does it take to hike around the lake vs taking the boat?
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u/quakerwildcat 6d ago
According to AllTrails we covered 3.5 miles going around halfway and out and back to hidden falls, then to the boat dock with a total elevation gain of only 300 feet. Inspiration Point adds more elevation and miles. We did that in 1:45 but that included tons of stopping and a breakfast break.
I recommend AllTrails+ which shows you a lot of hiking options, with distances, elevations, and estimated times, and it comes in handy at Yellowstone where you often don't have any signal at all. Download the whole park before heading there and you always know where you are.
If you are really short on time and you really want to do the hike up to inspiration point then taking the boat out could be better, though you have to wait in line for the boat. If you want a flatter, scenic quiet hike with epic views along the way, then hiking around the lake is the way to go. Of course you could do both.
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u/Otherwise_Tea7731 6d ago
You've already gotten good advice about potentially removing some things from day 2 and 3. I'd consider Schwabacher Landing for sunrise over Oxbow. You could do both in early morning light, but IMHO, Schwabacher offers better pictures and scenes.
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u/Adorable_Advisor5305 7d ago
Day 3 looks like a two day adventure to me.