The Ultimate Road Trip
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park are located in the northwestern corner of Wyoming. Small sections of Yellowstone are also in Idaho and Montana, but the majority of the park is within Wyoming. We picked to visit in mid May 2024 for two main reasons, 1) that’s when Lauren’s birthday is, and 2) much of each park was open, but it was still very much shoulder season and not nearly as crowded as peak summer visitation. After researching and debating how we wanted to travel to and stay in the parks, we concluded that driving was best for us. However, we considered flying to Salt Lake City, UT or Jackson, WY and driving to the parks with a rental car or campervan. Our plan was to drive to Yellowstone first, camp there for three nights, and then drive to Grand Teton and camp at that national park for three nights.
Ultimately we rented a camper van through a local company, Arizona Camper Van; we love that they don’t have mile restrictions on their vans! From the Phoenix Area to the west entrance to Yellowstone, conveniently located in West Yellowstone, Montana, it’s about 970+ miles or 15 hours of driving. We split our drive to Yellowstone into two days, dispersed camping at night on BLM Land in Utah at about the halfway point. On our return trip home, we camped on BLM in Kanab, UT which is about 10 hours from Grand Teton and 5+ hours from Phoenix. In this blog, we will go over our itinerary and all of the details to help you plan your trip.
Table of Contents
Yellowstone
How to Prepare
For us, planning for Yellowstone presented challenges we weren’t used to, like drastic weather changes, very long days, and grizzly bear country to name a few.
Maps & Info
- First, we downloaded the park for offline use in the National Park App. This put everything about the park on our phone so we didn’t need cellphone service to read about different attractions or view the map. The National Park App is a great resource and has almost everything that their website has.
- Second, we downloaded the Yellowstone area on our Google Maps App for offline use. This allows for better navigation in the app, especially when there is no service. With the area download, popular names and locations on Google Maps are still accessible for search and directions.
- Third, we always take the National Park pamphlet and newspaper because it has helpful information and a great map to see the whole park. Additionally, for this trip we bought the National Geographic Maps so we could have large detailed maps of each park. It’s always good to have a paper map back up.
Clothing
Yellowstone National Park is a massive park with different elevations throughout. The weather can change quickly and forecasts more than a week out can continue to change. We found that the most accurate forecasts were only a couple days in advance. The time of year will definitely influence what to bring. However, there are some wardrobe pieces we highly recommend based on our experience in the spring. Overall, we brought multiple options because of the challenging weather predictability. We did bring our crampons, but never ended up using them. If we did more backcountry hikes they would have come in handy because the trails were still snow packed. Check out our full list of gear guides here.
- A true Rain Jacket with a waterproof rating
- A warm jacket like a down or “puffy” jacket
- Pants that can be converted to shorts
- Comfortable walking shoes that can also get a little dirty
- Multiple layering options like short sleeve and long sleeve tops
- Lauren’s favorite tops from Patagonia: Short Sleeve | Long Sleeve
Food
During the spring and summer the days are quite long in Yellowstone. In mid May the sunset was at 8:45pm and we took full advantage of the long sunlight with a lot of exploring. Because we were out and about so much we knew we would not want to spend a lot of time making meals and cleaning. Therefore, we brought a lot of Mountain House Adventure Meals to make a quick and tasty meal. Additionally, we made some reservations to eat in the park and had a dinner in West Yellowstone. Besides Mountain House Adventure Meals, we brought sandwich bread and fixings as well as instant oatmeal and items to make minestrone soup. Use OS24Q2 for 10% off Mountain House Meals.
Travel Within the Park
Like we said earlier, the Yellowstone National Park is very large with multiple roads and entrances. However, many of the roads open and close seasonally. We highly suggest checking the park’s website for updates. Additionally, they are actively doing construction projects on roads throughout the park. There are gas stations at different lodging locations! Lastly, be prepared for wildlife traffic jams and crossings. Driving with caution and care will not only protect your vehicle from damage, but it will save the lives of wildlife on the road.
Wildlife
Yellowstone is known for the abundant wildlife including bison and bears. There are also elk, moose, coyotes, foxes, and wolves seen in the park. Most visitors will see bison, elk, and bears. Both Black Bears and Grizzly Bears live and Yellowstone and they’re both dangerous. It’s highly encouraged to wear bear spray on you at all times, especially on hikes and backcountry. Additionally all campgrounds have bear boxes at their campsites and food should be kept there or in your vehicle with the windows up and doors locked. DO NOT APPROACH OR FEED WILDLIFE, including the bison – they will charge.
Leave No Trace
Please remember to Leave No Trace when exploring. Pack out all trash and plan ahead. Check out our hiking tips for more information.
The 7 principles of Leave No Trace:
1) Plan ahead and prepare
2) Travel & camp on durable surfaces
3) Dispose of waste properly
4) Leave what you find
5) Minimize campfire impacts
6) Respect wildlife
7) Be considerate of others
Camping in Yellowstone
There are 12 campgrounds with over 2,000 established campsites within Yellowstone according to the NPS, however they do not all open and close on the same dates. Yellowstone National Park’s website is a great resource and we highly encourage advanced planning and research because some campgrounds are closed for the entire year. There are 5 campgrounds only reservable through Yellowstone Lodging and 7 campgrounds only reservable through recreation.gov. Although we weren’t visiting in the summer, we still made our reservation way in advance. We made our May 2024 reservation in July of 2023 because Madison Campground where we camped was the only campground in the park scheduled to be open at the time and we weren’t sure how busy booked out it would be; so we booked as soon as possible.
Madison Campground
The campground is located along the Madison River and closest to the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park, and about 25 minutes from the town depending on traffic and wildlife on the roads. There are multiple types of campsites, some fit for RVs and trailers with hook ups, while others designated for tents only. There were multiple restrooms with flush toilets spread out through the campground and there was a bear box at each campsite. The campground store was small but had a decent selection and sold firewood. The campground did not have any showers. However, they did have recycling and even recycled the green Coleman propane cylinders. Booking is through Yellowstone National Park Lodges, a concessionaire of the National Park.
Yellowstone Itinerary
The springtime weather in Yellowstone can be challenging to predict far in advance. Prior to our trip we picked out locations, attractions, and hikes we wanted to explore within the park, if they were open. However, due to changes in the weather forecast we had to scrap some plans and add new ones. The map above shows the majority of the park where you can look to reference where we camped and the spots we visited. The road between Tower-Roosevelt and Canyon Village was closed during our time at the park and it normally does not open until the Friday of Memorial Day weekend weather depending. For up to date road information check out the NPS website here. Below we’ll break down what we did each day and add explain why where necessary.
Sunday
On Sunday we arrived through the west entrance of the park around 3:30pm after 8+ hours of driving. After a quick picture with the West Yellowstone entrance sign we made our way to Madison Campground to check-in; but first we stopped to photograph some bison. From there we traveled south with a plan to go to Old Faithful. However, we made some ad hoc stops along the way, and we’re really happy we did! It was an absolutely beautiful day and honestly the best weather day of our entire trip in Yellowstone. We stopped at Lower Geyser Basin: Fountain Paint Pot and Midway Geyser Basin: Grand Prismatic Spring on our way to Old Faithful. When we got to the visitor center, it was closed and we didn’t realize that they stopped posting the geyser eruption times after they closed for the day.
Fountain Paint Pot
Grand Prismatic Spring
Monday
Monday started as really nice day! We made our way to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which was on our list. On our way we noticed a falls off the side of the road and quickly stopped. The falls is called Gibbon Falls and it’s a short walk from the parking lot. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone didn’t disappoint. We went to the south rim first and hiked down Brink of Lower Falls. It’s a very short hike, but quite steep coming back up. Once back at the top we continued to the other lookouts. Unfortunately, at the time some of the other trails out to viewpoints were still closed for the season. Next, we went to the Canyon Village visitor center, made a quick lunch in our camper van rental, and then went to the south rim lookouts.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
After the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone we made our way to Mammoth Hot Springs. Because the road between Canyon Village and Tower-Roosevelt was still closed for the season, we had to backtrack a bit and then head north. At Mammoth Hot Springs we walked the terrace system to see the geothermal activity. From there we drove through the upper terraces before heading south. We had planned to see Old Faithful (still not knowing it goes off every 100 minutes) before our dinner reservations at Old Faithful Inn. On our way we saw a lot of people on the side of the road and realized they were trying to see a black bear and her cubs in the meadow.
Mammoth Hot springs
We got to Old Faithful after it erupted, but we made it to the visitor center in time to talk with a ranger. They informed us about how the park rangers only update the predicted eruption times while the visitor center is open between 8am and 5pm, and that the geyser goes off about every 100 minutes. After learning that valuable piece of information, we hung out in our van and waited till it got closer to the next predicted eruption. Following the eruption we still had time until our 8:15pm dinner reservation so we walked about 2.7 miles out and back to Morning Glory Pool.
Old Faithful
Morning Glory Pool
Dinner at Old Faithful Inn
Depending on the time of the year, there are multiple places to eat dinner within Yellowstone National Park. Most restaurants require reservations and during peak season it’s very difficult to dine without a reservation. Guests staying at one of the Yellowstone Lodges or campgrounds managed by Yellowstone Lodging can make dinner reservations up to 60 days in advance of their trip, while park visitors not staying with the Lodging can make day of reservations. If you’re staying within the park, we suggest calling as soon as possible to get a good dining time.
Tuesday
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s forecast was much different that we had planned for when building our itinerary prior to the trip. However, we rolled with it and adjusted our day the best we could. We originally planned to do more hiking this day, including out to Mystic Falls, but it was raining a lot more than we were comfortable with. We pivoted and decided spend the day doing some driving and animal viewing. Our goal was to get to Yellowstone Lake and spend the day on that side of the park where we had dinner reservations. To get to Yellowstone Lake we decided to take the southern route past Old Faithful.
We first did Firehole Canyon drive before fueling up at the gas pump at Old Faithful. In true Yellowstone spring weather fashion, the rain turned to sleet. Not thinking it would last long, we continued towards West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. Unfortunately, the road travels through Craig Pass and the Continental Divide over 8,200 feet above sea level. At those elevations the snow was sticking and the road was losing traction. We traveled between 10-15 miles per hour for 13 miles. Eventually when we got down to the bottom, the Park Service was temporarily closing the road so they could plow it. This is common for this time of year in Yellowstone!
West Thumb Geyser Basin
Hayden Valley
After the West Thumb Geyser Basin the weather was starting to improve with little to no rain. We meandered towards Lake Village and eventually Hayden Valley. We parked at one of the pull outs, made a Mountain House lunch and watched for wildlife near or on the Yellowstone River. After a while we made our way back towards the Sulphur Caldron and Mud Volcano. On the way we passed a grizzly bear and a crowd of vehicles trying to get a picture. Unfortunately, we did not get one, but still cool to see!
Sulphur Caldron & Mud Volcano
Norris Geyser Basin
We ended up canceling our dinner reservations at the lodge at Lake Village and made our way back towards our campsite. Out of an impulsive decision we decided to stop at Norris Geyser Basin. This was very fascinating and looked very much out of another planet. This is one part of the geyser basin we wish we planned better for and would love to come back and walk or hike the whole area. After a long day we decided to make dinner easy on ourselves and drove out to West Yellowstone for a meal.
Wednesday
This was our last day at Yellowstone, and really only a half day as we had plans to drive to Grand Teton National Park in the afternoon and camp there for 3 more nights. However, before leaving Yellowstone we decided to hike out to Mystic Falls from Biscuit Basin. It was a cold morning but the sun was shining. It ended up being a beautiful day!
Mystic Falls
Grand Teton
After our hike in Yellowstone we fueled up at Old Faithful and made our way south towards Grand Teton National Park. From the Old Faithful area it’s about 1 hour 15 minutes to Grand Teton and another 30 minutes to Signal Mountain Campground. Between the two National Parks is the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway and there are additional recreation and camping options along the parkway that are open seasonally. Check out how we spent the next three days at Grand Teton National Park here or by clicking the photo below!
