T H E 4 - D A Y YELLOWSTONE S I G H T S E E I N G I T I N E R A R Y
DAY 1 DAY SITE NAME TIME LENGTH OF HIKE/SIGHTSEEING SITE TYPE TIPS/RESOURCES Heart of The Caldera 5 Min. Pull-In Sight Tower Falls 30 Min. Pull-In/Short Hike Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces 1 3 HR.s (Hot Spring Terraces 1 2 HR.s Round Trip, 1 HR. for Albright Visitors Center, Shopping & Restrooms ) Hike on Boardwalks / Stairs http://mms.nps.go v/yell/features/m ammothtour/map. htm Undine Falls 5 10 Min. Pull-In DAY 1 Lava Creek Picnic Area 15 30 Min. Pull-In Wraith Falls 45 Min. 1 HR. Round Trip Short Hike Lamar Valley 0? This is a valley where there is usually plenty of wildlife to see. You could drive by and if there is wildlife stop to see it. If not, keep driving. We loved doing this at Sunset. Pull In / Drive By Bring Binoculars!
Day 2 DAY SITE NAME ROUND TRIP TIME OF HIKE/SIGHTSE EING SITE TYPE TIPS/RESOURCES Norris Geyser Basin 45 Min. 1 HR. Hike on Boardwalks If you just have time for 1 part of this site, do the Porcelain Springs Trail Artist Paint Pots 30 Min. Short Hike/Boardwalks Gibbon Falls 10 15 Min. Pull-In/Short Hike Fountain Paint Pots 30 45 Min. Boardwalks DAY 2 Midway Geyser Basin (Grand Prismatic Spring) Fairy Falls (View of Grand Prismatic from Above) * We did not do the Fairy Falls Hike But Heard it was Nice 30 Min. Boardwalks 1 1.5 HR.s Flat Gravel Path + Steep Hill Hike (Hill Hike is Rugged. Take Your Time) Best on a Sunny Day. Hold onto your hats! Park at the Fairy Falls parking lot. Begin on a flat path, keep an eye out on the left for a hill and other hikers - the trail head is hard to see. Honestly, it said Closed, but we (and dozens of others) still went on this trail. I m not proud of that, but the views were so amazing.
Biscuit Basin 15 Min. Boardwalks Old Faithful 15 30 Min. Pull In The Sapphire Pool is BEAUTIFUL We did not have this on our Must See list. We accidentally timed it right and stopped at the Old Faithful Visitor Center to use the restrooms 5 Min. before Old Faithful Erupted! It was very neat, and very crowded. It was equally wonderful as any site we had seen that day. Check with Park Services to see the eruption times. West Thumb Geyser We Ran out of Time and did NOT get to do this, however it is highly rated! Pull In Boardwalks Picnic On Yellowstone Lake 0 30 Min. Pull In We ate a snack at a pull out between West Thumb & Gull Point and watched the waves crash and the sunset before heading home to Canyon. Day 2
Day 3 DAY SITE NAME ROUND TRIP TIME OF HIKE/SIGHTSEEING SITE TYPE TIPS/RESOURCES Brink of Lower Falls, Inspiration Point, Red Rock Point 3 4 HR.s Various Hikes, all well paved/maintained. Stairs & Boardwalks You can see so much from these hikes and lookouts! Start early to avoid crowds DAY 3 Brink of Upper Falls Uncle Tom s Trail 30 45 Min. Easy Paved Hike 1 1.5 HR. Steep Stairway Hike Artist Point 5 15 Min. Pull Off/Scenic Viewpoint TIP: The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone offers many types of hikes, viewpoints, and trails. Go to the Canyon Village Visitor Center to check trail status, bear activity, and more. Feel free to break this day into a 2-day adventure and do the North Rim trails & South Rim trails on different days.
Day 4 DAY SITE NAME ROUND TRIP TIME OF HIKE/SIGHTSEEING SITE TYPE TIPS/RESOURCES Canyon Village Visitor Center * great rainy activity 0? HR. Visitor Center VERY interactive, great displays and information. Kids there seemed to enjoy it! Modern Facility. Storm Point Trail (break in the rain) 1 2 HR.s Hike We stayed 1 HR. on the beach Maintained Trail - Flat/Easy It was the first warm day (but it did rain off-and-on) and we sat and played on the beach. The sands are so warm. Fun to look at the rocks and glass-like sand. Very relaxing. DAY 4 (Rain Day) Fishing Bridge Visitor Center 0 1 HR. Visitor Center Hayden Valley 0? HR. Pull Out/Scenic View Pull off anytime you see a crowd. Always some wildlife to be seen in this gorgeous valley. Don t Forget Binoculars! Tip: It may rain. Don t worry! There are still so many things to do that don t require long (wet!) hikes. Mammoth & Canyon have fantastic Visitor Centers! Many of the sites can be viewed from the car. We enjoyed having a bit of time to relax and grab some coffee in Canyon Cafe! We also brought ponchos to do hikes if it wasn t POURING as many of the sites are boardwalks, not dirt (mud!) It can rain off-and-on, just be ready for anything, wear layers, & bring a poncho/raincoat.
Arrive to your campsite at least 2-3 HR.s before sundown. That way, you ll have time to eat, set up your tent, clean up camp from eating, get ready for bed, and be prepared for Day 1! Check on the travel time between each site to see! It can take HR.s to get from one part of the park to another. Your best bet is to get up as early as you can, pack snacks/lunch, and head to the popular sites! This itinerary allows for some bear jams, bathroom breaks, and quick meals and transportation time starting and ending at Canyon Campground. Most days, we started the itinerary by 10:00am, so if you can start earlier, you ll be better off than us! There are ranger-led talks in the campgrounds and several children s programs offered throughout Yellowstone! We attended a Fireside Chat in Canyon Village and really enjoyed it! While this is a 4-Day Sightseeing Itinerary, we arrived the night before Day 1 and departed the morning after Day 4. So our time did span across 6 days. On our last day, we were able to re-ice our cooler, clean up camp, stop for a Bear Jam, shower, cook a good breakfast, clean the car, and do a few more photo ops, before we headed out to our next National Park. Be Bear Aware & Keep a Clean Camp! If you are planning to cook at your campsite, this does add on quite a bit of prep/ cleanup time as you can leave no trace of food, food storage items, or any cookware/utensils. So, prepare for several trips to your bear box/cooler, and pack it all in when you are done.