Yellowstone Itinerary: 4 Days and 5 Days
Yellowstone runs on a figure of eight called the Grand Loop, 142 miles of it, and a good itinerary works around the loop rather than back and forth across it. Four days: geyser basins, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mammoth and the northern range, and a dawn in Lamar Valley. Five days: add Grand Teton to the south or the Beartooth Highway to the northeast. Sleep two nights on the west side and two on the north, and book 12 months out if you want to be inside the park. Our Yellowstone 3 day itinerary is the shorter version.
The 4 day Yellowstone itinerary
- Day 1, the Upper Geyser Basin. In from West Yellowstone. Old Faithful, then walk the boardwalk loop out to Castle, Grotto and Riverside geysers, which is where the basin gets good and where the crowds thin. Check the predicted eruption times at the visitor centre and plan the walk around Grand Geyser. Night in West Yellowstone or at Old Faithful.
- Day 2, Midway and Norris. Grand Prismatic Spring from the Fairy Falls overlook trail rather than the boardwalk, because the boardwalk only shows you steam. Then Firehole Lake Drive, the Norris Geyser Basin, and north to Mammoth Hot Springs for the terraces at golden hour. Night in Mammoth or Gardiner.
- Day 3, Lamar Valley and the canyon. Out at first light east through the northern range: bison herds, and wolves through a spotting scope if you stop where the other scopes are. Back through Tower Fall, then the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with Artist Point and the Brink of the Lower Falls. Night in Canyon Village.
- Day 4, Hayden Valley and the lake. Hayden Valley early for bison and grizzlies on the far bank, then Mud Volcano, West Thumb Geyser Basin on the lake shore, and out through the south or west entrance.
The 5 day version
Keep the four days above and add one of these, depending on which way you are leaving.
- Grand Teton, going south. An hour from West Thumb to Jackson Lake. Teton hikes are better than Yellowstone hikes by a wide margin, and one day gets you Taggart Lake or the Jenny Lake shuttle to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Our Yellowstone and Grand Teton route runs both parks properly.
- The Beartooth Highway, going northeast. Sixty eight miles from Cooke City to Red Lodge over a 10,947 foot pass, usually open from late May to mid October. One of the best drives in the country.
- A hiking day inside the park. Mount Washburn for the summit view, 6.4 miles, or Fairy Falls and the Imperial Geyser, 5.4 flat miles. More options in our Yellowstone waterfall hikes guide.
Where to sleep, and why it matters more here
Yellowstone is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined, and driving from the west entrance to Lamar Valley takes two and a half hours each way. Staying in one town for four nights costs you a full day of driving over the trip.
- Inside the park: nine lodges, Old Faithful Inn and Lake Yellowstone Hotel being the ones people want. Reservations open about 13 months ahead and the good rooms are gone in days.
- West Yellowstone: the most motel rooms and restaurants, 30 minutes from the geyser basins.
- Gardiner: the north entrance, the only one open to cars all year, and the closest base to Lamar Valley.
- Cody or Jackson: both an hour or more out, and worth it only if you are combining parks.
- Campgrounds: 12 of them, five on recreation.gov six months out. Fishing Bridge is the only one with hookups.
Which entrance suits your plan is worth 20 minutes of thought. See the best entrance to Yellowstone.
Wildlife timing
Animals are a function of the clock, not of luck. Bison are everywhere at any hour. Everything else is dawn and dusk. Lamar Valley in the northeast and Hayden Valley in the centre are the two places to be at first light, and the wolf watchers with the big scopes are the best free guides in the park. Keep 25 yards from bison and elk and 100 yards from bears and wolves, carry bear spray on any trail, and understand that a bison will charge a person who walks up to it for a photograph. That is the most common injury in the park every year.
When to go
- Late May to mid June: bear cubs and baby bison, waterfalls at full flow, some high roads still closed.
- July and August: everything open and the busiest weeks of the year. Book beds in January.
- September: the best compromise. Elk rutting at Mammoth, cool mornings, fewer people after Labor Day.
- November to April: only the Gardiner to Cooke City road stays open to cars. The interior becomes snowcoach and snowmobile country, which is a different and quieter trip. Detail in the best time to visit Yellowstone.
Have us build your Yellowstone days
Tell us your dates, your entrance and how much driving you will tolerate, and we will lay the loop out so you never repeat a leg, with beds booked in the right towns. Planning is free, and we earn only if you book through us.
Yellowstone Itinerary: 4 Days and 5 Days FAQs
Yes, for the main sights. Four days covers the geyser basins, Grand Prismatic, Mammoth, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and one dawn in Lamar Valley. It does not leave room for a long hike or for Grand Teton.
Work the Grand Loop in one direction: geyser basins on day one, Midway and Norris up to Mammoth on day two, Lamar Valley at dawn and the canyon on day three, Hayden Valley and the lake on day four. Split your nights between the west and north sides so you never drive the same leg twice.
If you have five days or more, yes. The south entrance of Yellowstone is an hour from Jackson Lake, and the Teton hiking is better. With only four days, stay in Yellowstone.
Inside the park at Old Faithful or Canyon Village if you booked 13 months ahead. Otherwise West Yellowstone for the geyser basins and Gardiner for the northern range and Lamar Valley.
At first light and last light in Lamar Valley, and to a lesser extent Hayden Valley. Look for the pullouts where people have set up spotting scopes, because they know where the packs were last seen and they will usually let you look.
Yes. There is no public transport inside the park and the Grand Loop alone is 142 miles. Guided bus tours exist but they cover a fraction of the park and none of the dawn wildlife hours.
