Yellowstone Itinerary: 7 Days With Grand Teton
Seven days is enough to do Yellowstone without rushing and add Grand Teton properly, which is the trip most people should take and few do. This plan gives five days to Yellowstone and two to the Tetons, entering at the West Entrance and leaving through the South, so you never drive the same road twice. Fly into Bozeman and out of Jackson. Expect around 600 miles of driving across the week.
The week
- Day 1. West Entrance and the lower geyser basins. Firehole Canyon, Fountain Paint Pots, Grand Prismatic from the Fairy Falls overlook at midday, then the Upper Geyser Basin in the late afternoon. Sleep Old Faithful or West Yellowstone.
- Day 2. Hiking day. Mystic Falls from Biscuit Basin, 3.5 miles, or Lone Star Geyser, 5 miles and flat. Afternoon at West Thumb on the lake shore. Sleep Old Faithful or Grant Village.
- Day 3. The lake and the canyon. North along Yellowstone Lake, Fishing Bridge, then Hayden Valley in the late afternoon when the animals come back out. Sleep Canyon.
- Day 4. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Artist Point at first light, both rims, then Mount Washburn, 6.4 miles and 1,400 feet, for the view over the whole park. Sleep Canyon.
- Day 5. Lamar Valley and Mammoth. Dawn in Lamar for wolves and bison, Tower Fall mid morning, the Mammoth terraces in the afternoon. Sleep Gardiner or Mammoth.
- Day 6. South to the Tetons. Norris and Gibbon Falls on the way through, then out of the South Entrance. Afternoon at Jenny Lake or String Lake. Sleep Jackson or Colter Bay.
- Day 7. Grand Teton. Sunrise at Oxbow Bend or Schwabacher Landing, then the Jenny Lake shuttle and Cascade Canyon, 4 to 9 miles depending how far up you go. Fly out of Jackson.
Why this order
It runs north to south so you finish at Jackson, which has the better airport for a one way trip and puts the Tetons at the end rather than as an afterthought. It also puts the two dawn starts, Hayden and Lamar, on days 4 and 5, when you have adjusted to the altitude and the early nights.
The one weakness is that the South Entrance closes from early November to mid May. Outside those months this plan works. Inside them, reverse days 6 and 7 into a return north to Bozeman.
If you have longer
- Eight to nine days. Add the Black Canyon backpack in the north, or a night in the backcountry off the Bechler in the southwest.
- Ten days. Leave through the Northeast Entrance and drive the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge. Our Beartooth itinerary builds that out.
- Heading east afterwards. See Yellowstone to Mount Rushmore, which is two more days.
Have us build it
Tell us your dates, your entrance and how much driving you want, and we will lay out the days with the lodging and the timing sorted. Planning is free, and we earn only if you book through us.
Yellowstone Itinerary: 7 Days With Grand Teton FAQs
Yes, and it is the right length. Five days in Yellowstone and two in Grand Teton covers both properly. Fly into Bozeman and out of Jackson so you never drive the same road twice.
North to south. Enter at the West Entrance, work the geyser basins, move to Canyon for the falls and Hayden Valley, take a dawn in Lamar Valley, then leave through the South Entrance into Grand Teton.
No. The South Entrance closes to cars from early November to mid May, so the Grand Teton half is unreachable by that route. In winter, plan a shorter trip based at Gardiner instead.
