7 Days in Yellowstone National Park
Trip Overview
This seven-day itinerary follows a clockwise loop through Yellowstone's five regions, packing the park's greatest hits into manageable days. You'll watch Old Faithful blow, look for wolves and bears at dawn in Lamar Valley, stare down the 308-foot Lower Falls, and circle the rainbow-colored Grand Prismatic Spring. Mornings are set aside for animals and good light. Afternoons focus on geysers and short walks. Evenings finish with relaxed dinners in the park's historic lodges. The schedule skips the frantic "see-everything" rush and gives the park the time it deserves, whether you're a first-timer or a repeat visitor chasing quieter spots.
Pace
Moderate
Daily Budget
$200, $380 per day (excluding lodging)
Best Seasons
Late May to early June brings wildflowers and baby animals; mid-September to early October serves up gold aspen, bugling elk, and thinner crowds. July and August are warm but packed, reserve rooms six months out.
Ideal For
First-time visitors to Yellowstone, Wildlife photographers and birders, Geology and volcanology enthusiasts, Active couples and solo travelers, Families with older children (10+), Nature lovers and hikers
Day-by-Day Itinerary
A complete plan for every day of your trip
1
North Entrance & the Terraced Wonderland of Mammoth
Mammoth Hot Springs District
Come in under the Roosevelt Arch, pick up maps at Albright, and spend the afternoon climbing the white-and-orange terraces that make Mammoth Hot Springs look like another planet.
Morning
Roosevelt Arch Entry & Albright Visitor Center
Enter through Gardiner's North Entrance, open year-round, and drive under the 1903 Roosevelt Arch. Inside the 1909 Army bachelor officers' quarters, Albright Visitor Center runs natural-history exhibits, wolf-reintroduction photos, and a daily wildlife sighting board. Rangers post the morning's confirmed grizzly and wolf spots, worth twenty minutes every day.
If you'll hit any other national park this year, buy the $80 America the Beautiful Annual Pass instead. It pays for itself on the first stop.
Lunch
Mammoth Terrace Grill
Afternoon
Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, Upper and Lower
Mammoth's terraces are the park's fastest-changing feature: hot water lays down two tons of travertine a day, so the ground looks different next time. Walk the Lower Terrace Boardwalk past Palette Spring and the 37-foot Liberty Cap cone, then take the one-way Upper Terrace Loop to yellow-tinged Canary Spring and the Prospect Terrace overlook. Late-day light turns the white rock peach and gold. Elk often graze the hotel lawn, keep your distance.
Evening
Dinner and a stroll through historic Fort Yellowstone
Eat dinner in the Mammoth Hotel Dining Room, regional game is on the menu, then stroll the old Fort Yellowstone loop past 1891-1913 sandstone barracks. Elk frequently lie on the parade ground at dusk.
Where to Stay Tonight
Mammoth Hot Springs (Stay in the main Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, not the cabins, for night one. The Map Room bar is a mellow intro to Yellowstone lodge life.)
Sleeping at Mammoth puts you at the north end of the loop, ready for the 5:30 a.m. Lamar Valley wildlife run on Day 2, the trip's most time-critical outing.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →Check the whiteboard just inside Albright's front door each morning. Rangers update wolf pack zones and grizzly sightings hourly. Scope-toting regulars park at Slough Creek, they're happy to let you look.
Day 1 Budget: $120, $180 (meals, park entry amortized. Excludes lodging ~$150, $220)
2
The Serengeti of North America, Lamar Valley at Dawn
Northeast Entrance Corridor & Lamar Valley
Wake before dawn at America's most famous wildlife corridor, where thousands of bison graze, grizzlies root for glacier lily bulbs, and the Lamar Canyon wolf pack sometimes hunts in full view of the road.
Morning
Pre-dawn Lamar Valley Wildlife Safari
Leave Mammoth by 5:30 a.m. The 29-mile drive east along the Yellowstone River through Blacktail Deer Plateau often yields pronghorn, mule deer, and black bears before you even hit Lamar. Park at the Confluence pullout where the Lamar River meets Soda Butte Creek. Bison herds of 200, 500 are common, and wobbly calves follow their moms in late spring. Grizzlies work the north-facing slopes above Soda Butte from April through June. Bring binoculars, 10×42 is the local favorite.
Yellowstone Forever's wolf-watching field trip leaves Lamar Valley with expert guides and high-power scopes. Book at yellowstone.org, about $95 per person.
Lunch
Grab a cooler lunch in Mammoth or Gardiner and eat at Slough Creek Picnic Area.
Afternoon
Tower Fall & the Petrified Tree
Tower Fall drops 132 feet off volcanic spires into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone's upper end. The half-mile trail to the overlook is short but steep. Three miles west, the Petrified Tree pullout protects a 50-million-year-old redwood stump still standing in solidified lava. The walk takes five minutes and zero effort, perfect after a long morning of wildlife watching.
Evening
Roosevelt Lodge cookout and dinner
From June through August, Roosevelt Lodge hauls guests by horse or wagon to an Old West steak cookout, reserve months ahead on xanterra.com. If it's full, the lodge dining room still serves the park's best baked beans and cornbread. The porch faces Tower Junction meadow and stays quiet at sunset.
Where to Stay Tonight
Canyon Village or Mammoth Hot Springs (Sleep at Canyon Lodge & Cabins; the Cascade and Dunraven buildings have modern rooms, or return to Mammoth if you want another crack at Lamar at dawn.)
Canyon sits in the middle of the park, cutting drive time to Norris Geyser Basin on Day 3 and to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on Day 5.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →Get to Lamar Valley by 6 a.m. at the latest, animals are busiest the first two hours after sunrise and the last hour and a half before sunset. In midsummer, most big animals lie in the shade during the middle of the day. If you spot a line of cars stopped and people aiming scopes uphill, pull over, you've either found wolves or a grizzly.
Day 2 Budget: $80, $120 (self-catered lunch, Roosevelt dinner ~$40, $60)
3
Norris, Earth's Most Dynamic Hydrothermal Basin
Norris Geyser Basin & Madison District
Give the whole morning to Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest, most changeable thermal zone in any U.S. park, then spend the afternoon driving the Firehole River corridor, Yellowstone's prettiest riverside route.
Morning
Norris Geyser Basin, Porcelain Basin and Back Basin Loop
Norris lies where three fault lines meet. Soil thermometers have recorded 459°F just a few feet beneath the boardwalk. Porcelain Basin feels like a moonscape of boiling pools and steam vents. The 1.5-mile Back Basin loop passes Steamboat Geyser, the planet's tallest active geyser, shooting 300, 400 feet on an irregular schedule that has tightened since 2018. Ask rangers the evening before. Eruptions sometimes come in bursts. Echinus Geyser spouts roughly every 35, 75 minutes and is easy to watch again and again.
The Norris Geyser Basin Museum is a small but first-rate exhibit hall that explains how the hot-water chemistry works, plan on 30 minutes inside.
Lunch
Canyon Lodge Cafeteria (15 minutes east) or a picnic at the Madison Picnic Area
Afternoon
Firehole Canyon Drive & Firehole Swimming Area
Firehole Canyon Drive is a one-way, two-mile run through a rhyolite gorge where the river drops 40 feet over Firehole Falls. At the end you'll find the park's only legal summer swimming spot, a natural pool kept at 80, 85°F by hot springs. Swimming season runs about mid-June through Labor Day, weather permitting. On the way back, stop at Fountain Paint Pots for a quick half-mile loop that packs in all four hydrothermal features: geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.
Evening
Evening bison watch in Madison Valley and dinner at Canyon
At dusk the Madison River valley almost always hosts big bison herds and sometimes elk. Drive west from Madison Junction and pull over at any river turnout. Head back to Canyon Village for dinner at Canyon Lodge Eatery, a casual Western-themed hall serving reliable American dishes including bison short ribs.
Where to Stay Tonight
Canyon Village (Canyon Lodge & Cabins, Dunraven Lodge rooms were updated most recently in 2016 and look toward the mountains.)
Canyon's central spot lets you reach both the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (Day 5) and Hayden Valley (Day 6) without long drives.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →Norris is the only Yellowstone thermal area where new steam vents sometimes break through the crust, forcing the boardwalk to close. Check the ranger board at Canyon or phone ahead. If Steamboat has blown within the last 48 hours, the cooling cone and fresh silt deposits are worth the side trip.
Day 3 Budget: $90, $140 (meals, no additional costs with park pass)
4
Old Faithful & the Grand Prismatic, Yellowstone's Icons
Upper Geyser Basin & Midway Geyser Basin
Today covers Yellowstone's two most-shot sights: Old Faithful's reliable clockwork and Grand Prismatic's rainbow rings, best seen from the new overlook trail.
Morning
Old Faithful Eruption & Upper Geyser Basin Walk
Be at Old Faithful by 8 a.m. to grab a bench before the first morning burst. Eruptions come every 60, 110 minutes, sending 100, 180 feet of water and 3,700, 8,400 gallons skyward. The visitor center posts the next prediction within ten minutes. Afterward, walk the 3-mile Upper Geyser Basin loop past Beehive, Giantess, Castle (every 10, 12 hours), and Morning Glory Pool. Over 150 geysers crowd this single square mile, the densest concentration anywhere.
Old Faithful Inn Dining Room serves breakfast 7, 10 a.m.; sign up the night before at the front desk for a meal inside the 1904 log hotel.
Lunch
Old Faithful Inn Dining Room or Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria
Afternoon
Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook Trail & Midway Geyser Basin
Grand Prismatic Spring, 370 feet wide, is the biggest hot spring in the U.S. and third largest on Earth. Concentric bands of orange, yellow, and green bacteria ring the 188°F blue center. The Midway Bluffs Overlook Trail (1.6 miles, moderate) climbs above the basin for the aerial shot you can't get from the boardwalk. Hike the overlook first, then descend to the spring. Allow 90 minutes total.
Evening
Sunset from Old Faithful Inn's Crow's Nest balcony
Climb to the Crow's Nest balcony on the Inn's top floor for a sunset view over the basin. Dinner in the historic dining room is a Yellowstone highlight, 76-foot stone fireplace, hand-hewn logs, and a nine-story atrium make it the park's best rustic showpiece. Reserve at least two days out through Xanterra.
Where to Stay Tonight
Old Faithful (Old Faithful Inn, Old House rooms still have the original 1904 log walls and are the most character-filled; book 6, 12 months ahead for summer. Old Faithful Lodge Cabins are the cheaper on-site option.)
Spending the night at Old Faithful lets you catch late-evening eruptions after the crowds leave and see the dawn burst before tour buses arrive, an entirely different feel from midday.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →In summer, the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. eruptions draw only a trickle of spectators. Bring a fleece, temperatures plummet after dark even in July. The Inn's Bear Pit Lounge stays open until 11 p.m. beside its fireplace; it's one of the coziest corners in the park.
Day 4 Budget: $120, $180 (Old Faithful Inn dining adds cost; meals ~$60, $90)
5
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Rim, Falls, and Abyss
Canyon District
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone stretches 24 mi, cuts 1,200 ft down, and glows gold and ochre where hydrothermal fluids bleached the rhyolite. Add the 308-ft Lower Falls and you get the park's most eye-popping scenery.
Morning
South Rim Trail to Artist Point
Artist Point is the canyon's most-painted lookout: you stare straight down 1,000 ft at Lower Falls and the Yellowstone River sliding between yellow walls. Show up by 8 a.m. and the low sun lights the stone like it's on fire. From the parking lot the South Rim Trail continues 3 miles to Point Sublime, an unofficial extension that most people skip. Count on 2½ hours round-trip and a couple of rocky scrambles for the same dizzy views without the crowd.
Lunch
Canyon Lodge Eatery, Canyon Village
Afternoon
North Rim Drive, Inspiration Point, Lookout Point & Uncle Tom's Trail
Hop to the North Rim for three separate angles. Inspiration Point juts over the chasm, stand on the skinny platform with wind whipping off the falls and you'll feel the drop on three sides. Lookout Point gives the cleanest side-profile of Lower Falls from mid-height. If your knees are up for it, Uncle Tom's Trail drops 328 metal stairs 600 ft to a spray-soaked platform at the foot of the cascade. The roar and the scale hit harder than any photo can show.
Evening
Canyon Village dinner and night sky
Eat dinner at Canyon Lodge Dining Room, then head south to Hayden Valley for the long evening light. Grizzlies often feed on the far slopes during golden hour. The canyon qualifies as a dark-sky zone, on clear nights any pullout away from the lodges serves up the Milky Way without effort.
Where to Stay Tonight
Canyon Village (Canyon Lodge & Cabins, Cascade Lodge rooms or Western Cabins)
Canyon sits dead-center for the second half of your trip, letting you reach Hayden Valley, Yellowstone Lake, and the remaining thermal spots without constant packing and unpacking.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →Uncle Tom's Trail usually stays gated until mid-May while ice lingers. Even in midsummer the stairs stay slick from mist, trekking poles save ankles. Everyone who makes the climb down swears the straight-up view of the falls is the one shot no camera can capture.
Day 5 Budget: $90, $130 (Canyon Lodge runs the cheapest sit-down meals in the park).
6
Hayden Valley, Mud Volcano & Yellowstone Lake's Quiet Shore
Hayden Valley, Mud Volcano Area & Lake District
Start with Hayden Valley's thousand-head bison herds, move on to the sulfur drama of Mud Volcano, and finish the day on the shore of Yellowstone Lake, the biggest alpine lake on the continent.
Morning
Hayden Valley Dawn Wildlife Drive
Hayden Valley is an old lakebed now covered in sedge and sage; bison, elk, pelicans, sandhill cranes, and grizzlies funnel through the corridor between Canyon and the lake. Drive slowly, stop at every turnout. In late May and June you'll often see grizzlies pulling cutthroat from the river. July, August brings the bison rut, bulls bellow and shove within yards of the pavement. Give yourself the whole morning and skip the tight schedule.
Lunch
Lake Yellowstone Hotel Dining Room, one of the park's most elegant settings
Afternoon
Mud Volcano Area & Yellowstone Lake Shoreline Walk
Mud Volcano feels like the earth's stomach: Dragon's Mouth Spring belches steam and sloshes like a beast; Black Dragon's Cauldron churns black mud that swallowed its first boardwalk; Sulphur Caldron, just up the road, clocks pH near zero, stronger than battery acid. Circle the 0.7-mi boardwalk in 45 min, then drive to Storm Point on Yellowstone Lake. The 2.3-mi lakeside loop crosses meadow and pine and is prime grizzly habitat, ask rangers about recent activity before you set out.
Evening
Sunset on Yellowstone Lake and dinner at Lake Hotel
Lake Yellowstone Hotel's west-facing porch looks across 136 sq mi of water, sunset here, framed by the 1891 white-columned facade, is one of the park's gentlest spectacles. Reserve a table in the dining room or grab a quicker meal at Lake Lodge next door. Afterward stroll to Fishing Bridge, otters hunt in the outlet channel most evenings.
Where to Stay Tonight
Lake Village (Lake Yellowstone Hotel, opened in 1891, is the park's oldest lodging still in service; lake-view rooms cost extra but give you sunrise on the water. Lake Lodge Cabins, half a mile away, are the budget option.)
Night six at the lake parks you at the south end of the figure-eight, setting up an easy morning at West Thumb and a relaxed drive out the south entrance on Day 7.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →Yellowstone Lake lies at 7,732 ft and spawns sudden afternoon storms June, August. Finish lake activities by 2 p.m. Water temperature stays around 41°F, fall in and hypothermia strikes fast. Treat the lake with respect.
Day 6 Budget: $110, $160 (Lake Hotel dining is the priciest in the park. Plan on $70, $90 per person for dinner).
7
West Thumb, the Caldera Rim & a Proper Farewell
West Thumb Geyser Basin & Grant Village District
Finish the loop at West Thumb Geyser Basin, where geysers hiss straight into cold Yellowstone Lake, then drive the caldera rim north for one last look at the size of the supervolcano before you go.
Morning
West Thumb Geyser Basin at Sunrise
West Thumb's thermal basin sits inside a volcanic crater that now cups Yellowstone Lake. At 7 a.m. steam drifts across the water and the pools glow in early light, one of the easiest photo wins in the park. Abyss Pool drops to unknown depth and shines sapphire at 140°F. Fishing Cone, half-submerged, once let anglers cook trout on the line, illegal now. Lakeshore Geyser spouts when the lake is low. Get there at sunrise and you'll have the boardwalk to yourself.
Lunch
Grant Village Restaurant, the southernmost full-service restaurant in the park
Afternoon
Lewis River Channel & Shoshone Lake Overlook (Optional Hike)
The Lewis River channel between Lewis Lake and Shoshone Lake is the park's best spot for spotting river otters. Pull over at any of the roadside turnouts along South Entrance Road and watch the narrow waterway in silence. If you still have legs left, the DeLacy Creek Trail (3 miles one-way to Shoshone Lake, the biggest backcountry lake in the lower 48) gives you an untouched beach and almost total solitude. The trailhead sits on Grand Loop Road between Old Faithful and West Thumb. Retrace your steps for a 3.5, 4 hour round trip.
Evening
Drive north through the caldera one last time and leave by either West Yellowstone or the North Entrance.
Heading south, the South Entrance via John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway links straight to Grand Teton National Park, easy to tack on. Going west, the West Entrance at West Yellowstone, Montana has the most gas, food, and beds right outside the gate. Before you leave, stop at any pullout on Grand Loop Road, spin slowly, and take in the caldera rim: you're on top of a 45-mile-wide supervolcano. That deserves a quiet second.
Where to Stay Tonight
West Yellowstone, MT or Jackson, WY (outside the park) (Holiday Inn West Yellowstone or Three Bear Lodge by the West Entrance; Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson, WY if you're adding Grand Teton.)
Spending the last night in town gets you showers, laundry, real coffee, and a restaurant choice after a week of lodge food, and puts you closer to early flights out of Jackson Hole or Bozeman Yellowstone International.
See all Yellowstone National Park accommodation options →Grant Village and the South Entrance corner stay the quietest corners of the park. If you have a morning free before you leave, the Riddle Lake Trail (2.4 miles one-way, opens July 15 when bear closures lift) leads to a glass-smooth lake with nobody else around, one of Yellowstone's calmest secrets.
Day 7 Budget: $80, $120 (lighter activity day. Final park meal ~$30, $50)
Practical Information
Everything you need to know before you go
Getting Around
There's no shuttle inside Yellowstone, you need your own car. The 142-mile Grand Loop links every district. Allow 30, 45 minutes between neighbors and two hours from one side of the figure-eight to the other. Speed limit is 45 mph and rangers write tickets. Bison jams can stop you cold. Rent something with decent clearance before late May or after October, snow can fall any day. Gas is sold at Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Grant Village, Mammoth, Old Faithful, and Tower-Roosevelt, all priced way above town. Top up every chance you get. Cell signal only exists at Mammoth, Canyon, and Old Faithful, download offline maps first.
Book Ahead
Park hotels, Old Faithful Inn and Lake Yellowstone Hotel, fill 6, 12 months ahead for July and August. Book through Xanterra (yellowstonenationalparklodges.com). Roosevelt Lodge's Old West Cookout sells out weeks early. Reserve dinner at Old Faithful Inn Dining Room, Lake Yellowstone Hotel Dining Room, and Grant Village Restaurant the night before or early that morning. Back-country permits open on Recreation.gov each March. Yellowstone doesn't use timed entry right now, but double-check nps.gov/yell before you arrive.
Packing Essentials
Pack layers, temperatures can jump or drop 40 °F in a day any time of year. Bring a rain shell, fleece, and sun hat. You'll want waterproof hiking boots, 10×42 binoculars (animals stay farther than you think), bear spray (rent or buy at the gate, practice first), high-SPF sunscreen for 7,000 ft, an insulated bottle, and a headlamp for dawn drives and night geyser viewing. Carry a little cash. Card readers freeze up.
Total Budget
Plan on $1,600, $2,500 per person for a week: in-park lodging $900, $1,500, food $400, $600, park pass $35 per vehicle, plus odds and ends. Campers who cook can cut the total to $800, $1,100.
Customize Your Trip
Adapt this itinerary to your travel style
Budget Version
Swap every hotel night for a campground, Mammoth, Madison, Canyon, Grant Village, and Bridge Bay run $25, $35 and can be booked on Recreation.gov. Bring a stove and groceries from Gardiner or West Yellowstone; Canyon and Fishing Bridge stores stock only basics. Trade Old Faithful Inn dinners for the Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria and you'll save $700, $1,000 per person for the week.
Luxury Upgrade
Book the Crow's Nest Suite at Old Faithful Inn or a lake-view premier room at Lake Yellowstone Hotel (the suite sells out a year ahead). Hire a private naturalist through Yellowstone Forever ($600, $900 per day) for expert wolf, bear, and geyser tours. Charter a boat on Yellowstone Lake at sunset for water-level shots of the hot springs. Add a 30-minute helicopter flight over the caldera from West Yellowstone (~$250 per person).
Family-Friendly
Skip Uncle Tom's Trail and its steep stairs. Stick to the South Rim overlooks that you can reach on flat, paved walks. Every visitor center runs a Junior Ranger program, kids 5, 12 pick up an activity book, finish the tasks, and get sworn in for a badge, so stop at each one. In Lamar Valley, head out at 7 a.m. instead of before sunrise, you'll still see wildlife without the crack-of-dawn crankiness. Book a 90-minute horseback ride at Canyon or Roosevelt Lodge ($50, 65 pp, age 8 and up). The Firehole Swimming Area is always a hit with kids. Plan on an extra half-hour at every thermal spot so the youngsters can quiz the rangers on the boardwalks.
Book Activities for Your Trip
Tours, tickets, and experiences in Yellowstone National Park
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