YELLOWSTONE ESSENTIAL INFORMATION-BEFORE YOU GO

Visiting Yellowstone National Park with its stunning landscapes and abundant wildlife is a dream come true. It is nature’s playground complete with an incredible array of wildlife, spectacular landscapes, and world class geysers.

Yellowstone’s massive size, coupled with everything there is to see and do, can make trip planning daunting. Why not let someone who knows Yellowstone guide you?

In this post, I share the top things you need to know to plan the best possible Yellowstone adventure. The information includes the top things to see, places to stay, what to bring, places to photograph and so much more.

Best of all, everything I share is from years of actual first hand experience in Yellowstone and not AI generated content.

Imagine visiting Yellowstone as soon as the roads open in spring without any planning. There you are with no food, expecting to grab a bite at Old Faithful, only to discover stores have not opened yet. Worse yet, imagine having car problems and the auto repair services have not opened.

Be sure to keep reading so that you don’t get caught in Yellowstone unprepared.

Where Is Yellowstone ?

Yellowstone is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming with small portions of the park extending into Montana and Wyoming.

Yellowstone Elevations

Let’s start with Yellowstone’s various elevations since they significantly impact weather and area accessibility.

Yellowstone National Park is located at elevations ranging from mostly 7000 to 8500 feet with the highest drivable road being just over 8,800 feet around Dunraven Pass.

Lower elevations include the Mammoth Hot Springs area which is around 6,700 feet. This lower elevation contributes to why this is the only area in Yellowstone open year round.

Pro Tip: For anyone coming from lower elevations or with respiratory issues. I recommend starting your Yellowstone trips in lower elevations such as Lamar Valley to give your body time to acclimate.

Time Zones

Yellowstone National Park is located in the Mountain Time Zone making it two hours behind New York.

How to Get to Yellowstone

Driving Directions

By Air

Yellowstone National Park Overview

Yellowstone is a vast 2.2 million acre wilderness sitting atop one of the world’s largest active volcanoes whose last eruption was over 640,000 years ago. Previous major eruptions date back to 1.3 and 2.1 million years ago.

In fact, the last Yellowstone eruption created a caldera measuring over 30 by 40 miles in diameter that now is filled with magma. When Yellowstone has another major eruption estimates are that it will significantly alter life in North American as well as the world.

At present, there are no signs of an imminent eruption so don’t worry. Leave that to the geologists.

Yellowstone National Park, even without an eruption, constantly rumbles with small earthquakes while thermal features spew hot liquid into the air. In fact, in 2024 a thermal feature erupted at Biscuit Basin which closed the basin for the remained of the 2024 season.

I guess nothing is truly calm in Yellowstone which is what makes it such a special place.

Here is a picture of Sapphire Lake in Biscuit Basin taken a few years ago that may never look this way again.

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Yellowstone is more than volcanic features; it is also America’s Serengeti. In fact, today, an incredible array of wildlife from grizzly bears, to wolves, to herds of elk and bison, to waterfowl and more call the park home.

Yellowstone is home to the largest collection of hydrothermal features in the world with more than 500 geysers and over 10,000 thermal features. That’s a lot of bubbling ground!

Visiting Yellowstone National Park does not stop with seeing geysers and wildlife. The park also has Yellowstone Lake, the largest high altitude lake in North America, measuring over 136 square miles.

If that is not enough, Yellowstone National Park is also home to many beautiful waterfalls including the star attraction, Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Entrances and Roads

Travel inside Yellowstone National Park is comprised of 5 entrance roads as well as a main interior road called the Grand Loop Road that is shaped in a figure 8.

Map courtesy of National Park Service.

The table below shows the one way mileage for each of Yellowstone’s roads. Don’t let mileage fool you though, travel is slow. For example, the road between Madison and West Yellowstone is only 14 miles but can easily take 45 minutes or longer to drive.

One way mileage of Yellowstone roads

Yellowstone Seasonal Dates

2025 Road Opening & Closing Date

As a general rule the west entrance roads open the third Friday of April and the east entrance roads open 2 weeks later. These dates are always subject to change, depending on weather.

Below is a summary of the 2025 opening and closing dates for most of the park roads. Be aware that just because a road opens in a certain location, it does not mean facilities at that location open. For instance, you may be able to drive to Canyon Village in early spring but you will not find shops and store open until several weeks later.

Always check the park’s website for detailed operational dates for each facility such as stores, clinics, etc.

YNP 2025 -Facility Operational Dates

Please visit NPS-Yellowstone for operational dates for each area in the park as well as all lodging and camping facilities.

Best THINGS TO SEE AND DO-YELLOWSTONE

View Wildlife

As mentioned, Yellowstone National Park is America’s Sergenti and is the best place in the United States to see a wide variety of wildlife in natural habitats. In fact wildlife viewing is one of the top reasons tourist visit Yellowstone.

Grizzly Bear

So what wildlife is in Yellowstone? Well there are over 67 species of mammals in Yellowstone along with over 300 species of birds and many other animals.

Popular animals include grizzly bears, bison, elk, moose, and wolves, along with the rare wolverine and lynx.

The best places to see wildlife are in Lamar Valley, Hayden Valley and at Mammoth Hot Springs in the early morning and evening hours but wildlife can be anywhere in the park at any time.

Be sure to check out the Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley section of my blog post: Yellowstone: 9 Stunning Places to Photograph and Photographing the Wild: A Yellowstone Summer Road Trip for helpful wildlife sighting tips.

Certain times of the year are also better than others for specific wildlife. For example bear sighting are plentiful in spring but sporadic in the middle of summer. Bison, however, are in rut in the middle of summer, making it a great time to see them.

Knowledge of wildlife behavior is key to successfully seeing the most wildlife.

A word of caution: In Yellowstone, there are no cages so it is especially important to obey the wildlife safe distance rules. This is especially true of bison and moose which appear to be slow moving animals but can turn and quickly charge with little warning.

Geysers, Hot Pools and Springs

As previously mentioned, Yellowstone has the largest collection of geysers and hydrothermal features in the world. Thankfully, many of Yellowstone’s geysers, pools, and springs can easily be explored from Yellowstone’s top 10 geyser basins.

Note: There are three other geyser basins not listed below that involve hikes: Shoshone Basin, Lone Star Basin and Heart Basin.

Yellowstone ‘s Front Country Geyser Basins

The Upper Geyser Basin by Old Faithful contains the largest collection of hydrothermal features in the park as well as the some of the largest geysers. If possible, plan to spend at least 1/2 day touring the basin.

Learn more about the Upper Geyser Basin by reading: Upper Geyser Basin and Black Sands, Biscuit and Midway Basins.

Note: As a photographer most of my posts about Yellowstone geysers are geared toward photography but don’t let that stop you from reading them as they list the best features in each basin along with eruption patterns and tips for the major geysers.

Waterfalls, Lakes and Creeks

In addition to wildlife and geysers, Yellowstone National Park is home to numerous waterfalls, included the world class Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

You will find my recommended best overlooks for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone in:“Capturing Yellowstone- 9 Stunning Places to Photograph“.

There are over 300 waterfalls in Yellowstone including the spectacular Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Many of these 300 waterfalls are in the backcountry. The following waterfalls, however, are roadside or within a relatively easy to moderate hikes:

I found the following blog to be a great resource for those wishing to explore the waterfalls in Yellowstone beyond the roadside waterfalls: Wonder of Waterfalls.

Additionally, lakes, rivers and streams abound throughout the landscape including the 136 square mile Yellowstone Lake. In fact, Yellowstone Lake has so much to offer, that a day could easily be spent here.

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Photography

Yellowstone National Park is a top destination for almost every nature, wildlife and travel photographer. In fact, Yellowstone is such a photography destination that I dedicated a post to Capturing Yellowstone:9 Stunning Places to Photograph. The post guides you through Yellowstone’s top areas and lists the best photo spots in the areas.

To key to taking great photographs of Yellowstone is not what camera gear you own, it is the knowledge of wildlife locations, geysers eruption patterns, the best times to visit places like Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and more. Research as much as you can about the Yellowstone subjects that interest you ahead of any trip and you will be much better prepared to photograph them.

Personal Note: I was photographing Grand Geyser during an eruption years ago and did not know that after it erupts, it can suddenly erupt again. I put the camera down and I missed capturing one of the best eruptions I have ever seen at Grand Geyser by not researching the geyser ahead of time.

Hiking

Yellowstone is a hiker’s paradise from easy strolls in popular areas to challenging backcountry explorations. However, if you are reading this, you are likely planning your first trip to the park and your time will be limited so we will focus on shorter and easy hikes.

Here are my top favorite 5 hikes for first time visitors.

Other Activities

BEST TIMES TO VISIT Yellowstone

Overall, I find spring is the best time to visit Yellowstone, followed by fall, and lastly summer. In summer, the park is very crowded. Also wildfire smoke from western fires can be very problematic.

For a comparison of each season, be sure to read the “Best Times to Visit” section in :

BEST PLACES TO STAY IN YELLOWSTONE

Yellowstone Hotels & Cabins

Yellowstone Campgrounds

WHERE TO EAT IN YELLOWSTONE

Yellowstone has a number of restaurants ranging from full service dining, to cafeterias, to grab and go options in the following locations:

Restaurants

Pro Tip: Even with this choice of dining facilities, I recommend bringing a cooler and your own food. The park is massive and you may not wish to leave a location and drive miles in order to get something to eat. Also the food is not very good.

Here is a list of general stores within the park that carry a decent selection of groceries for your cooler.

Yellowstone Picnic Areas

Yellowstone has 52 picnic areas, some with grills all located in beautiful natural settings. To view a map of all the picnic areas, please visit: NPS: Yellowstone Picnic Areas.

There are some very important rules to follow when picnicking in Yellowstone to ensure both your safety as well as the safety of all wildlife.

I was in a picnic area in 2019 where people had been feeding a grizzly bear and as a result the park service was planning to trap and euthanize the bear. Please obey the following rules.

Internet and Cell Phone Service

YNP Internet Access

Internet access for the most part is non existent in Yellowstone National Park with the following exceptions:

Internet is available in these hotel public areas: Old Faithful Lodge, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Lake Yellowstone Hotel (no Wi-Fi,wired only) and Canyon Village.

Other park locations offering internet access in the form of Wi-Fi are the following: public areas such as gift shops and food courts at Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful Lodge, Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Canyon Village.

Do not expect the fast or reliable service as infrastructure is very old.

Personal Note: Although the park states that internet is available at Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor Center don’t count on it. In 2019, I spent two months in the area and was never once able to use my cell phone or get on the internet at Mammoth.

Tip: I recommend visiting the gateway towns of West Yellowstone and Gardiner for internet needs.

Cell Service

For the most part, cell service is not much better than internet access, although the area around Canyon Village does have a usable signal for calls. Overall, Verizon seems to have better coverage in the park than the other carriers with the exception of a couple areas where AT&T is better.

Tip: For those of you traveling in more than one car who want to stay in touch, strongly consider investing in walkie talkies. Not only are they useful when traveling in a car but also on trails, fishing, or other activities.

See my Yellowstone Packing Guide linked below for more information on walkie talkies.

Yellowstone Summer Weather

Yellowstone is cold most of the year with the exception of a short few summer months. Below is a chart of the average Yellowstone temperatures month by month.

Be aware that the temperatures shown below vary greatly by area so be sure to check each area before embarking on any activities. It is said that Yellowstone creates its own weather and that is so true.

For example, the average temperatures for July at Mammoth Hot Springs are 81/49, while at Old Faithful they are a little lower at 75/39 and at Mt. Washburn the average temperatures are a cool 65/31.

When planning a trip to the park, be sure to pack for a wide variety of temperatures. Not only do temperature vary by location but is can snow, even in the summer.

As you can see, even in July, nights can be cold so it’s a good idea to keep a blanket in your car for unexpected roads closures.

What to Pack for Summer in Yellowstone

I have taken the guess work out of packing for Yellowstone with a comprehensive packing list that includes everything from clothes to coolers, to bear spray along with things to consider when selecting each item to pack.

Learn from my mistakes and take a few minutes to check out:

How Much Does it Cost to Visit Yellowstone?

Yellowstone Rules and Regulations

For your safety be sure to obey all the signs and always stay on boardwalks and designated walkways around geothermal features.

Park safe distance rules for wildlife:

—Bears and wolves: 100 yards

—All other wildlife: 25 yards

Pay close attention to the pet rules if you plan on visiting the park with a pet as these rules can restrict places you can visit. Also, if you travel in an RV, be aware that leaving your pet in it with food and or windows open, is an invitation to bears and other wildlife.

Yellowstone Other Services

In addition to the hotels, campgrounds, restaurants and general stores mentioned above, the following other services can be found within the park.

Below I have compiled all my posts for Yellowstone that provide further details needed for your trip planning.

Final Thoughts about Yellowstone

The information above primarily tailored to the first or second time visitor to Yellowstone National Park who is mainly interested in staying in the park and exploring its many roadside sights. Detailed information related to Yellowstone backcountry hiking trails, backcountry camping, fishing, or in depth boating activities is beyond the scope of this introductory post.

I hope you find this post helpful in planning your Yellowstone trip and if so, sharing and/or commenting would greatly be appreciated.

All my visits to Yellowstone have been centered on photography which can be viewed at: Yellowstone Geyser Basins and Yellowstone Scenics. If you have any questions specific to photography of Yellowstone, please feel free to reach out.

At this time no reservations are required to visit Yellowstone National Park

As always thanks of joining me for another photo destination!

All Yellowstone Area Posts