This should be on everyone's bucket list. You can cover one of the loops in one day, but if you…read morewant to do the entire 'figure 8' tour, I'd allow for two days. It's an amazing experience. I remember going there as a pre teen but haven't been back in decades...I brought my partner who has never been here. We're both now in our 50s. I'm not sure what the admission fee is as we have an annual America The Beautiful pass that gets us in to all the National Parks. I didn't see much staff except for the entrance kiosk buildings and the tourist trappy visitor centers. Every once in a while we'd see a ranger vehicle driving around. One actually interposed itself between a large buffalo waltzing down the road and a motorcycle rider it was overly interested in. O.O! The crowd here can be very, very busy. I highly suggest getting here as early as possible - right when they open preferably. It's still busy but gives you a few hours start on the REAL crowd and makes the day much nicer.

I've visited Yellowstone National Park twice--first in 2016 and again in 2025--and both trips were…read moreunforgettable. On both visits, I stayed two nights in West Yellowstone and one night near Grand Teton National Park, which gave me plenty of time to explore both incredible parks. During my trips, I was fortunate to see grizzly bears, bison, wolves, and countless ravens in their natural habitat. Some of my favorite places included the Grand Prismatic Overlook (Vista Point) Trail, Grand Prismatic Spring, Lower Falls, Upper Falls, Tower Junction, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, Norris Geyser Basin, and many other geysers throughout the park. Every stop offers something unique and breathtaking. Yellowstone is one of the most spectacular national parks in the United States. The combination of abundant wildlife, colorful hot springs, waterfalls, mountains, and geothermal features makes every visit unforgettable. Even after visiting twice, I still can't wait to go back. I highly recommend spending at least three days in the area to experience both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.

This trail still exists, except it stops where the steps once existed. So it's a very steep trail,…read morea lot of switchbacks, leading to the top of the falls. Even without the stairs, it's quite a significant climb back to the parking lot so if you're not in good condition, don't attempt!

August 2022 Update: when my fiancé and I went, two rangers informed us that they are officially…read morePERMANENTLY closing this trail. They went down to take out the sign and will not be allowing anyone to go through the stairs. They said it is too expensive to fix and costs millions of dollars with the rescues, especially with the amount of money they are spending to fix the roads from the flooding. Obviously really sad but Uncle Tom's trail is no more :(

We ended our first day in Yellowstone at Inspiration Point, and honestly, it was the perfect way to…read moreclose out an unforgettable day. After hours of exploring the park, nothing could have prepared us for what was waiting at the end of that drive. The view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Inspiration Point is absolutely stunning -- one of those rare moments where you stop talking and just stare. The canyon drops away dramatically below you, the yellow and orange walls glowing warm in the late afternoon light, and the sheer scale of it all hits you all at once. It's breathtaking in the truest sense of the word. We came with family, including a young child, and even they were in awe. The viewing area is accessible and easy to navigate, which made it even better. No difficult hiking required -- just drive up, walk a short path, and let nature do the rest. Inspiration Point earns its name completely. This isn't just a scenic overlook -- it's a moment you'll carry with you long after you leave Yellowstone. Absolutely worth the drive. Don't miss it.

100% worth hiking past hidden falls. Saw a bunch of wildlife and the boat ride over was great. I…read morewill say that the wait to get back on the boat ride was about an hour. Veterans and active service members get a discount--you must ask.

I hadn't heard of this area before coming to Yellowstone but I saw a sign for it on the Rockefeller…read morefreeway and a lot of cars going toward it so I followed them. I'm glad I did, it's a really neat area and in my opinion almost a better bang for your buck than prismatic springs! You walk along a boardwalk in both areas since the geothermal area is both fragile, and potentially dangerous. There are several steaming pools in this area, including some that are cloudy/hazy, and some that are crystal clear and blue as the Caribbean ocean. This was also the only place I saw elk; there were some just chilling in the middle of the area. The parking lot is huge and easily accessible here as well.

This was a amazing place. I would recommend going to the top look out point then going down to the…read moreactual geyser basin I liked it a lot but I think I had already seen enough hot springs/geysers that I just kinda felt bored here but it was still really cool

This is one of the most popular hikes in grand Teton National park. I would strongly recommend it,…read morebut just be aware that the parking is competitive at Jenny Lake visitor center because it's the most popular in the park (despite there being a massive parking lot with an overflow area). One of the nice things about this visitor center is that there are clean bathrooms with running water, food, options, and gift stores. The lake itself is absolutely stunning, and you have two options to get to hidden Falls - you can either do the actual trail, which takes anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, or you can take the ferry shuttle across the lake ($20 I think), which cuts your trip down by a solid mile or two. In fact, it ends up only taking maybe 15 to 20 minutes of an uphill walk to get to hidden Falls from where the ferry dock is after you ride it. Honestly, though, I think that the hike itself is absolutely worth it because the views around the lake itself are absolutely stunning! I think if you only do one hike in Grand Teton National Park, this should be it.

Hidden falls can be accessed either by taking the ferry across Jenny lake or by hiking around Jenny…read moreLake. My group opted for the hike, and it made getting to the waterfall, where it was incredibly cool, extra sweet. The water created a much appreciated swamp cooler effect. It was also super pretty to look at. This part of the hike was definitely the busiest with lots of people taking pictures and eating their lunch by the waterfall. Really gorgeous! Great views on the hike up. Great stop on our trip to the Tetons!!

Artist Point has an amazing canyon view of a 308-ft waterfall. Easy to get to…read more We heard that Artist Point, near Canyon Village, was one of the best sights in Yellowstone National Park. The drive from the West Entrance was essentially west to east, with a jog to the north halfway-there. The elevation was increasing most of the way, getting as high as 8244-ft. We found the turns on the drive to be visually confusing, because the curving roads turned our sense of direction. At the Madison stop sign, though the turn seemed odd, we turned left onto Grand Loop Road. That was northeast. It's correct. Passing Norris Geyser, it looked odd but we turned right (east) onto Norris Canyon Rd. Coming up to the east branch of the Loop Road, we turned right (south). The entrance to South Rim Drive was then a left. It's even more confusing on the way back, because they never seemed to put a sign saying "to West Entrance" until a mile past the turns :-). Pro tip: Keep a map in front of you at those turns! Once we turned onto South Rim Drive, we drove the winding way for less than 2-miles to the end. There was a large parking lot with plenty of open spaces, plus outhouses. It was a high elevation there, about 7700-ft, and some of us felt it. Conveniently, we could drop off those who walk less comfortably at the furthest end of the parking lot, about 250-feet from the best vista. We walked to the overlook on the left. t. The 1-mile view to the west along the Yellowstone River was stupendous, with the huge crashing misting Lower Falls waterfall dropping 308-feet. We were awed by the midday view. In fact, three of our group had gone their separate way by now, and when they saw our photos, they drove here on their own the next day! They say that sunrise often creates a rainbow in the mist, but we could not manage to pass through the west entrance early enough for the at-least 90-min (usually longer) drive. From what I read, you need a low sun-angle (less than 45°) to get a rainbow in the mist. Based on a (very-)very-nerdy NOAA Solar Calculator webpage, using the Lat-Lon and time, we might have been able to see a rainbow as late as 8:50am in July. (2026). I won't say who in our group figured that out, because I'd also have to say it was After our trip :-)

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone -- Lower Falls Do it in…read morethis order. Trust me. If Yellowstone had a crown jewel, this is it. We hit the Lower Falls from two different angles, and the order we did it made all the difference. Start at Artist Point. From here, you get the full picture -- the entire canyon stretching out in front of you, walls layered in pink, red, orange, and white from thousands of years of iron-stained rock. The waterfall sits in the distance like something out of a painting, and the river winds through the bottom of a canyon that drops 800 to 1,200 feet deep. It gives you the context to appreciate everything else you're about to see. Blue sky, puffy clouds, massive scale -- this view alone is worth the drive. Then hike down to the Brink of the Lower Falls. This is where it gets real. You're standing right at the top of a 308-foot drop, watching the full force of the Yellowstone River launch off the edge. In early May, snowmelt had it absolutely roaring -- thick mist rising up, patches of snow still clinging to the rocks below, and if the sun hits right, a rainbow forms right at the base. See the canyon first. Then feel the power up close. That's the move. Absolutely mandatory stop in Yellowstone -- don't skip either viewpoint.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Arch is Beautiful and you can walk inside and drive thru. It is on way to park and normally Elk…read moreare nearby also check out Arch park right below the Arch. Worth stopping

Yellowstone absolutely blew me away. You can drive for hours looking at the most beautiful sights…read moreyou've ever seen. I actually cried because I felt so overwhelmed by its beauty. If you visit please be respectful of nature, and leave the animals alone. Make sure to bring sunblock, water and snacks. Pro tip: Go to the visitors center before you get started. They are great at giving your advise of how to best enjoy the park, where gas stations are found in the park etc. It's also a nice change to apply sunscreen, use the restrooms, and refill your water bottles.

+ Fun fact: Norris Geyser Basin is Yellowstone's oldest and hottest basin…read more + Fun fact: the green comes from a combo of 2 colors: blue and yellow. The blue comes from the water absorbing all other colors and thus reflecting blue, while the yellow-orange is the thermophilic bacteria and algae, or rather the yellow sulfur. Our eyes interpret the blue-yellow mix as blellow. jk, green. - Steamboat Geyser here is the world's tallest active geyser (300') but with unpredictable, infrequent major eruptions. Last major eruption was 2/27/2026. I wouldn't get my hopes up on your next visit. -- Crowded and very slooow parking. Sat outside for 20-30min waiting for the line to move. + Good amount of restrooms.

We had entered the park from Gardiner, and it wasn't a very long drive to the Norris geyser. There…read moreis a welcome center, but we went straight out to the boardwalk and started walking around. The one Geyser smokes fairly consistently - there isn't the big eruption like at Old Faithful. The boardwalks take you through quite a variety of basins and geysers - some as small as just bubbling water, but it was all very interesting to see. We spent quite a lot of time here - even though the parking lot was packed, because the boardwalk is so spread out you didn't really feel like you were in a crowd. You could take your time and really look at everything. I would definitely recommend this as a stop.

It's part of the whole Yellowstone National Park experience to stop and take pictures of every…read moremajor road sign, and the continental divide was no different! It's kind of cool to know where you were standing, and it just really made the whole experience that much more fun!

Between the Old Faithful and the west thumb information centers is the continental divide. The road…read morewent up and down and was very jacked. We stopped after froggy pass at 8391 feet. We all enjoyed playing with the snow and taking photographs in front of the sign.

Amazing! The rumors were true. + Bison nonchalantly…read morecrossing the road, slowing down lines of cars. My 3rd animal crossing this vacation! - The western entrance to Lamar Valley at Tower Junction (Tower/Roosevelt Service Station) was way backed up. Many cars, slow line. * Even with many families waiting behind you, savor the moments. Not often in your life you get to witness Bovidae walking right in front of you. . Tip: better replenish at the Sinclair gas station. Will be a long drive ahead. # Warning: Don't feed them, and certainly don't touch them. Ancestrally, bison had to view us hunters as predators. And mothers recognize their calves by scent. If you touch a calf, your human predator scent will alienate the mother; she may not even recognize her young anymore, and it won't be able to rejoin the herd Dx Disastrous fate for the calf afterwards... So yeah, stay in your car. Or exit at one of the pullouts, but keep your distance. Welcome to America's Serengeti!

We entered Yellowstone from the northeast entrance so that we could deliberately drive through the…read moreLamar Valley. We didn't start our drive until early afternoon, so we didn't see a great deal of wildlife, but we did manage to see several herds of bison. The views were very scenic, and we found ourselves pulling over quite frequently. Definitely take your time driving through this area and enjoy the sights!