The West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park was efficient every time we went through. We never…read moreencountered a longer WEEKDAY-delay at the entrance than 15min, on different weekdays approximately 6:30am, 8am, 8:30am, 10:30am, and 11am. (Jul 2026). On the other hand, even when we entered at 6:30am, traffic built up by the time we got to popular locations to the south between the entrance and Old Faithful. Not terribly bad, but enough that we would have started earlier if we could have. Studying traffic apps, it looked like traffic was better entering before 5:30am or maybe even 6am. We never saw bad backups (besides wildlife sightings) going north, or going all the way west between the north and south loops. We never started early enough to see sunrise inside the park. At the entrance, the far right lane was for pre-paid passes. With three other lanes open, the prepaid lane wasnt even twice as fast as the others. It was around two-cars faster when the other lanes were 6 or 8 cars. Pretty efficient. And they give you a useful park map, though you can buy more detailed maps and guidebooks at the park's visitors centers and around town. We used the free ones :-) We felt that the NPS app had info that's easier to access than their website. And believe it when they say cell service is limited to the major sights and visitor centers. Even GPS was spotty. So, after our first couple hours in the park, we made a point to download maps and info before the next leg of the trip, and on the second time in, we downloaded the night before.

If you end up trying to save money by staying in Idaho when visiting Yellowstone rather than…read morestaying in Wyoming, this is likely the main entrance you'll use to exit and re-enter the park during the days you visit. This community that the entrance is next to is also called West Yellowstone, and there's a lot of cute stuff there including a national park visitor center, gas stations, souvenirs and gift shops, and of course lots of restaurants and dessert shops. As for the entrance itself: if you come in during the most congested hours (usually 8-10am or so), despite the fact that there are usually 5-7 lanes open, the traffic will back up all the way down the road from the entrance to the main road of west Yellowstone. People do a decent job of spreading out to try to get in as quickly as possible, but you will have to wait at least a bit. It looks a lot worse than it is; I went in around 8:30 am or so and the number of cars was absolutely ABSURD, but the wait for me to eventually get to a ranger was only about 20-25 minutes. After you get through the entrance, there is a short length of two lanes, and then that becomes one lane. So long as there isn't an animal crossing, the lane does move just fine (at speed limit which is 35-45 mph). Overall - don't be too dismayed by the crazy line to get into the park at this entrance, it does move fast and the advantage of a nice visitor center and tons of food, gas and other resources like minutes from that entrance makes it a great spot to look for lodging or a break in between a visit to Yellowstone.

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.

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!

Great campground nestled in a meadow of wildflowers, next to a high mountain lake, surrounded by…read moremountains. This place is wonderful. The only downsides are lots of mosquitos, and the afternoon wind through the mountain pass can be brutal. American White Pelicans on the lake and moose in the willow marsh.

The park is new and still in. It's finishing stages. It is very nice with room lots, nice concrete…read morepad, picnic tables, and fantastic scenery. The manager, Todd, is amazing. He goes out of his way to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience.

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 :(

Yellowstone family adventures is a fantastic company. They genuinely made our visit a spectacular…read morememory we'll cherish forever. Trent was extremely knowledgeable about Yellowstone's natural wonders and the best places to view wildlife. He was flexible, patient and very accommodating. He went above and beyond even sticking around to take us to west Yellowstone restaurants after our daily tour. We saw all the natural wonders on our list, as well as most of the wildlife. We had some special moments like a momma grizzly with three, two year old cubs; a large bison traffic jam with babies, called red dogs; a baby elk hiding as it's mother is gone off feeding; a mountain goat with a baby; Coyote cubs; elks with calves; a black bear couple; and a wolf with cubs moving about. Because we are bird watchers, Trent adjusted our tour to accommodate some bird watching and we were able to check off quite a few birds on our life list. In setting up our tour, David was fantastic. He was patient and accommodating for our lodging needs. This made our trip extra special. We highly recommend Yellowstone family adventures for your trip to Yellowstone. We definitely plan on using them in the future.

My family of 5 just spent 7 days with Yellowstone Family Adventures and we had the times of our…read morelives! This is not a corporate tour company, it is ran by two brothers that will go out of their way to make sure they provide the perfect experience for your family! My husband caught his first Montana trout on a fly rod thanks to them! We didn't even have fly fishing in our 7 day itinerary, but my husband mentioned it to David on day two and he made it happen by the end of the trip! Thank you so much YFA for this wonderful experience! My kids are still taking about it! Money well spent! We visited in early May 2024.

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.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Magical sleigh ride and the food was absolutely delicious!! Music and ambiance was wonderful as wellread more

we just went as a family of 5 to the rodeo, terrible experience. The tickets were oversold for the…read morevenue capacity, not even enough seats for half the crowd. we had to wait 30min for the over crowded shuttle bus to take us from the parking lot up the hill to the rodeo. The crowd was rude and drunk. It felt like an overpriced cash grab to rip off tourists, don't go as a family.

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.

Beehive Basin never disappoints! One of the most breathtaking places I have ever been! The…read morewildflowers were in all their splendor. Brilliant colors of blues, pinks, reds, yellows, whites and orange were everywhere! A sight to behold for sure! The views of Lone Mountain and the Spanish Peaks, to name a few, were spectacular. Gentle streams and waterfalls surrounded by lovely flowers were soothing to the eyes & ears. There are a few steep inclines on the hike, but worth every breath you take! In some spots on the trail, the fragrance of trees immediately takes your senses to Christmas! If you love outdoors, flowers, streams, rocks and spectacular views, you need to do this hike. You will have one of the most memorable experiences of your life!

Gorgeous!! Trail is well marked. Go early (we went about 9:30) because as it gets later, it's…read morebusy and hard to find parking. Meadows with gorgeous wildflowers, creeks with babbling brooks, forest areas, ponds, rock formations, and mountain views. We went past the trail over some boulder fields and up to the top, about 10,300ft elevation. It was tough but worth it!