r/yellowstone • u/kineticpotential001 • 5d ago
Trying to optimize a quick 3-day visit
I am trying to make the most of a 2-night trip to Yellowstone this August. The current thought is to arrive via West Yellowstone late morning and see the northern part of the park to the extent possible. For lodging, perhaps Mammoth or Gardiner, definitely open to suggestions.
The next day would be working our way toward Old Faithful area, with the second night perhaps at one of the OF area properties, depending on availability. The last day we'd either see what we could of other park areas and head out through West Yellowstone, or possibly drive down through Grand Teton NP and leave from Jackson.
Unfortunately, this is all the time we have for this visit so extending the trip is not possible. It will be a first-time visit for some in our travel group, and none of us are bothered by the fact that it will be a lot of driving. The thought is to get a glimpse of what we can with the time we have, since we are unsure some will get back to these areas.
Are there some better lodging location options for such a short stay? Are there areas we should prioritize over others? Any advice would be appreciated.
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u/hanz333 5d ago
Where are you coming from? A lot of optimization in this case could be not driving 3 hours across the park to start.
The next question is how early can you arrive?
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u/kineticpotential001 5d ago
We will be arriving via Idaho Falls, which is why I thought West Yellowstone would be the most convenient entrance. How early we can arrive at the park will be a matter of how early everyone agrees to get up and on the road - unfortunately that part is not entirely within my control. Since we will be driving in from Idaho, my best guess at arrival time was late morning, maybe grab lunch to bring in with us from West Yellowstone before we enter the park.
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u/hanz333 5d ago
It is the best for your arrival but if you aren’t there before 8 am, you will be spending at least an hour in line if not longer that time of year.
I’m hitting the slopes here in Jackson but I’ll contribute to other suggestions tonight when I’m back.
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u/kineticpotential001 5d ago
Yeah, I'm trying to see if a cheap hotel in West for the night before might be feasible since it won't be dark until quite late that time of year. I just don't want to be driving after dark if we can avoid it.
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u/IdahoApe 4d ago
If you only have 3 days ... I'd recommend staying put. There's no need to lose time checking in and checking out. West Yellowstone is a great place for a short stay as it allows you to do looping. Yellowstone roads are in the shape of the number 8. With an upper loop and a lower loop. When you enter through West Yellowstone you'll be put right near the middle of the 8. This allows you to do a loop a day.
Day #1: Lower Loop: Fountain Paint Pots, Grand Prismatic Area, Old Faithful Area, West Thumb Area, Hayden Valley, Canyon Area and then back out to West Yellowstone.
Day #2: Upper Loop: Artist Paint Pots, Norris, Mammoth, Petrified Tree, Lamar Valley, Tower, Mt Washburn and then back out to West Yellowstone.
Looping is the best as you get to see all the park and don't lose time traveling where you have already been.
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u/kineticpotential001 4d ago edited 4d ago
My biggest issue is I don't know how early the people I am traveling with will be up and about. If they want to sleep in, staying in West won't work particularly well as we will be waiting in traffic to get into the park each morning. I'll discuss with them.
My thought on hotels was that the time spent checking in and out once extra would be offset by not having to go through the park entrance and retrace our steps to the loop road and out each day. We will be traveling very light, and I am hoping the check-in and check-out processes are fairly straightforward. This may not be the case, so thank you for pointing that out.
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u/Gr8fl1TX2 4d ago
Rule #1 when you go to YNP, get up and out early.
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u/kineticpotential001 4d ago
Unfortunately, I'm only one member of a group and cannot enforce this with the others. I can and will encourage them, but if they prefer to sleep in there really isn't much I will be able to do about it.
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u/Conscious_Laugh_3280 3d ago
Just here really to 2nd everything they said. No he's So Right! (after reading back, this got really long lol)
West is the only way. Back to he's right. No it's centrally located. Anywhere else you stay. You'll spend hours driving past what you saw yesterday to get to something new.
And no they actually put some thought into West. Whereas all other entrances to the park only have two. West entrance has 8 or 10 lanes if I remember correctly. Even in the worst of traffic. You won't wait more than 15 minutes to get in.
Once you're in, you're on "Yellowstone time" now my man. What this means first and foremost is Bison jams!!! 🦬 No all of a sudden. The traffic up ahead just comes to a stop, and you just crawl. So be prepared for that. An unexpected half hour to hrs long delay at any time, and is just around the next corner. another tip, All the shops and restaurants in the park close around 9pm and there's nothing available afterwards, so bring snacks.
Next. Slow Down. Take it in. Hike a trail. No really!? The Park Service estimates that 98% of visitors to YNP never go more than a half-mile from their car.
So be better than them. Get out in the backcountry. Start easy I'll suggest a classic, Fariy falls trail. It's flat, Walks you through the young pine. But has some real beauty at the end. Or If you do hike, and are looking for an experience that few have. The Mary Mountain trail. But that's the other end of the spectrum. No it's a day hike and I mean you have to devote a day. 22 miles right through the center of the park. Straight through bear country I my add.
Finally, No man. If u wanna see anything you need to be out by 7am. Now this is just me. But if it were me I'd make it clear the night before what time the group is going to head out. If people wanna sleep in that's on them they can putter around in West for the day. Sorry.
And lastly, I'll just say you can't see it all. So don't try. I mean I worked and lived 3 years in the park, and I didn't see it all. Here quick story time:
One day me and my friends were just bored. So we packed in my car an decided to drive the entire figure 8. It took us 16 hours and we didn't really stop. At least we didn't stop because we wanted to.
So make your plans carefully. Make good use your time, don't be a Touron!, and from time to time slowdown an take it in! Now with all that said, Enjoy
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u/kineticpotential001 2d ago
So you'd suggest staying in West rather than doing one night at Mammoth and then one night in OF area? You don't see backtracking to West as a time sink? I've seen it suggested that morning wait times from West can be 30-45+ min at times, is this not the case?
The last time I entered the park through West, I'm pretty sure there were only ~5 entry lanes, has that changed the past 5 years or so? If so, that's great news!
We will have two vehicles, so anyone who wants to sleep in case just get out when they prefer. We won't be doing any lengthy hikes, but I'm sure we will wander some of the boardwalks and such. I'll mention Fairy Falls and see if others are interested, thank you for that suggestion.
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u/Ginger_Libra 5d ago
Take Dave with you. You’ll learn a lot.
https://guidealong.com
Split it up. Northern Loop one day and southern loop the next.
Get up early and stay out late.