Yes, that’s right I said you can see all of Yellowstone National Park in 2 days.  That’s exactly what my husband and I did a couple of summers ago.  We were already in Boise, Idaho for a wedding, so we decided why not drive another 6hrs to Yellowstone!  It was very last minute, and we were lucky we even found a room close to the park, we only had two days, so we decided to cram seeing the park into those two days.  Here is a little travel itinerary, tips, tricks and photo diary of our last-minute road trip to Yellowstone.

My first tip will be if you know you are going last minute or only have a couple of days to spend at the park, book your room or campsite first.  While we were there all of the campgrounds and hotels inside the park were booked.  We were able to get a hotel in Gardiner Montana just 5 min from the north entrance and mammoth hot springs.  So, don’t forget to look for hotels around the entrances to the park as opposed to staying inside the park.  Your pass gets you into the park for the whole week, so you can go in and out as you please.

TIP’s

1. If you are visiting in the summer plan your accommodations far in advance.  I made mine within two weeks of going, and there were a minimal number of places to pick from
2. Look for accommodations just outside the park entrances. Your pass into the park will work all week long, so you can come and go as you please.
3. Get up early for sunrise and stay past sunset, this way you get to see it in the best light, and there are no crowds.  Plus you will see the steam rising from all the hot springs
4. Go to the most popular places (old faithful) early in the day to avoid crowds
5. Pack a cooler full of water, snacks, and lunch so you can picnic at one of the many stops along the loops.
6. Plan your days ahead of time so that you do not miss anything or waste time.

Now let’s get to the good stuff what to see and do!

DAY 1

If you can start your day at sunrise, I would highly recommend it, this way you skip lines and tour buses.  Our first day started at about 10 am because we were driving from Boise, 3 am wakeup call!  If you are in the park before 10 am make your first sight Old Faithful, this way you will get parking.  We, unfortunately, did not make it in time and did not want to circle for an hour to find a spot.  Here are the sights we saw in order:

Old faithful

Grand Prismatic Spring

Paint Pots

Norris junction

Mammoth Hot springs

DAY 2

On our second day, we got out for sunrise pics at mammoth hot springs and the canary spring.  We were the only ones there, and it was amazing to be able to run around and take pictures without anyone in the way.  We decided to go in the opposite direction that most of the tour busses had been going the previous day.  Here is the order of sights:

Tower Roosevelt

Grand falls

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Valley (where the bison like to hang out)

Mud Volcano

Sulfur geyser

Geyser

Attempt old faithful if you didn’t make it the first day

For more pictures check out the photo diary!

Yes, we did make this road trip with our dog Kowboy and let me tell you he loved every minute of it.  Dogs are not allowed on most of the boardwalks within the park, so keep that in mind if you do bring a pet to the park.

Do you want Kowboy to do a post on his road trip essentials?  What national park should we visit next?