Yellowstone National Park - Grand Teton - 5 days 4 nights

Yellowstone National park is one of the most beautiful parks and a must visit destination spots. You would not go wrong for sure. It is a huge wilderness area spans over 3500 sq-mile and sits stop a volcanic hot spot. It spans across 3 states - Montana, Idaho but mostly in Wyoming. It features a range of landscape from canyons, rivers, forests, hot springs, geysers and is also home to a wide variety of species like bears, antelopes, bison, elk and wolves. So be sure to pack your binoculars as you are sure to spot a few if not many.

There aren't many big airports close to the park, but if you are willing to pay the extra buck you can opt to fly into one of the local ones. But we flew into Salt Lake City and drove from there.

The park has 3 entrances - North, West and South (through Grand Teton), and is very huge so plan such that you enter through one and exit through the other to minimize the driving. Also ensure that you stay inside the park. Staying outside would not make sense as you would have to spend extra time getting in and out of the park, when there is so much to do within the park, so time is precious!

We always make sure to stay inside any national park for the experience and also saves time. So even if you are spending the extra buck, it is totally worth it.

Check the weather before travelling, we travelled during the labor day weekend.

Day 1: SLC to YNP

We chose to fly into SLC and booked a flight such that it lands before noon. So that gives us time to rent a car and drive to the entrance of YNP by night. 

We chose to enter through the West Gate and booked accommodation right outside the gate, literally a stones throw, so that would save us time in the morning to get inside the park.

Also since we would be staying inside the park for the next two nights, we made sure to stop on the way there to get the basics like fruits, bread, water and the basics. This would be the breakfast for the next 2 days. 

I had also carried my instant pot to do some basic cooking for lunch and dinner. Lunch must be packed as there are very limited food options and it is nice to have a picnic lunch. Dinner you would get in the place you stay, but we chose to make that in our room as well since we would be very tired by the end of the day. Cooking is not allowed in the cabins, so make sure you plan accordingly. Instant Pot worked just fine.

So we reached our hotel by 8 PM that night, had a quick bite and turned in early to make an early start.

We stayed at Best Western Weston inn for the night.

As you can see the park is shaped like a 8 - so our basic plan was to complete the top loop in Day 1 - stay at the Canyon Village - Complete bottom loop in Day 2 and stay in Old Faithfull Village - exit the park through Grand Teton.

Day 2: YNP Top Loop

We had planned an early start for the next few days to get the most of it. Had breakfast at the hotel and was on the road by 7 AM.

It is a 5 min drive to the west entrance, since we were early there was no crowd to get in the park. The first stop from there was a 30 minute ride. Make sure to have your camera and binoculars by your side as you don't know who from the forest will jump out to say Hi!

Make sure you have stocked up on snacks and water as there would be limited supply inside the park.

First stop is always the customary picture:

Below are the spots that we completed for the day in the same order.

Beryl Springs: This is the first spot to stop in the park, 30 min drive from the entrance. A small hot thermal springs and a quick walk on the boardwalk.

Monument Basin - Just beside Beryl Springs.

Artist Paintpots - Collection of few hot springs, geysers and mudpots which are colorful and hence the name.

Norris Basin - This is one of the major points to see. It is the hottest, oldest and the most dynamic thermal area in Yellowstone. There are two basins there - Back and Porcelain and takes around 2 hours to hike both of them. There is also a small and interesting museum, make sure to call ahead to check if its open.

There are two main Geysers in this point - Steamboat Geyser is the tallest in the world and Echinus Geyser.

There are a lot of parking spots here so no need to worry, but during busy season, it would get full!

Roaring Mountains - A short drive from Norris Geyser, this spot has numerous fumaroles.

Mammoth Lower Terrace Area - Another 25 minutes drive takes you to the Mammoth Hot Springs. This is another one of the top must see spots and is very unique. It is definitely worth the drive to get there.

The colors in this spot is truly surreal and incredible. Thermopiles and various algae have created a rainbow of colors in this area ranging from yellows to greens and blues depending on the temperature. 

 

There are two main sections here - upper and lower terrace. There are boardwalks in both the areas and staircase connecting them. You can further explore the upper terrace by driving to the Upper Terrace Loop Drive which is about 2.3 miles away. 

It is best to walk and explore the area as they are well connected and a total walk of less than 2 miles. 

Below is a map of the Mammoth Hot Springs to further explore:

Wraith Falls: A short drive to Wraith falls was a perfect picnic spot to have lunch. 

Petrified Tree - This was a short drive and a very quick stop. You just park and can see the tree. This tree is 50 million years old. As time progresses, the tree's organic tissues break down resulting in voids in the tree that are then filled with minerals like silica which over time crystallize and become rock-like which is then called petrified wood.

Tower Falls - Again a short drive, but this fall is very beautiful and is 132 feet high. There are two overlook points from where it can be viewed. There is a Tower Falls Overlook very close to the parking lot. Another view point is from the Roosevelt Tower General Store - might be a good time for a coffee break as well!

Grand Canyon - Another must see spot is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This spans over 20 miles and there are multiple things to do here.

We opted to do the Brink of the Lower Falls Trail which is a moderate one around 0.7 miles and took a little more than an hour. 

This was our last activity for the day and we were staying in the Canyon Lodge for the night.

There  is a general store in the canyon where you would get the basic things and we had booked one of the cabins for the night stay.

Day 3: YNP  Lower Loop

Again we had planned an early start and left the room by 7 AM. We were lucky to get a lot of animal sightings, so earlier the better.

Upper Falls View: This is another one of the waterfalls at the Grand Canyon, comparatively smaller than the lower falls but never the less breath taking view.

Uncle Toms Point:

This is a short trail that takes you to a breath taking view point of the Lower Falls - it is steep 0.7 mile round trip.

Artist Point:

The trail itself is 4 miles but we did not do the trail. We just went to overlook point and headed out.

Sulphur Caldron:

This is just right across the road so just takes a few minutes to stop take a peek and head out. This is the most acidic hot springs, so make sure you don't go too close. There is a pungent smell which is very close to rotten eggs, so make sure you close your nose.

Mud Volcano:

This is right across the Sulphur Caldron and is an area of muddy hot springs. Again a very quick stop, cannot spend too much time here due to the fumes and smell.

Continental Divide - Photo Op!

Be sure to stop next to the continental divide sign to take a picture. This is exactly 1 hour drive from the Mud Volcano.

Lone Start Geyser - This spot is an 1 hour drive, but enjoy the drive and scenic views and we stopped wherever possible to take in the majestic views and click memories.

This hike is a 4.8 mile round trip, we didn't do the full way, went half way and turned back.

Midway Geyser Basin - Grand Prismatic Basin:

This is another must see spots, though the trail itself takes only 15 minutes, we spent an good 1 hour here to take in the beautiful views of Grand Prismatic Basin.

Though the Grand Prismatic Basin is the main one to see with vibrant colors in this spot, it also has other ones:

Plan to spend a minimum of 1 hour here.

Firehole Lake Drive:

This is just a drive though, one way paved road of 3.3 miles that takes you through geysers, hot lakes and springs. 

Firehole Canyon Drive:

This is another one way drive that is 2 miles long. This paved road takes you through the beautiful canyon where the Firehole river flows. Beautiful views of the Firehole water falls can be seen.

Lower Geyser Basin - Fountain Paintpot

This is the largest geyser basin in the park and is 18 square miles .

Fairy Falls Trail - View of Grand Prismatic Basin 

Do not miss this hike, at the end we saw the breath taking views of the Grand Prismatic Basin. Totally worth the hike. Plan to spend a couple of hours here.

Biscuit basin - This is a short 2/3 mile loop, pretty short board walk but you would get to see plenty of hydrothermal features. Highlights include colorful hot springs and spurting geysers like Black Opal Pool, Sapphire Pool, Jewel Geyser, Shell Spring, Avoca Spring, Mustard Spring, and Black Pearl Geyser.

Finally after a packed day we headed back to Old Faithful, where we would be staying for the night. We spend the evening walking around the Old Faithful village and the Geyser.

We loved the snow cabin and was a lucky to have got accommodation there!

Day 4: YNP - Teton - Jackson

Again early start to the morning out of the cabin by 7 am and we spent the morning time  on the Old Faithful Board Walk. We spent more than couple of hours here and then cleaned up, checked out and back on the road.

We just enjoyed the drive and exited the park in the south entrance and the next stop was Grand Teton NP.

We spent minimal time here, just a drive through and stopped at few overlook points.

Jenny lake: This is one of the most visited places in Teton. There is a small trail and you could do boating there. We decided to skip the boating but took the trail and spent more than an hour there, and had our picnic lunch as well.

We exited the park and the next stop was Jackson, stay for the night. We stayed at the Cowboys Village Resort, there was individual log cabins and was quite an experience. 

We walked around the town in the evening, exploring the local.

Day 5: Jackson to SLC

Final day of the trip and our flight was in the evening from SLC. So we checked out at 10 AM after breakfast and drove to SLC.

Awesome trip and surely will do it again!