Yellowstone National Park, with its unparalleled geographical beauties, gushing geysers and home to some of the most fascinating wildlife I’ve ever seen, has been the best national park I have ever visited in the US.
Before the travel, I had to reach out to a lot of folks, read various blogs, and enquire about the best things to do — all to make sure I visited the must-see places and made the best out of the 3-4 days I had. For me, this was a first cross-state solo trip, and considering how much needed to be planned, it was definitely overwhelming.
So, this small itinerary is my effort to put out my travel plan in case it helps you on your journey to Yellowstone. Discovery is a big part of travel — but if you’ve found this page, hopefully you’re saving yourself a few hours of route planning.
Day 1
- Reached Salt Lake City Airport
- Picked up a rental car and drove through the night to reach Ashton — that’s where I’d be staying for the next 3-4 days
- Reached around 4 AM
- Slept and woke up at around 9 AM
Day 2
- Woke up at 9:00 and headed towards the West Yellowstone entrance — about an hour’s drive from Ashton
- Fountain Paint Pots boardwalk
- Midway Geyser Basin (Grand Prismatic Spring)
- Black Sand Geyser Basin
- Upper Geyser Basin and the Old Faithful eruption around 5:40 PM
- Firehole River Drive
Day 3
- Woke up at 9:00 and headed towards Canyon Village
- Visited Yellowstone Historic Center Museum on the way
- Hiked South Rim Trail to Artist Point — a beautiful hike
- Hiked to the Brink of the Lower Falls — strenuous but absolutely worth it
- Explored Hayden Valley and soaked in the quiet
- Explored parts of Yellowstone Lake
- Norris Geyser Basin — the most acidic geyser in Yellowstone
Day 4
- Planned to enter via the South entrance, but the eastern road from Ashton was closed — the South entrance to Yellowstone itself was open
- Decided to head south to Grand Teton National Park instead
- National Elk Refuge and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center
- Drove the famous 42-mile loop through the Tetons, which included:
- Mormon Row
- National Museum of Wildlife Art (browsed through)
- Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center
- Schwabacher’s Landing
- Snake River Overlook
- Oxbow Bend
- Jackson Lake Dam
- Jackson Lake Lodge
- Jenny Lake Drive
- Jenny Lake
- Entered the South entrance and reached West Thumb Geyser Basin for a stroll
- Explored parts of Yellowstone Lake
Day 5
- Explored Warm River near Ashton and learned the story behind it
- Upper Mesa Falls
- Started the drive back to SLC Airport
- Met some friends and spent a couple of hours in Logan, Utah
Thank you for making it to the end! Hopefully your trip is as amazing as mine was — see you next time!