Yellowstone is known for its hydrothermal features like geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and so much more more, which is why it was the next destination on my 55 Day Road Trip Across America in July 2020. Following my road trip in Yellowstone, I went online and instantly bought a prints of Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic to hang on my walls.
How to Spend 3 Perfect Days in Yellowstone National Park
In this 3 day itinerary, we drove in from South Dakota into Gardiner, MT where we stayed for one night and then in West Yellowstone, MT for two nights. Since we were heading to Grand Teton after this, we planned our Yellowstone trip from north to south. Thus, if you’re coming in from Jackson, you can do this itinerary backwards from south to north!
Note: The road between Tower-Roosevelt and Canyon Village was closed during our visit, so we unfortunately could not reach Mount Washburn, but that would have been on our Day 1 if we were able to get there by driving.
Day 1: Mammoth Hot Springs & Lamar Valley
Mammoth Hot Springs
Driving in from Gardiner, MT, we entered into Yellowstone through the North Entrance and easily were able to reach Mammoth Hot Springs, which would be our first stop. Immediately when passing the Mammoth Hot Springs hotel, we saw numerous elk walking around and sitting on the lawn.
After one loop of scouting out a spot, we got lucky with parking and were able to get a parking spot from someone leaving right in front of the Lower Terraces Area.
Like all hot springs, the smell of sulfur immediately surrounded us, but it was a scent I was able to get used to quickly for these amazing springs.
We first walked the Lower Terraces in a loop past Liberty Cap, Palette Spring, Minerva Terrace, Cleopatra Terrace, Jupiter Terrace, Main Terrace, and ended at Canary Springs.
The boardwalk is about 1.75 miles, so it took us about an hour or a little over to walk through the main and lower terraces.
Going to the Upper Terraces Area requires you to drive to a separate parking lot and is a one-way road loop drive. You can explore it by car or by foot. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time for the Upper Terraces, but we at least parked and stopped in front of Angel Terrace.
Lamar Valley
From Mammoth Hot Springs, we headed east toward Lamar Valley. We had researched that the best areas to see wildlife was Lamar Valley, specifically near dawn or dusk. Arriving at these times didn’t fit in too well with our schedule, so we went after seeing Mammoth Hot Springs and hoped for the best.
During our drive to Lamar Valley, we drove on Blacktail Plateau Drive, which is a 6 mile one-way unpaved road through woods and meadows. While we unfortunately didn’t see any wildlife, it was very interesting to see the different scenery and wilderness of Yellowstone while driving slowly on the road. The road was pretty narrow and twisty but wasn’t the most scary drive (maybe I had gotten used to mountain driving at this point).
Additionally, we stopped along Lamar River to take in the views of Lamar Valley and scan the open meadows for wildlife.
It was exciting to see there was a large herd of bison (even though they look like small lumps) and how expansive the fields looked.
And with that, our first day in Yellowstone was done and we were headed to West Yellowstone in Montana where we would be staying for the next two nights.
Day 2: Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful, and Fairy Falls
After spending Day 1 in the northern end of the park, we began to venture south for Day 2. From entering from the West Entrance, we attempted to drive first up north before heading south to see Norris Geyser Basin first, then Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful, and end with a hike at Fairy Falls.
On the way to Norris, we passed Gibbon Falls, a 84 foot waterfall located on the Gibbon River. I was able to capture a long exposure of the waterfall from the top viewing area.
However, we sadly had to skip Norris, because the road was very jam-packed for an unknown reason. After waiting for about 30-45 minutes at a complete stop with no end in sight and cars constantly turning around, we followed suit and gave up to head to our next destination.
Grand Prismatic
Our next stop for Day 2 was then Grand Prismatic, a beautiful hot spring known for its vibrant rainbow colors and as the largest hot spring in the States.
We parked by Midway Geyser Basin, so we were able to walk along the boardwalk to the various geysers and hot springs. Starting at Excelsior Geyser, we were taking the loop clockwise and stopped to marvel at the teal steaming body of water.
Next up was Grand Prismatic. The stunning rainbow colors start with reddish-orange on the outside and slowly merge to yellow tints, then green, and then a vibrant steaming blue for the main part of the hot spring.
The last two on the loop was Opal Pool, which looks like a mini Grand Prismatic with fewer of the rainbow hues, and then Turquoise Pool, a smaller hot spring that looks similar to Excelsior Geyser in the shades of deep blue and turquoise it had.
As we headed back to the car, there were numerous people wading in the Firehole River where Excelsior Geyser water runs off into.
I decided to join and very carefully and slowly walked toward the flowing stream of the geyser to get a closer look. The winds of the geyser got pretty hot as I approached, but at least I managed not to fall on the slippery rocks at the bottom of the river.
Old Faithful
Yellowstone is most known for its geysers, but especially Old Faithful since this geyser’s eruptions can be predicted. It erupts between 44 minutes to an hour from its last eruption and purely out of luck, we happened to arrive at Old Faithful right around when it was scheduled to erupt next.
Although Old Faithful was supposed to erupt right at the time we arrived, of course the estimate is not always accurate to the minute. We waited for about 15-20 minutes with a couple occasional small teaser spurts of eruptions.
However, when the 100 foot eruption finally arrived, it was worth the wait.
Fairy Falls
After Old Faithful, we drove back up north to park at the trailhead slightly south of the Grand Prismatic lot.
Fairy Falls was my favorite hike from Yellowstone! It is a 4.9 mile hike through the woods with surrounding trees and ends with a stunning waterfall. This easy hike had little to no incline.
Through the quiet woodsy area, we followed the trail to the towering waterfall. Once we were at the end of the trail, we were able to sit and enjoy watching the waterfall as the sun started to set over Fairy Creek.
On our way back, we were able to see a deer from a distance through the trees.
We were a little spooked at the potential of running into a bear, especially with our hike starting at 5 PM and being one of few people on the trail. However, we didn’t run into any thankfully and we immediately bought bear spray the next day!
Also: The path to Fairy Falls is continued after a viewpoint for Grand Prismatic, which allows you to see the hot spring in its entirety. You can stop by it before or after the Fairy Falls hike. We chose to see it after!
As we approached our car, we saw this lone bison very close to the road where we stopped for a bit and hung out with him from inside our car.
With that, Day 2 is done!
Day 3: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake, and West Thumb
On our third and final day at Yellowstone, we headed toward Canyon Village to start our day with a hike at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
First, we parked at the Lower Falls to try to hike down Brink of the Lower Falls Trail. The trail was sadly closed for safety that day.
Instead, we decided to hike North Rim Trail so we could still get the views of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone River. We drove up North Rim Drive up to Lookout Point to park on the side of the road. From there, we hiked toward Grand View and eventually to Inspiration Hike. Since we didn’t start at the Lower Falls, the hike was around 1.7 miles.
Hiking along North Rim Trail allowed us to view the pastel canyon and both waterfalls from multiple angles.
After we arrived back to the car from this hike, we drove to Brink of Upper Falls, where we saw the flow of this extraordinary waterfall from the top.
Yellowstone Lake
As we drove toward Yellowstone Lake on the road along Yellowstone River, we passed Hayden Valley. Like Lamar Valley, this is another great place to see wildlife.
We arrived at Lake Village just in time for dinner at Lake Lodge. The beautiful scenery of the mountains in the background of Yellowstone Lake was the perfect setting while we ate our food outside.
West Thumb
We left Yellowstone Lake soon after and continued south to make it in time to West Thumb before the sun set. There, we parked and walked the West Thumb Geyser Basin 1 mile loop boardwalk.
It includes Abyss Pool, Fishing Cone, and multiple other geysers and hot springs against the turquoise waters of Yellowstone Lake.
A perfect end to our trip in Yellowstone!
After this third day of Yellowstone, we were then on our way to Jackson for our next few days in Grand Teton.
Devil’s Tower (bonus)
Since we drove in from Rapid City, SD, we were able to stop at Devil’s Tower National Monument, the first national monument established by Theodore Roosevelt and is a popular destination for rock climbing.
We took a hike around the base of the monument, an easy 1.5 mile walk that allows you to take in the take in the breathtaking views of the natural sculpture. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to spend here since we were making our 9 hour drive to Yellowstone from Badlands, but well worth the visit.
However, it is about a 6 hour drive to/from Yellowstone, which is why I added it as a bonus if you’re heading that way!
Visiting Yellowstone or have visited recently? Feel free to comment below, I would love to hear about your travels!
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