Yellowstone National Park is probably the most iconic national park in the US, and for good reason. First off, it is the nation's oldest national park (established in 1872). Second, with all of its geothermal activity, it is so extremely unique in its landscapes. And third, Yellowstone is teeming with wildlife just waiting to be captured in a photograph (from a safe distance of course)! With all of that said, there was no question about where we would be spending our time for our Wyoming (state #38) vlog. But Yellowstone can be an intimidating park, especially if you’re on a tight schedule like us! For that reason, we’ve put together this one day itinerary in hopes of helping other time-crunched travelers like ourselves make the most of their time in this bucket list park.
*Be sure to watch our “Wyoming: Yellowstone in a Day” travel vlog for a closer look at our visit!
Before we get into the itinerary, check out this map so that you can wrap your head around the layout of the park. Also, if you click on the map it will take you to an interactive version of the map where you can get more info on each area.
Alright… Let’s get to it!
6:30am: Sunrise at Mammoth Hot Springs (North Entrance)
Sunrise in Yellowstone is a magical thing. Especially in the Mammoth Hot Springs area during Bull Elk rutting season (September)! The canyon comes alive with the Bull Elk mating calls! And the way that the sun reflects off of the shallow pools around the hot springs is beautiful!
7:45am: Norris Geyser Basin
Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest, oldest, and most dynamic of Yellowstone's thermal areas and is home to 193 geysers. One of those is Steamboat Geyser which is the world's tallest active geyser. Its major eruptions shoot water more than 300 feet)While there’s little chance that you’ll actually get to see Steamboat Geyser erupt since it is very sporadic with anywhere from 30 to 50 eruptions happening each year, it’s worth hiking the boardwalks through the Norris Geyser Basin to view all of the pools, springs, and geysers. Plus, you never know… You might get to see the world's tallest geyser in action!
9:45am: