A guide to Yellowstone National Park

The first national park in the US, Yellowstone is still one of the country’s most popular thanks to its geothermal wonders, fantastic wildlife and magnificent scenery. Whether you’re tempted by the chance to see bears, Yellowstone’s own Grand Canyon, or the iconic sights of Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring, this is one bucket list destination that doesn’t disappoint – here’s what not to miss in our guide to Yellowstone National Park.

• Discover Yellowstone’s iconic sights, from Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

• Explore scenic drives and photography spots along the Grand Loop Road for breathtaking views of geysers and waterfalls.

• Spot wildlife in Lamar and Hayden Valleys, including bison, elk, bears, and wolves, with expert-led guidance for safety.

• Combine Yellowstone with Grand Teton and other national parks for a complete American West adventure.

Stretching for a vast 2.2 million acres, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park, from arranging travel to Wyoming to getting around the national park and seeing the key sights safely in this sprawling protected reserve. Visiting Yellowstone with Saga removes all this stress, with expert guides who know the area and its must-visit locations, as well as providing all your transport and transfers in our escorted tour of the national parks. All you need to do is sit back, relax and marvel at the astonishing landscape and wildlife in comfort.

Yellowstone National Park is located mainly in Wyoming, within the country’s Mountain West region in the northwestern US. Parts of the national park also stretch across the state borders into Idaho and Montana, although this is only around 4% of the total area.

Yellowstone National Park is huge, covering around 3,472 square miles, or 2.2 million acres, and stretching approximately 63 miles from north to south and 54 miles east to west. The National Park covers an area similar to the size of Cyprus, or just under half the size of Wales, and it’s bigger than the US states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Madison River, Yellowstone

You won’t be short of memorable sights while you’re exploring Yellowstone, but some of the key highlights include the geothermal features like Old Faithful, the scenery of Yellowstone Grand Canyon and wildlife in Hayden Valley.

One of nearly 500 geysers in Yellowstone, Old Faithful is among the most famous thanks to the regularity with which it erupts. Over the past 30 years, the time between eruptions has only changed by around 30 minutes, rare for a natural phenomenon which is usually more erratic. With around 60% of the world’s geysers in Yellowstone, the park’s unique geothermal features helped to inspire the creation of the national park in 1872.

The Upper Geyser Basin is home to the largest number of geysers, with at least 150 within a square mile, including Old Faithful and four others which erupt predictably, while Midway Geyser Basin is home to the vibrant Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot springs in the park which stretch for around 113m and shimmer in a rainbow of orange, yellow and turquoise blue shades.

The Grand Canyon in Yellowstone National Park might not be as big as its namesake in Arizona, but it’s a chance to see the park’s dramatic geologic history unveiled before you. Yellowstone’s history begins after a huge volcanic eruption around 630,000 years ago which created a giant caldera that slowly refilled with lava and sediment.

Around 150,000 years ago, the Grand Canyon started to form in this sediment and rock, with hydrothermal activity weakening the rocks and the Yellowstone River eroding them over the millennia to deepen and widen the canyon. As you look at the rocks, you’ll see different colours showing evidence of lava flows and active hydrothermal energy, as well as the dramatic 93m Lower Falls cascading into the start of the canyon.

Set 2,357m above sea level, Yellowstone Lake is the largest high-altitude freshwater lake in North America, stretching for around 132 square miles. While the surface water is cold year-round, freezing over completely during the winter, there are hydrothermal vents on the floor where the water temperature rises as high as 122C.

It’s also home to a large population of wild cutthroat trout, normally found in the Pacific Ocean, which scientists believe was once connected to the lake. Another Yellowstone highlight lies a short drive away at Hayden Valley, the only place in the US where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. This broad open valley is also a fantastic location to spot some of Yellowstone’s other wildlife, including bears, wolves, coyotes and elk.

With 450 miles of roads and 900 miles of trails to hike, you aren’t short of fantastic views in Yellowstone National Park. But with so many potential options to choose from, we’ve picked out the best scenic drives and photography spots to enjoy the park at its best.

• Grand Loop Road: The main route through Yellowstone, the Grand Loop twists in a figure-of-eight shape to connect all the major attractions including Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Hayden Valley and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone among other scenic sights.

• Beartooth Highway: One of America’s most beautiful drives, Beartooth Highway climbs to nearly 11,000 feet with some wonderful views out over the alpine lakes, tundra and peaks. It’s not officially part of the national park, but sits just beyond one of the park’s entrances for a chance to look over Yellowstone.

• Firehole Lake Drive: this shorter loop is idea to spot geysers and hot springs, including Great Fountain Geyser and White Dome Geyser.

• Lamar Valley: Sometimes called the ‘Serengeti of North America’, the 28-mile route is unmissable for wildlife lovers, famous for its bison herds, wolves, coyotes and bears, and especially good at dawn or dusk.

• East Entrance Road: US president Teddy Roosevelt called this the world’s most scenic drive, leading from Cody, Wyoming to the park’s east gate. With its spectacular mountain scenery, it continues to Sylvan Lake, as well as Yellowstone Lake and Mud Volcano with its fumaroles and bubbling mud pots.

• Brink of Lower Falls, Lookout Point, and Artist Point: These are the three best viewpoints to capture the iconic shot of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River cascading into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

• Fairy Falls Trailhead: If you’re hoping to look down onto Grand Prismatic Spring, there’s an overlook just a short walk from the trailhead, the only place you can see the pool from above and a fantastic way to avoid too much steam in your photos.

• Observation Point trail: While you can also get great shots of Old Faithful on the boardwalks themselves, this is one of the busiest places in the whole park, so head up the mile-long Observation Point trail to capture it from above. Allow plenty of time to get up there before the expected eruption so you don’t miss the spectacle.

• Mammoth Hot Springs: Quieter than some other areas of the park, the terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs are just as eye-catching. Formed from ancient limestone left behind by a prehistoric inland ocean, the geothermal energy helps transform this to travertine which creates terraces on the slope of the hill in a mix of rust red and bleached white.

Yellowstone’s ‘megafauna’ is one of its biggest attractions – quite literally when you consider the scale of the wildlife living here, including bison and elk, bears and wolves. The animals do migrate around Yellowstone, depending on what food is available, so some areas are better at different times of year, although Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley are two of the top locations to view the wildlife year-round.

STAY SAFE: As you snap these astonishing animals, do remember that these are wild creatures; the National Parks Service advises to stay at least 25 yards from elk and bison, and at least 100 yards from bears and wolves. Bring a zoom lens or binoculars for the best views, and don’t make sudden movements when watching bears in particular. Never feed the wildlife, and always take leftover food or rubbish away with you. As with any of our wildlife-spotting tours, always follow advice from your guide to ensure you stay safe, and to protect these magnificent animals.

• Hayden Valley: The only place in the US where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times, this wide, open valley is also home to black bears and grizzly bears, along with wolves and elk.

• Lamar Valley: Another of the best places to see wildlife, this valley is home to black bears and grizzly bears, bison, elk, wolves, bighorn sheep and mule deer.

• Fishing Bridge: One of the best places to see fish in the national park, it’s also a favourite of grizzly bears, who’ll come down to the water.

• Mammoth Hot Springs: You can often see birds around the terraces themselves, including eagles and osprey, plus elk, mule deer, bison and occasionally black bears in the surrounding area.

Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone

While there’s plenty in Yellowstone to fill your time, it’s also easy to combine a visit with other US national parks. Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming is only 50 miles away from Yellowstone, so it’s just a short drive to discover this 310,000-acre reserve, where herds of bison graze on the plains in the shadow of the snow-capped mountains.

The neighbouring state of Utah also has five major national parks, so these are another good option to combine with Yellowstone, with some fabulous rock formations and burnt orange desert scenery; Arches, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks are three of the best for landscapes. Or theme your entire trip around some of the best US national parks – our Awe-Inspiring National Parks escorted tour visits five states and 10 national parks and national monuments including the Grand Canyon.

The best time to visit Yellowstone National Park is between around April to October, as many roads and facilities close during the winter months when temperatures plummet and heavy snow makes travel more complicated. The peak summer months of July to August have some of the best weather, usually in the low to mid 20Cs, but also the biggest crowds so popular spots like Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring can be very busy.

Late spring and early autumn are often the best time to enjoy pleasant temperatures but without as many people in the park, which is when we run our escorted tours visiting Yellowstone National Park. Spring sees newborn animals and wildflowers in bloom, and bears emerging from hibernation with their cubs, although it’s best to time your visit for mid-April onwards. Autumn is also quieter than peak summer with some beautiful autumn colours across the park, a chance to hear elk bugling in September and active bears in the weeks leading up to hibernation. Roads do begin to close and weather gets more unpredictable as October goes on though.

You could spend weeks exploring in and around Yellowstone National Park, but allow a minimum of two days to see the key highlights. Three days is ideal to see some of the best of Yellowstone National Park without rushing, while four to five days enables you to spend more time hiking or longer watching the wildlife in the park.

Visiting Yellowstone National Park is an unforgettable experience, but to ensure you have a memorable time for the right reasons, it’s worth bearing a few things in mind ahead of your trip. Average altitude at Yellowstone is 2,400m, including around Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake and some of the visitor centers, rising to 3,462m at Eagle Peak, so mild altitude sickness is not uncommon if you come directly from sea level.

Our national park escorted tour gives you time to acclimatise before arriving in Wyoming though. And while it isn’t our most active trip, we’ve rated the pace as moderately active, as you will normally have several hours of activities per day. Joining a Saga escorted tour also removes the stress of sorting many of the practicalities, from our chauffeur service to and from the airport, insurance included and a tour manager on hand throughout the trip.

With its combination of majestic landscapes, spectacular wildlife and unusual geothermal features, visiting Yellowstone National Park is an unforgettable experience. Whether it’s seeing up to 8,400 gallons of water shoot up into the air from Old Faithful, the vivid colours of Grand Prismatic Spring, herds of bison, or one of the few places in the world where black bears and grizzly bears live together, this slice of the Old West shouldn’t be missed. For your chance to experience it first-hand, check out our tours of the US.