We only spent one day in Upper Loop and one day in Lower Loop. Honestly, you can spend a week in…read moreYellowstone National Park and it's still wouldn't be enough. I mean it's 2,221,766 acres spread over 3 states (Wyoming, Montana and Idaho)! Upper Loop We visited Gibbon Falls, Norris Back Basin Geyser, Brink of Upper Falls and my favorite spot Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is a massive river-carved gorge. We watched the sunset and I have no words. I have seen many pictures and paintings. Nothing will prepare you for the beauty. Lower Loop I was so excited to see Old Faithful as it is on my travel bucket list. It is the most predictable geyser, hence the name "Old Faithful"! Visitors can check the park website in the morning to see the next predicted eruption time based on the last eruption. It's +/- 10 minutes and pretty accurate. Get there early to get a front row seat. There are benches surrounded the geyser. We also visited Grand Prismatic Springs. It's the colorful large geyser with the gorgeous overhead view. We walk/hike about 0.8 miles to the overlook. It's not a hard hike but make sure you have your water bottle, a hat, sunscreen, and dress accordingly. Even during off-peak season in September, it was still kind of crowded and hot! Plan ahead, map out your route and stop by visitor center for additional information and tips.

Although the park was great, there were a lot of closed areas of interest. Not much in the way of…read morefood or decent shops around the area either. Also, it's not entirely pet-friendly. Most of the sights require a small walk in areas that are pet-restricted. If you're bringing a furry.... Consider throwing them in a stroller or something.

Another must do when visiting the Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park. A very easy walk to…read morethe Brink of the Upper Falls for a great view of the falls. Also recommend the the Upper Falls View, Uncle Tom's Trail (when it is open again) and Artist Point on the South Rim and Brink of the Lower Falls, Lookout Point (take the additional walk down to the lower viewpoint) on the North Rim.

Cool stop near Canyon Village visitor's center. This is a very different view of Yellowstone NP…read more There are quite a few overlook spots with small parking lots along the way. Some have vault toilets available. We were never able to get a straight on view of the waterfall, but the canyon views were spectacular! I guess that's why they call it the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone! To get the best view of the falls, you must go to Lookout Point. We must have missed that somehow. Either way, it was a gorgeous area and is a must see while visiting Yellowstone NP!

+ Nice that there are multiple entrances to view this natural masterpiece. I went the North Rim…read moreside. - Crowded yet ample parking. And crowded trails. + Rainbow! Rarely do you get to view downward on one. Can you make out where it starts and ends? Tryna find that pot of gold. + The sounds and feel of the roaring, gushing rapids, the wind in the trees, and the sights of dazzling emerald of the water through and over the waterfall exude an elating, invigorating feel.

We saw a listing that, in the summer, there were free Music in the Park open air concerts just…read moreabout every Saturday evening in West Yellowstone Pioneer Park! (On some maps it was called Town Park or Heritage Park.) Did we almost see Taylor Swift? No, but we DID see Red: A Taylor Swift Tribute Band :-) (Jul 2016). And if what people posted is true that she went to Big Sky (after Manhattan, before California :-), we missed her IRL by only 9 days and 56 miles! The band was great, with excellent vocals. The park was large enough for the crowd. We brought our own camp chairs, and there were a few bleacher seats. Many folks brought picnics, and we had some leftover BBQ from our dinner across the street. Our lodging was just a 2-minute walk, so the youngest of us finished the concert at home, listening through an open window :-)

Great clean place for a picnic in the heart of west Yellowstone. Clean public restrooms. Covered…read morepicnic tables.

Hey hey hey, Boo Boo- this lake is better than the average lake!…read more Largest high elevation lake on the continent at 7,732 feet above sea level. This is such a picturesque lake. This mountain lake is something special though. In the wintertime, the top of the lake freezes over. Yellowstone gets some of the coldest temperatures in the continental United States. However, the lake never freezes over completely. Underwater geothermal fissures leak out volcanically heated water, which rises over the colder water, preventing water from freezing. There's several vantage points to check out the lake- depending on what you're looking to see. There's some geysers that offer great views over in the West Thumb Geyser area, right up next to the lake. There's the fishing bridge, with its big general store. That's a good place to do some fishing, obviously, but it also affords good chances to check out some bears here. The thing I don't understand is, with this huge awesome lake, why aren't there jet skis and pontoon and crazy amounts of motor boating going on out here? When I went, the lake was surprisingly quiet and placid. There were pelicans here when we went. Whoop. On the east side of the park, be sure to see the steep views for long distance views. Scenic!

On our second day in the park, we had visited the Grand Canyon area, and then we discovered the…read morelake. On that day, a storm must've been moving in because the wind was gusting and there were actually waves on the lake! We got out a couple times and explored the beachfront. I found a couple of bird feathers, which was exciting for me, and generally just amazing given the gusts of wind - I was surprised that they didn't blow away. On our third day in the park as we came back through from the fishing bridge headed towards Old Faithful, we went by the lake again, and we were stunned at the complete difference in personality that we were witnessing. The lake was completely and totally calm, quiet, and gentle. We had to stop and explore again, and it was such a different experience from the day before. This lakefront is amazing and it's definitely a place to be explored in the park.

Great campground nestled in a meadow of wildflowers, next to a high mountain lake, surrounded by…read moremountains. This place is wonderful. The only downsides are lots of mosquitos, and the afternoon wind through the mountain pass can be brutal. American White Pelicans on the lake and moose in the willow marsh.

The park is new and still in. It's finishing stages. It is very nice with room lots, nice concrete…read morepad, picnic tables, and fantastic scenery. The manager, Todd, is amazing. He goes out of his way to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience.

It ain't called Artist Point for no reason. Artist Point is…read morefamous for its picturesque views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the spectacular 308-foot Lower Falls. It's a short, easy walk from the parking lot, making it a must-see spot in Yellowstone. We arrived early in the morning on a rainy day to avoid the crowds. With the cloudy skies, mist, and cold weather, the canyon looked like a beautiful Chinese ink-wash painting. Even without the sunshine, the canyon and the Lower Falls were absolutely stunning The Brink of the Lower Falls overlooks and trail are also accessible from the same parking area, making it convenient to explore more of this iconic landscape.

Artist Point has an amazing canyon view of a 308-ft waterfall. Easy to get to…read more We heard that Artist Point, near Canyon Village, was one of the best sights in Yellowstone National Park. The drive from the West Entrance was essentially west to east, with a jog to the north halfway-there. The elevation was increasing most of the way, getting as high as 8244-ft. We found the turns on the drive to be visually confusing, because the curving roads turned our sense of direction. At the Madison stop sign, though the turn seemed odd, we turned left onto Grand Loop Road. That was northeast. It's correct. Passing Norris Geyser, it looked odd but we turned right (east) onto Norris Canyon Rd. Coming up to the east branch of the Loop Road, we turned right (south). The entrance to South Rim Drive was then a left. It's even more confusing on the way back, because they never seemed to put a sign saying "to West Entrance" until a mile past the turns :-). Pro tip: Keep a map in front of you at those turns! Once we turned onto South Rim Drive, we drove the winding way for less than 2-miles to the end. There was a large parking lot with plenty of open spaces, plus outhouses. It was a high elevation there, about 7700-ft, and some of us felt it. Conveniently, we could drop off those who walk less comfortably at the furthest end of the parking lot, about 250-feet from the best vista. We walked to the overlook on the left. t. The 1-mile view to the west along the Yellowstone River was stupendous, with the huge crashing misting Lower Falls waterfall dropping 308-feet. We were awed by the midday view. In fact, three of our group had gone their separate way by now, and when they saw our photos, they drove here on their own the next day! They say that sunrise often creates a rainbow in the mist, but we could not manage to pass through the west entrance early enough for the at-least 90-min (usually longer) drive. From what I read, you need a low sun-angle (less than 45°) to get a rainbow in the mist. Based on a (very-)very-nerdy NOAA Solar Calculator webpage, using the Lat-Lon and time, we might have been able to see a rainbow as late as 8:50am in July. (2026). I won't say who in our group figured that out, because I'd also have to say it was After our trip :-)

August 2022 Update: when my fiancé and I went, two rangers informed us that they are officially…read morePERMANENTLY closing this trail. They went down to take out the sign and will not be allowing anyone to go through the stairs. They said it is too expensive to fix and costs millions of dollars with the rescues, especially with the amount of money they are spending to fix the roads from the flooding. Obviously really sad but Uncle Tom's trail is no more :(

This trail still exists, except it stops where the steps once existed. So it's a very steep trail,…read morea lot of switchbacks, leading to the top of the falls. Even without the stairs, it's quite a significant climb back to the parking lot so if you're not in good condition, don't attempt!

The Mammoth Terraces run along two sections of west upper Grand Loop Road, south of downtown…read moreMammoth You drive southwest from the center of Mammoth, and when the road turns south, the terraces start just outside of town. You cant miss them, all white and frosty-looking for half-a-mile along the west side of the road. There are parking areas and trails. Then the road leaves the terraces, and after another half-mile, the road takes a hairpin turn north and comes back to the terraces. Take the turnoff to continue north for more trails and a great overlook! Or stay through another hairpin turn on Grand Loop Road and continue south through another half-mile of terraces. I mention this location because as of Aug 2026, Yelp placed the terraces in the middle of the town of Mammoth, and you cant see the terraces from there.

If you're coming into Yellowstone through the North entrance, definitely make a stop here and check…read moreout the hot spring terraces. The limestone rock formations and water features are very cool. The trail isn't overly long so you can make the full loop in about an hour or so (two if you're a slow walker or likes to stop a lot for photos). Parking can be a challenge, like most other popular spots at Yellowstone, but just be patient and eventually you'll find a spot.

This spot gives you an amazing panoramic view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from the north…read moreside. Lookout Point is one of a few lookout spots you can stop at when you drive on North Rim Drive (a one-way drive). Just heads up, the parking lot isn't very large. If you continue on with your drive on North Rim Drive, you will eventually end up in Canyon Village. If you want to make an adventure of your stop here, I suggest hiking the North Rim Trail east to Inspiration Point and enjoy the beautiful views along the way. There is also a paved path and some wooden steps below that take you down to a viewing platform called Red Rock Point. This will give you a close full view of Lower Falls. Lookout Point was one of my favorite spots to stop at on the North Rim. I highly recommend checking it out.

At the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone there is a lower and upper portion of the falls. This is the…read morelookout point on the lower falls and I think this is the best view of the lower falls. You can go to the brink of the lower falls to see the top of the waterfall, but this lookout overlooks the entire thing which I think is better. Another underrated view is the red rocks view which is right next to this lookout point. Instead of going straight to the lookout you go down the stairs, walk a bit and then get to the red rocks view which is a bit closer to the waterfall and more eye-level. There are also fewer people here so you'll have more time to take nice pictures and videos without the crowds.