13-Day Itinerary

Fly into Jackson Hole, pick up car and drive to Grand Teton National Park. The same entrance fee covers Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons and is valid for 7 days. Be sure to hold on to your receipt.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center has good exhibits and local maps. If time allows, visit Menor’s Ferry Historic District and Mormon Row. Stop at Teton Glacier Turnout for a close-up view of the Teton Range. In the sagebrush flats you may be able to spot pronghorn, elk, deer and coyotes.

Continue north to your hotel. Stop at Jenny Lake Visitor Center to learn about the geology of the area.

Hotel: Three overnights at Jenny Lake Lodge or Jackson Lake Lodge.

Plan a scenic drive today.

Jenny Lake Scenic Drive
Start at the North Jenny Lake Junction. Stop at Cathedral Group Turnout for an incredible, close-up view of Grand Teton and the surrounding peaks. Continue on the main road – at the String Lake fork, the road becomes one way. Continue to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center.

Signal Mountain Scenic Drive
Start at North Jenny Lake Junction on the Teton Park Road. Drive north past Bivouac Peak, Rolling Thunder Mountain, Eagle’s Rest Peak and Jackson Lake. Take the right hand turn on Signal Mountain Road and drive the 4-mile stretch of switchbacks to the summit. Views from the top are amazing. Back on Teton Park Road, continue north and take a right turn towards Oxbow Bend for a classic view of the Tetons dominated by Mount Moran. This is a great place to spot birds and other wildlife.

Today, take a half or full day float, kayak or fishing trip down the Snake River. Click here for boating information.

Or, enjoy an easy hike on the Cascade Canyon trail or in Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. The Cascade Canyon trail is one of the park’s best hikes, with breathtaking views from Inspiration Point. To avoid crowds, plan to go in the early morning or early afternoon. You can take the Jenny Lake shuttle boat from the Eastern Shore Boat Dock to the Cascade Canyon trailhead – from there, the hike is a 2-mile round trip. If you’d like a longer hike, you can start at the Jenny Lake Visitors Center and take the Hidden Falls trail around the southern shore of the lake.

Return for an exquisite dinner at Jenny Lake Lodge. Reservations required (jackets suggested for men).

On the way to Yellowstone you may want to have a second view of Oxbow Bend. Continue north and pause at Willow Flats for a chance to spot moose. Stop at the Colter Bay Visitor Center, which has an excellent bookstore for learning more about the region. About 18 miles north of Colter Bay is the entrance to Yellowstone.

The distance from the park entrance to West Thumb Geyser Basin is 22 miles.

West Thumb Geyser Basin
West Thumb is a water-filled caldera created about 168,000 years ago, a smaller version of the great Yellowstone caldera. A boardwalk leads around the West Thumb Geyser Basin, a modest group of thermal features made appealing due to the proximity to the lake. These pretty pools and mud pots are worth stopping for if you’re coming in from the south entrance, though if you are coming from the north entrance it’s not worth a detour.

You are now close to Grant Village. Drive another 17 miles to Old Faithful. Visit Old Faithful and if there is time, Upper Basin.

Upper Geyser Basin
Alongside Old Faithful is a boardwalk, easily accessible for pedestrians/wheelchairs. It’s not advised to leave the boardwalk. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 94 minutes – if you walk quickly around the Upper Basin and back, you may able to see Old Faithful erupt again. The 1-mile long basin contains a huge concentration of hot springs and geysers, one fifth of the known geysers in the world. Start your hike from the back of side of Old Faithful, on the trail that crosses Firehole River to Geyser Hill. Chances are you will see small geysers erupt at close range. Elk and bison can often be seen here as well. You need a minimum of 2 hours in this area.

Hotel: Three overnights at the Old Faithful Inn

You may revisit Old Faithful or continue to the Midway and Lower Geyser Basins.

Midway Geyser Basin
A 20-minute stroll takes you past the enormous Excelsior Geyser, which erupted for 2 days in 1985. Continue on the boardwalk to the Grand Prismatic Spring, 370 ft wide and the largest and most beautiful hot spring in the park.

Great Fountain Geyser
2 miles further on the main road, turn right on the one-way Firehole Lake Drive. Check the prediction board for the estimated time of eruption. Great Fountain erupts every 11 hours or so – predicted eruption times are posted at the roadside. If you have the time to wait, this is one of the best.

Rejoin the main road at Fountain Paint Pot, a  cauldron of hot reddish-pinkish mud. Continue a few miles and stop to view a nice waterfall (left at Firehole Canyon Drive) before Madison Junction. The road continues beside the Gibbon River to Gibbon Falls and through the Gibbon Canyon, past large meadows where elk are commonly seen.

Today is at leisure to relax at the Old Faithful Inn or continue touring the park. You might consider a horseback ride, a guided fishing trip, or a wildlife safari.

Drive from Old Faithful Inn to Norris Geyser Basin, around 50 minutes.

Norris Geyser Basin
There are two different basins in the same area, Porcelain and Back Basin. Both are worth seeing. Norris Geyser Basin contains the hottest ground in the park as well as the world’s tallest geyser, Steamboat. This geyser is unpredictable, with infrequent eruptions; it may be quiet for years. The last eruption May 2005.

At the visitor’s facilities you may visit the Norris Geyser Basin Museum and Museum of the National Park Ranger.

Continuing north (now you are about an hour from Mammoth), you may stop at the steamy fumaroles of Roaring Mountain and Obsidian Cliff. Obsidian Cliff contains black volcanic glass valued for arrow points by the Indians in the area. The road crosses Gardners Hole, with nice views of Gallatin Range to the west.

Mammoth Hot Springs
Walk around or drive to the dozens of colorful terraces. These geyserite deposits are different than those you have already seen.

Today you may have time to visit the Albright Visitor's Center and Historic Fort Yellowstone.

This evening, enjoy an Old West Dinner Cookout at the Roosevelt Lodge.

Hotel: Three overnights at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel & Cabins

Today you might want to hike the Beaver Ponds Loop Trail heading up to Clematis Gulch (moderate 5 mile loop).

Or take a drive east to Tower Fall and the Lamar Valley. This would be a good day to book a wildlife safari.

Tower Fall
Located between Dunraven Pass and Roosevelt Lodge. There is a large parking area and a store/gift shop. Short walk to overlook. Parking lot can be full at times.

Lamar Valley
Great place to see wildlife, including predators. NE of the park. The road into the valley starts at Roosevelt Lodge, about 5 miles from the valley; the road ends at the Northeast Entrance in Cooke City. Best in early morning or late afternoon.

Drive south toward Canyon Village. (Distance from Mammoth to Canyon is 33 or 37 miles, depending on your route.)

Stop in at the Canyon Visitor Education Center. From there, follow Canyon Rim Drive to lookout points for great views of Yellowstone River’s 308-foot Lower Falls.

Lower Falls
More impressive than the Upper Falls, and twice as high as Niagara Falls. For the best views, walk from Inspiration Point to Grandview Point. There is a strenuous trail called Brink of the Lower Falls Trail (sometimes closed for repairs), which descends several hundred feet through steep forest (paved). This viewing area lets you view the falls from the point where the river heads over the rocks and down.

Continue south on the main road to the Upper Falls.

Upper Falls
At 109 ft height, these are easier to reach than the Lower Falls. There is an overlook off the parking area – plenty of parking, and a short walk to the Upper Falls View overlook.

Continue along South Rim Drive to Artist Point, the best overall view of the canyon.

The best way to see the canyon is by hiking. Options include the moderate South Rim Trail (1.75 miles one way), the North Rim Trail (3 miles one way) or the spectacular but strenuous Uncle Tom’s Trail, leading down 700 metal steps to the base of the Lower Falls.

Hayden Valley
The Yellowstone River flows through the sage-covered hills of this beautiful valley, which starts a couple of miles south of Canyon Junction. This is prime wildlife-viewing country – get there early or late in the day, drive slowly and stop often. White Pelicans and Trumpeter Swans share the river with Canada Geese, gulls, and ducks. Bison are visible most of the year. Sometimes the creek area offers opportunities to see grizzlies off in the distance (be sure to bring binoculars).

Mud Volcano and Black Dragon’s Caldron
Kids will love these impressive geothermal sights. Black Dragon’s Cauldron is so named because it makes a noise like a dragon, while the Mud Volcano is a seething, gooey pool. A ¾ mile interpretive trail loops through the area.

On the Yellowstone River from here to the lake there is great catch-and-release fishing for cutthroat trout.

LeHardy Rapids
In June you can watch cutthroat swimming to their spawning grounds. (No fishing.)

Return to Grand Loop Road and continue along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. This is the largest lake in North America above 7,000 ft. You’ll see the Absaroka Range, named after the Absaroka or Crow Indians. The volcanic peaks define the park’s eastern boundary.

Bridge Bay
Bison may be seen around the meadows of Bridge Bay, while you may see moose around the Gull Point Road. Gull Point is a good picnic site.

Hotel: Two overnights at Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins

Enjoy the lake. Motorized boats, kayaks, sailboats and rowboats are available for rent at Bridge Bay Marina. Xanterra Resorts also offers one-hour scenic cruises on the lake. Or you might want to take a guided fishing trip on the lake or one of Yellowstone's 200 streams.

Depart Yellowstone Lake for Amangani Resort, 5 miles outside Jackson. The resort offers great views of the Tetons. It is a 3-hour drive from Yellowstone.

Enjoy a relaxing day at this beautiful resort. Activities include hiking, horseback riding, golf, fly-fishing, hot air ballooning, river trips, wildlife tours, and cowboy theater (featuring two rodeos a week in summer). There’s also a full-service spa, a Wellness Studio, and a heated outdoor pool.

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