You’ve gotten some good advice, I’ll add my two cents. First, I would try to spend at least 4 days going through the park. It may be a pain, but I’d check a map and stay at a different place each night. I always hate wasting time to backtrack over roads I’ve already traveled on to get to a new area, but that’s just me. Although usually cheaper, I would not stay at West Yellowstone, unless it’s for just one night. YNP is so huge that staying at West Yellowstone is going to limit how much you’re able to see just because of travel time. It’s a really fun little town though and worth a stop if you want. You could actually spend an entire day there doing stuff! For what it’s worth, we stay there a lot, unless we choose to camp inside the park. I don’t know if it’s possible, but we love camping in the park, in our tent. And we do pack up and change campgrounds to different areas of the park so we aren’t backtracking every day.
Yellowstone is big, but what makes it even harder to get around the whole park quickly is traffic and the speed limit on the roads. Max is 55, but plenty of miles are slower. Plus, the farther into the summer you go, the more people there are. People at YNP can be incredibly stupid. They will stop on the road because they think they see something. This creates a huge bottle neck. There are hard core YNP visitors (most are regulars) that bring their massive scopes and set up in a few different spots near the road side. Sometimes tourists see them and stop thinking there is something to see. Many times there isn’t, the hard core people will be there all day waiting, usually for the wolves. If we can’t make it in early June, we don’t bother going until summer is over. September is a great time. Far less people and the elk start their rut, which is worth a trip just for that!
I had typed out a bunch of stuff, but had to look up the name of a favorite, and found this page:
https://fullsuitcase.com/yellowstone-best-things-to-do/. I deleted everything I had written because it had at least half the things I had already written about, and provides more info about the places as well. We have gone to all the main places they write about (but not necessarily done all the hikes, or restaurants and hotels that are mentioned) and think all are worth it.
You can still see the effects from the fires of ‘88. That still gives me goosebumps, but that may be because we live here and I remember that summer/fall so well. I find it awe inspiring to look at the new growth that has taken over areas that were completely wiped out by fires. It was especially amazing to see the year after. I’ll never forget.
One more thing, when you’re driving through the park, you will see lots of little side drives off the main road. Most are pretty short, some are a few miles. All will spit you right back onto the same road you were on. I love those little drives. Most people don’t take them, so that’s always a bonus to me.
I wish I could remember the names of any of them, but I don’t. Some took you to stunning views, some were more boring, but I never regretted any of them.
Oops! Another thing! I’m not sure what direction you’re coming and going, but if possible, try to travel the Beartooth Highway (outside the northeast entrance). You won’t regret it. It’s outside the park though and you may have to adjust your travel plans to take the pass, but I cannot imagine you would regret it. Stunning views.
