Yellowstone National Park

[JanetRose]

I'll be driving through Yellowstone National Park later this summer.

Should I plan a whole day to see everything? Or are there places that I shouldn't miss. I'm not interested in boating or camping, just seeing the beautiful areas.

thanks...

 

[plutotek]

If you're going to want to see the sights, you're going to want AT LEAST one day, if not 2-3. You won't see most things just by driving, and traffic in the summer can be horrific (think LA w/only a 2-lane highway).

 

[jsmith]

it will take a full day to travel from any town immediately outside yellowstone to any other ( Jackson, Wyoming, Cody, Wyoming, West Yellowstone, Mt, Cook City Mt, Gardner ,Mt.) you will need 2 or 3 days to see anything more than Old Faithful. If you do not have hotel reservations in or near the park-make them Now. distances are disceptive-and speed limits are slow-no more than 35mph in Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks, and the driving is Mountain Driving.

 

[JanetRose]

I'll be driving a 12 passenger van. I wonder if I should skip the trip until another time?

 

[merekc]

We hit Yellowstone as part of a bigger trip and only spent about a day and a half. It is well worth trying to fit it in if you can. Just remember speed limit is (I think) 45 through the park, sometimes slower when animals are near the road.

We stayed near the Northern part and hit Old Faithful, the Roosevelt area and Mammoth Springs. We also were able to fit in the covered wagon/campfire dinner at Roosevelt. We were movin', didn't get to stop and smell the roses but so glad we squeezed some time in the park while in the area. We hadn't even left before we were already discussing our plans to go back.

 

[minkydog]

Wow, one day? You realize that YNP is the size of Rhode Island, right? That would be like driving to Orlando and swinging past Epcot on your way to Tampa. I guess you could just drive around and see things from the car. You won't really have time to get out and see much. You could always take just one part of the park--say, the Old Faithful area. It is the MOST favorite, most crowded part of the park. But there are plenty of other areas that are equally interesting, IMO.

I dont' know what to say. We were in YNP for 10 days and we just scratched the surface.

 

[minkydog]

If you're going to want to see the sights, you're going to want AT LEAST one day, if not 2-3. You won't see most things just by driving, and traffic in the summer can be horrific (think LA w/only a 2-lane highway).

And motorhomes And buffalo jams. People in LA are probably saying, "At least our traffic isn't as bad as Yellowstone"

 

[Kathi OD]

DH and I are vacationing in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons at the end of August. We'll be there for 9 days. From what I've read, we should have planned longer.

If you really want to "see" the park, I'd suggest going at another time. If you just want to be able to say you've been to Yellowstone, then by all means just drive through.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Yeah, let me echo the others here. As Disney commando type vacationers, DH and I thought that 3 days would be enough to "hit the highlights" for Yellowstone. We miscalculated just how much fascinating stuff there is to see there. I would say 3 days is a bare minimum (you'll see the basics and have good plans for what you want to focus on during your absolutely necessary follow up trip). A 1 day trip...well....you can probably see Old Faithful and bits of the upper geyser basin...but you'd probably have to skip the canyon, Mammoth, the upper and middle basins, the norris geyser basin, and everything in between all those sites.

 

[LovableGluttons]

Too bad you aren't going a bit farther north.

I've seen Yellowstone, Glacier National Park in Montana is AMAZING!

You wouldn't want to take a passenger van up the Road to the Sun though. The road usually opens in June and closes in September.

It is a really magical, majestic place to see.