Touring Yellowstone in Two Days

Yellowstone National Park was dreamy. It was the core of our Mount Rushmore – Yellowstone- Rocky Mountain Ultimate Road Trip. Yellowstone was the reason we took this trip and brought Little Man’s grandparents with us. I’m sharing our two-day itinerary, a few extra recommendations. But, I wish we had up to four days to venture into the park and more time to sit and watch wildlife and take some trails. Three days would probably be ideal unless you are doing lots of climbing and extra driving down all the dirt roads.

This post may contain affiliate links where I get paid for you clicking on a link in this post. If you purchase anything via my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I do actively participate in Amazon Associates Affiliate Program. For more information, visit my Disclosure Statement and Terms & Conditions page.

Recommendations for visiting Yellowstone

Download the Gypsy Guide app and download the content of the app before you leave for the park
Use the National Park app for Yellowstone (one with the buffalo on it), but make sure to download all the contents before you go into the park, you will not have service once you get inside and this app is essential for services and to map the area.
Stay close to or in the park so you aren’t spending all your time driving.
Research, research, research
Find out if roads are going to be closed
Watch the weather – come prepared with layers, including preparation for an unexpected rainstorm
Pack a meal, eat a meal – make it easy on yourself so you are not rushed for time. Whether its lunch or dinner, be ready and flexible
Plan for more time than you think a stop will take
Have a hat and sunscreen – but hold on to your hat at the geysers, it will blow it off.
Go off the beaten path, but take your bear spray

Before I share our Yellowstone itinerary, let me offer a suggestion from the Gypsy Guide. While most people are itching to see Old Faithful and Prismatic Springs, it might prove valuable to take the North Rim first and then explore the South Route the second day. If you see all the big attractions first the rest can be a little bit of a letdown.

Also, check for road closures that may adjust your planned routes. Summer is the only time the park can work on and repair roads so they may have full season or daily closures while you are visiting. Just check it out because Yellowstone is not really the kind of park where it’s easy to get back where you entered if you leave North to South or East to West.

This two-day itinerary was the perfect way to split the park and catch the highlights of the North and South Route and encounter a few wildlife.

Yellowstone Vacation Day 1 itinerary – South Route Stops

Not to be redundant, but the Gypsy Guide offers this advice, so I will too. If you have more than one day, I would start with the North loop because the South has many of the high points you are wanting to explore. It can make the second day seem like a little bit of a let down. Or, if you only have one day, then make sure you go South first. Below are some of the highlights we stopped for.

Starting from West Yellowstone Entrance – our morning started later with us getting to the park around 10 am, you could of course start earlier and see morning wildlife. Just remember you still have about 40 minutes once you drive into the gate to get to any attractions.
MUST – Firehole Falls and Firehole Canyon Drive at Madison Valley
Take Firehole Lake Drive at Lower Geyser Basin
MUST – Fountain Paint Pot – take the trail, this is a special stop because it’s one place you can see all different types of geyser systems. There were a lot of people so allow yourself time to park and tour
Midway Geyser Basin – be prepared for a long stop
MUST – Grand Prismatic Springs – this was one of 3 things I was looking forward to the most and it did not disappoint. We did not take the trail up to the top, which I know was a beautiful experience, we just toured and spent extra time on the boardwalk at the water level. This is for sure a place you want to have toddlers in a carrier, and hold on to young kids. I was a nervous wreck around the hot water.
Fairy Falls
Upper Geyser Basin – Old Faithful – this was an interesting area. So many people, but the centers were closed and it was very interesting to learn how to get around. The line for the gift shop was super long. We ended up driving over by the Visitor Center near the Old Faithful Inn. While the Visitor Center was closed, it was easy to access the Old Faithful viewing area and we found the art studio shop to be everything we wanted from a souvenir perspective. We found t-shirts the next day, so this was all we needed for this stop. We found out the expected eruption time and waited. I’ll admit it was a little of a letdown, but it was one of those “we are here, we need to see it” moments. What was cool was the geyser next to it erupted while we waited, and that was a spectacular show. If you are trying to better plan the timing of your visit to this area, check the app for expected eruption times. This was a good snack and a water stop. We also filled up with gas and got an ice cream treat before we got back on the main road. As with all of Yellowstone, pay attention to detours from road work and stay safe.
Kepler Cascades was a cool pull off.
Great picnic spots are in this area if you need them – DeLacey and Lettonly spots or the Continental Divide are picturesque spots. Or move further along and pull off around the lake.
The next section was nap time so we had some pull off if you want spots on our radar and took advantage of a few
West Thumb – lots of question marks and cool to see. If you have time, drive-through
Yellowstone Lake – I think this would be a great place to spend a whole day. It’s beautiful and lots of great spots for photos
Fishing Bridge – meh – it was just a thing to look at. We did not walk out on the bridge so maybe I missed something by not seeing endangered fish, but still. It would be a beautiful place to explore, especially if fishing is your thing.
Mud Volcano was a must for us because we wanted to see the bubbling pots, but this was not that stop. This is the big steaming volcano and was cool, but what we were looking for is at Artist Paintpots.
MUST – Hayden Valley – I will say this was the most amazing thing from our trip. But, it was also the one thing I was looking forward to the most. We came over the hill around 5 and there were buffalo everywhere. Be safe pulling off, and watch your distance from the animals. But, just take it in. This is where we saw people with chairs in their car and they had clearly come to just sit and enjoy themselves. I wish we had another opportunity to visit on a separate day. We saw buffalo up close, and at one point, they were all around our car as we drove through. It was incredible.
MUST – Artist Point – Because of our later and extra-long experience in Hayden Valley, we were late getting to Artist Point and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone area. We just had to shift and prioritize, but I still got my Christmas card photo. Our original plan was to get dinner and come here for a picnic and I would suggest that we just got started too late and grabbed dinner after. Whenever it fits your schedule, make sure to spend time at Artist Point and all sides of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Dinner – Canyon Village – we loved the Wok and other homestyle meals they were offering. We thought they did a great job handling social distancing and still accommodating guests.
from here, we cut across the middle and exited the park for the evening. Be careful as you travel at dusk and early evening. Animals are still on the move and by a twist of fate, we thankfully missed an elk that jumped into the road. Just watch and be careful.

Yellowstone Vacation Day 2 itinerary – North Route stops

Our second day started outside the park. We toured the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone before we entered the park. Another way to experience this day would be to drive across the middle and take the tower loop road up and around. Everything from the Tower-Roosevelt section was closed for us down to the Canyon Village so making a loop was not an option, but that’s what I would do next time. I’d cross the middle so we could see the open areas and spend more time at Canyon area then travel north and complete the loop back to the Norris area. Just keep that in mind as you plan, that’s what I would do differently.

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center – this is a must to me. We passed it on our way into the park so that’s where we started. But, this would be the perfect kind of thing to do on a day you are chilling or got up early to see wildlife. You could do wildlife, come back and go to this, then go rest and play in town for the rest of the day. West Yellowstone is a cool area.
you will drive through the same things as you enter the park so keep going or catch something you missed the day before. When you get to the Madison Valley intersection, turn left.
Artist Paintpots was a must for us and something our group really wanted to see.
Norris Geyser Basin was meh. There are geothermal pools that are part of the world’s largest active volcanos, I know right!. There are 2 routes you can take the Porcelain trail is shorter.
Sheepeater Cliff is where we pulled off for lunch – it was a great picnic spot. There seemed to be a trail that many people parked and passed us to explore. But the view of the basaltic cliff and marmots walking around under a tree was a really cool experience and a great place to stretch our legs and let Little Man run around. I will say if you are picnicking in the park, bring a covering for the table, they are kind icky.
Upper Terrace Loop Drive – do it, the mountains and formations in this area are so cool and its just a quick pull off.
Mammoth Hot Springs – plan to spend some time here. Maybe you travel faster and have lunch in this area or just plan to spend your afternoon here. But, this was a cool spot. Walk all around the boardwalks and see all the formations. We also made this our souvenir stop and there was ice cream in the gift shop that everyone enjoyed.
Roosevelt Arch and the Tower Roosevelt area were our next stops, but a storm rolled in and pretty much shut down the rest of our day. Our planned stops I’ll list below.
Historic Fort Yellowstone
Roosevelt Arch – had to get the iconic picture
Tower-Roosevelt area – Tower Falls is a short walk from the Tower General Store
Calcite Springs Overlook – breathtaking views
again, had we finished the loop this way, we would have spent more time in the Grand Canyon area. This is also a time to get out and go into the Lamar Valley, a great place to watch and experience wildlife.

Extra areas to explore in Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley – my one regret from our trip is not getting any time in the Lamar Valley – this will be a first on the list when we return
another day in Hayden Valley – interacting and watching the buffalo was a spiritual experience for me. I saw many people just sitting on the ridge with a baseball chair and I think they knew what I know now. Come and sit and take it all in.
Roosevelt Arch – this was something my husband really wanted to do but a storm came in and we just didn’t have time
get out and explore – we did not wander off on any trails other than main boardwalks at the standard stops. I would like to come back and explore more areas along the trails on foot
research more when the rut is happening or other wildlife behavior things are going on and come to experience more of that
September – I think this would be a great time to come back. The school/summer crowds would be lower and the aspens should be turning colors. I also think it would be cooler and more animals would be out. Heck, the week after we left it was 15 degrees and snowed in Colorado so these parks would have been in a very different experience.

Experience more from our Ultimate Family Road Trip to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park