How to See Yellowstone National Park in 1 Day

Ok, ok. Let me preface this post by saying that it would be ideal to spend multiple days in Yellowstone to really get the full Yellowstone experience. That being said, there may be times when it’s just not possible to spend more than one day. And that’s ok!

Sam and I just got back from Yellowstone a couple of days ago. Since we were in Jackson, Wyoming for a conference most of the trip, we really only had one day to spend. And guess what. It wasn’t pretty but we did it!

The key to having a great, one-day visit to Yellowstone is planning, planning and more planning! Hear me out. Yellowstone is HUGE. This is one thing not to underestimate. You will be driving a lot and you definitely don’t want to waste your time back tracking or getting lost.

This brings me to another point. You really do need to plan your tour route ahead of time because you cannot ( I repeat, CANNOT) rely on your phone to be your park navigation. You most likely will not have service once you’re in the park. The best thing to do is plan your route ahead of time and pick up a handy dandy park map once you’re in the area. You can also print one out at home here.

The good news is that for one day in Yellowstone you really only need to stay on one road. This road happens to be one giant loop so as long as you don’t stray too far from the path, you should end up in the same place you started. Easy right?

Two more tips before I get in to the nitty gritty. Since you probably won’t have cell service in the park, check out the estimated eruption times of Old Faithful before leaving for the park. If you’re entering through the South Entrance like we did, you can make this your first stop since it is a little time sensitive. Sam and I completely messed this up and pulled into the Old Faithful parking lot just as everyone was walking away from the geyser. We had missed the eruption by literally 2 minutes and it was a long 90 minute wait (not to mention a total waste of time) until the next one.

Another thing we wished we would have done was to buy a collapsible cooler and pack a lunch and some drinks. Yellowstone does have various restaurants that serve your standard burgers and fries for marked up prices. This was fine for us but the lines were really long and the food not that great so we wished we would have brought something with us and took advantage of the picnic tables located throughout the park.

If the planning and driving seems overwhelming, there are full day tours of Yellowstone from Jackson Hole. Speaking of Jackson Hole, check out my Guide to Teton Village, Wyoming HERE.

South Entrance

We started our trip from the South Entrance since we were coming from Jackson. Like I mentioned before, it doesn’t really matter which entrance you start from since the road is one big loop.

To get to the South Entrance we drove through Grand Teton National Park which is amazing. You will have to pay to drive through the Tetons though. If you don’t plan on seeing that park during your trip keep in mind this will be an extra expense if you go to Yellowstone that way. We had been to the Grand Teton NP two days earlier so this wasn’t a big deal for us. Each park currently costs $35 each per car for a 1 week pass. We actually ended up buying the National Park Annual Pass for $80. For an extra $10 more than what we would have spent anyway we now have free access to all of the national parks in the US for 1 whole year!

The South Entrance of Yellowstone is a little over an hour from where we were staying in the Teton Village. Once you get to the entrance, don’t be surprised that it will be about another half hour of driving before you get to any signs of civilization. Just throwing that in there for anyone who’s like me and tends to get a little *on edge* spending too much time in the car.

Stop #1: West Thumb Geyser Basin

The first attraction you get to from the South Entrance is the West Thumb Geyser Basin. This is actually a great first stop because it gives you time to stop and stretch your legs after your drive. The park has a boardwalk set up where you can walk right past all kinds of cool hot springs and such. It also takes you past Yellowstone Lake which offers some pretty cool photo ops.

Stop #2: Old Faithful

If you continue to follow the loop to the left, your next stop will be Old Faithful. The Old Faithful area is actually pretty big. Like most of Yellowstone, we definitely could have spent a lot more time exploring there but had to cut it short due to time.

This will probably be your first real insight on just how this whole Yellowstone thing works. After spending a couple of hours at this point driving through the wilderness, seemingly isolated from the rest of the world, you pull into the Old Faithful parking lot smack in the middle of commercialism. The parking lot is huge and it was completely full when we were there. There are restaurants, shops and hundreds of people everywhere.

Don’t let this description scare you away. Old Faithful is a really cool experience. I’ve seen several different geysers before but Old Faithful was definitely the longest eruption I’ve seen. The geyser shoots so high and the eruption keeps going for well over a minute.

There are trails all around this area that give you different vantage points of Old Faithful and take you to other geysers as well. If you have some extra time you could also check out the Old Faithful Inn which is the largest log structure in the world. The Inn has shops and places to eat as well.

Stop #3: Midway Geyser Basin

Another stop for geothermic pools- including the largest hot spring in the United States. Just like the first stop, there’s another boardwalk at the Midway Geyser Basin so you can get up close and personal to the springs. There is also a hike to an overlook so you can see the whole area. We did not do this but it’s supposed to be a pretty awesome view.

Stop #4: Norris Geyser Basin

Hey guess what. It’s another geyser basin. Not going to lie- we were almost geyser basined out by this point and almost didn’t stop. Giant mistake. For once I am not exaggerating when I say I was blown away by this stop. The landscape is just so cool. We definitely don’t have views like this in Ohio, y’all.

The entrance to the Basin is just a short walk from the road. You can over look the whole area and then walk down into the Basin to see everything up close. After we were done checking everything out, we walked over to the Steamboat Geyser. This is the world’s tallest active geyser. It doesn’t have large eruptions that frequently so don’t be too disappointed if you don’t see one.

Stop #5: The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

This was by FAR my favorite stop of the day. Don’t get confused, you do have to drive off the loop for this one. You will end up headed down a road that dead ends into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone parking lot. Follow the signs because it did get a little confusing for us.

We first stopped by the Upper Falls. These are a gorgeous, powerful waterfall. They have a great overlook set up that lets you view the falls and get some great pictures.

Next we headed down to the real showstopper- the Lower Falls. This is where you get the famous overlook of the giant waterfall surrounded by a canyon of -what do you know- yellow stone. It’s legit breathtaking and doesn’t even look real.

There are hikes in the area that we would have loved to have taken if we had the time- ultimately we did probably have an extra hour or two to spend so if you’re feeling energetic I would go for it. There are also food and shops at the Canyon Village when you first pull into the area if you’re feeling hungry by this point.

Stop #6: Hayden Valley

Just after the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone you will drive into the Hayden Valley. You will know when you get there because the landscape will suddenly change and you’ll be surrounded by lush, green plains with soft rolling hills instead of the forest and mountain landscape that makes up the rest of Yellowstone.

We got to see a ton of bison driving through Hayden Valley. This is where I throw in my safety speech to make sure you keep your distance from any of the animals you see in the park. Our guide in the Grand Teton NP told us that bison can run up to 35 mph. This is a terrifying thought once you see how big these guys are. I did read that there are a lot of bears in this area so keep your eyes peeled for any. Unfortunately we didn’t see any bears but it was also mid afternoon and raining when we got to Hayden Valley.

Stop #7: Yellowstone Lake

From Hayden Valley, start your trek back to the South Entrance of the park. As you drive you will get some awesome views of Yellowstone Lake. If you’re not too exhausted by this point, take some time to stop at a couple of pull offs take in the views.

When it was all said and done, I think we were in the park about 11 hours. It was a long day with a lot of driving but it was definitely worth it. Any other tips or tricks that I’m missing? Make sure to comment below!

Happy travels!