when to visit: July – August

What to do:

Day 1: Mammoth Hot Springs

Day 2: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (Artist Point, Inspiration Point, North Rim Drive)

Day 3: Old Faithful Inn and Upper Geyser Basin

Day 4: Grand Prismatic Spring and Norris Geyser Basin

Day 5: Go back to where you came from

Where to stay:

Day 1: Mammoth Hot Springs

Day 2: Canyon Lodge

Day 3: Old Faithful Inn

Day 4: Mammoth Hot Springs

What to Eat:

Day 1: Mountain Tacos (Gardiner). Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room was closed when I went there. There is another dining option at Mammoth Hot Springs called Terrace Grill but not so nice.

Day 2: Canyon Lodges have 2 veggie options – braised portebello mushroom and Asian Bowl

Day 3: Old Faithful Inn. try Potato Gnocchi with roasted red pepper with smoked gouda soup

Day 4: Mountain Tacos again! I liked them quite a bit. There are two other options in Gardiner – Yellowstone Pizza Company and a Cafe.

Rate your preparedness: good pair of shoes (must), mask (good), mosquito repellent (better – needed this in MHS), bear spray and bells (best). the mask should help not just with covid precaution but also against sulphur fumes (hydrogen sulfide).

Details:

Day 1: Fly to Bozeman (BZN). The drive from BZN airport to Yellowstone is about 90 mi or between 90 min to 2h depending on traffic. Stop at Gardiner which is just outside the park. Stop at a grocery store and pack few cans of Guinness, Cold brew coffee, protein bars and fruits. Have lunch at Mountain Tacos. You can build your own plate. Arrive at Mammoth Hot Springs. Do the terrace hike at Mammoth Hot Springs. It is an easy 0.5 mi hike one-way (20 min). Even with breaks and photo stops it should not take more than 1 to 1.5 hrs total roundtrip. Assuming you start at bottom, the hike will take you to Upper Terrace Drive. Upper Terrace Drive is paved and you could walk it but I don’t recommend esp. late in evening with no traffic. It is a long walk – 30 min to do the loop. After the hike, check out the Visitor Center and then the Map Room in Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.

Day 2: Drive from Mammoth Hot Springs to Canyon Lodge. Start driving to canyon lodge. Wraith Falls. Easy warmup hike. 1 mi round trip. Stop at Roosevelt Lodge. Rustic Cabins. Next stop Tower Falls. preview of what’s to come. Hike goes to base of the river. Beautiful drive through mountains. Mount Washburn. Strenuous hike if you want to do it. Suggest doing just 0.5 mi as there are more interesting things to come. Canyon Lodge. Artist Point (main attraction – don’t miss). Inspiration Point. Brink of Upper Falls. Hike around the canyon.

Day 3: Drive from Canyon Lodge to Old Faithful Inn. Mud volcano (must see). Dragon’s mouth. Take 3 hr detour to Grand Teton National Park (3h includes total time – going to Teton and coming back). Have lunch and coffee at Lake Jackson Lodge. Head over to Old Faithful Inn. Upper Geyser Basin. Hike starts at Old Faithful Inn and goes to mountain glory. Will see many geysers. See if you are able to catch the Grand geyser. There will be lot of fumes so carry mask if you like. Dinner at Old Faithful Inn. Try potato gnocchi and roaster red pepper with smoked gouda soup.

Day 4: Drive from Old Faithful Inn to Mammoth Hot Springs. start the day with breakfast at Old Faithful Inn terrace. checkout old faithful inn visitor center. Grand Prismatic Spring. Norris Geyser Basin – hottest and most acidic. Do the Mammoth Hot Springs hike again when you reach Mammoth Hot Springs.

Overall: the park is nice but when you have already watched everything on YouTube and internet (and been to a dozen other parks) much of the charm and wonder is gone. For me a lot of this trip was about getting physical activity and being away from work. In 4 days I must have hiked 12 mi or more (3-4 mi per day).

Wildlife: for me, it was not a big attraction to watch wildlife. Be thankful if you don’t come across a bear. You will see bison, elk, deer etc.

Be safe: don’t wander into solitary areas. The trails have signs but its easy to get lost. This happened to me when there are forks in the trail and its not clear from the sign which path you should take. Carry a bell with you to make noise it you end up in some lonely area. the noise will keep any bears away.

Shoutout to our rental car – Hyundai Elantra. The seating was a bit uncomfortable but I was able to do the whole trip (450 mi) on a single tank of gas (11.9 gallon). Also the car runs incredibly smooth. I could barely feel anything at 80 mph. One of the best part of the trip was driving high speed on I-90. It felt like I was in America.

In all the trip cost $2,500