Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park Blog
Last summer, we decided to do a six day national park vacation to Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Since both of the parks are so close to each other, we wanted to do a combo deal to see both places! Our trip started with a nonstop flight to Bozeman, Montana. It was the closest airport to Yellowstone. We got our rental car and went straight to get some lunch! After eating, we did some grocery shopping in Bozeman. There are no big grocery stores where we were staying in Island Park, Idaho so we had to get most of our groceries before we took our two hour drive from the airport to our AirBnB house. Once we got to the house, we had some unpacking and organizing to do. We all picked our rooms, got settled and went to dinner at Cafe Sabor, a delicious Mexican restaurant not too far from our rental house. After dinner, we had a campfire with some smores. Before we went to bed, we decided to look for some moose, which was a good idea since we saw two moose outside our house, right in the backyard!
The next day, we had to get up very early to get ready for the day. We packed sandwiches, snacks and lots of water for the car. Since there are so many bison in Yellowstone, you never know when you can get stopped by them ... .What would have been a 45 min drive can turn into hours if the bison are taking their time to cross the road! Before entering the park through the West Entrance, we stopped at the visitor’s center for a quick bathroom break and to get some maps for the day. The agenda for our first day was to see the Grand Prismatic Springs along with Old Faithful.
On our way to see the Grand Prismatic Springs, we noticed some bubbling water along the side of the road! Not too far down the road was a little parking lot for the Fountain Paint Pots! We decided to hop out of the car and take a little walk to see the acidic hot springs and paint pots. There was a longer path that we could have taken to see more but since it was just the start of our day and we didn't know how long the drives would take (watch out for wildlife) we decided to keep going. Our second stop of the day was to see the Grand Prismatic Springs! We parked at the main parking lot and walked the boardwalk to see the springs from ground level. As you walk along the boardwalk, there are many beautiful and interesting hot springs to look at! They all have little signs to give you more information. Once you get to the Grand Prismatic Springs, you can see some of the beautiful colors from the boardwalk. If you want the more majestic overhead view, I highly suggest driving down to the Fairy Falls Trail parking lot to do the 1.5 mile round trip hike. We did that and the views were breathtaking! Some of the hike is uphill so make sure to bring water with you!
After we finished our hike, we did the 15 minute drive to see Old Faithful. We wanted to eat lunch first before seeing the geyser go off. There were many picnic tables around the area which was really nice to sit and enjoy the nice weather. We had a little time to kill so we walked around the visitor’s center for a little bit. At the visitor’s center, there is a sign that says when Old Faithful last erupted and when the prediction of the next eruption will be. About 40 minutes before the predicted next eruption we went to get front row seats! This ended up being a great idea seeing as the seating area fills up quickly. It was really fun trying to anticipate when Old Faithful would actually erupt. After being wrong a few times, we were then able to catch Old Faithful erupt! Soon after that we did the drive back home to relax, eat dinner and get ready for the next day.
On the second day of the trip, we wanted to see all the waterfalls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the famous Artist’s Point. On our way to the falls, we noticed another smaller but equally beautiful waterfall called Gibbon Falls. After a small detour, a little walking and some stunning photos, we all decided this was one of our favorite parts of the trip so far! We then continued about 35 more minutes to the Lower Falls.
We started with the North Rim drive which is a one way drive that ends at the visitor’s center. Along the route we stopped at the following lookouts to take pictures: Brink of the Lower falls, lookout point, grand view and inspiration point. At the brink of the lower falls there is a moderate/difficult hike down to the bottom. If you are willing to brave some switchbacks, then you are in for a stunning view of the falls! After that, we stopped at the visitor’s center for some lunch and exploration. We then drove up to the Upper Falls where you can stop at the Brink of the Upper Falls to do a quick walk to see the edge of the waterfall! It was definitely worth it. After a long day of exploring and walking around, we had one last thing to see on the way home! We did the south rim drive to see Artist’s Point. This was the most stunning and beautiful location of the day! There were so many fun place to stop and take pictures while you took in the beauty of the land. Once we were done, we drove back home to relax and eat.
On the third day of Yellowstone, we decided to drive up north to see the Mammoth Hot Springs. Since this was one major attraction for the day, we left a little later to start our journey. In hindsight, it was not the best plan because we got stopped by some buffalo which added another half hour to our drive! But for the stunning views of the animals out our windows, it was worth it. Once we finally got to the hot springs, we started off with a little picnic lunch before exploring the lower terraces! The cool thing about the lower terraces is that there are so many different paths you can take so you can decided how much and how long you want to walk around! Our group split up a little-some did some longer trails while the rest of us relaxed on one of the many benches. After walking around, we went down into the town to do a little shopping and see the moose that are always roaming the streets! Once we were done, we drove through the upper terraces loop for some more views! The last stop for the day, and our last day at Yellowstone was at Artist’s Paint Pots. You take a small walk through the woods until you reach many little geysers and thermal pools. I highly suggest taking the small up hill walk to see the bubbling mud paint pots-they are worth it! We soaked in all the natural beauty before heading back to the renal house and bidding Yellowstone farewell.
The next day, we did a one day trip to Grand Teton National Park. It was about a 2.5 hour drive from the house we were staying at. One of the routes takes you through Yellowstone to get to Grand Teton but I do not suggest it…you never know when you’ll be stopped by roaming bison and that delay could add a lot of time to the trip. We entered the park through Moose Junction and went straight to the visitor’s center. They have a lot of good information there, a little shopping area and bathrooms. There is a 42 mile loop around Grand Teton that takes you through a lot of the highlights. We wanted to do a portion of that loop along with doing one big activity so we settled on going to Jenny Lake! There is a boat that takes you across the lake (it’s windy on the boat so don’t forget a jacket). Once on the other side, there is a little hike you can do to see Hidden Falls. Along the way to the falls, we stopped at a smaller waterfall to have a nice little picnic. We continued the trek to see hidden falls which was a beautiful waterfall tucked a little ways back. After taking some photos, we continued on to hike up to Inspiration Point. Part of the hike was uphill so depending on your fitness level, take the hike slowly. At the top, you can get a closer view of the Grand Teton mountains along with seeing all of Jenny lake! The view was definitely very inspirational. After a little bit of time, we hiked down, waited patiently for the boat to get us (it comes every 15 minutes but there was a long line ahead of us) and then headed back to the car.
From there, we did part of the 42 mile loop, stopping at some of the turnouts to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. Check out the itinerary for more information about turnout to check out! The last place we stopped before heading home was the Mormon Row. It’s an iconic spot filled with historic barns and homesteads built by Mormon settlers in the 1800s. After this stop, we headed back to the rental!
Yellowstone and Grand Teton were two amazing national parks that can be seen in the same trip. There is lots of amazing wildlife, geysers, hikes and other natural wonders to see at these national parks!
