Yellowstone Insider Tips

Hey friend! Are you planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park? Don’t go without these Yellowstone insider tips!

The last thing you want to do in Yellowstone is get stuck in traffic, be overwhelmed by the crowds, or miss out on the coolest sights.

You deserve an incredible vacation — one that you will absolutely never forget. But unfortunately, most people end up bogged down by the crazy crowds. Don’t let that be you!

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My name is Ash, and I’m a former park ranger. You’ll find me hiking around Yellowstone any chance I get, and I’m a pro at avoiding the overwhelming crowds in this park. I can’t wait to help you make your experience phenomenal!

The 5 insider tips I’ll talk about here are:

• The busiest place in the park
• The best place to see wildlife
• The hardest place to find parking
• Where to stay
• Hidden gems

Let’s get started!

What is the busiest place in Yellowstone?

Yellowstone has two extremely busy sections of the park — Old Faithful and Canyon Village. These areas contain most of the sights you won’t want to miss, especially if you’re a first-time visitor.

The Old Faithful area includes sights such as Old Faithful, Grand Geyser, Castle Geyser, Morning Glory Pool, and Geyser Hill. You will see a lot of people here, but most people just hang around Old Faithful. It is possible to find some quieter areas and see things that most people never see while they’re here!

Canyon Village includes popular sights like Uncle Tom’s Trail, Artist Point, and the Brink of the Lower Falls. It can be difficult to find solitude here — things are crowded for most of the day. If you can, try to visit in the early morning or late evening to cut down on the crowds.

Where is the best place to see wildlife in Yellowstone?

The Lamar Valley is the best place to see wildlife in Yellowstone National Park. You can often see bears, wolves, bison, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn here, usually without even having to leave your car!

I often see wolves near the Yellowstone Institute or the Slough Creek Campground. Sometimes you can even see grizzlies and wolves in the same area at the same time. The bison and pronghorn typically hang out in the meadows near the road. Bighorn sheep tend to stick to the rocky cliffs.

The Hayden Valley is a decent alternative for seeing bison, bears, and occasionally wolves, especially if you can’t make it all the way up to the Lamar Valley.

You can almost always expect a herd of bison to be walking near or along the road around the Mud Volcano/Hayden Valley area. Plan in extra drive time if you’re traveling along this stretch of road. There’s almost always traffic here, but it’s for a cool reason!

Elk often roam around the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, visitor center, and campground. In the fall, this is the best place to go to hear them bugle.

Yellowstone is my absolute favorite national park for wildlife viewing — it’s unreal how many animals you can see in this park. The best time to spot wildlife is in the morning or evening hours, but you will probably even spot things as you drive between sights in the middle of the day!

Remember to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and 25 yards away from all other wildlife. Never feed the animals {if they eat human food, they likely won’t survive the winter}, and use a zoom lens to maintain a safe distance while taking photos.

What is the hardest place to find parking in Yellowstone?

It’s difficult to find parking in some of the popular stops with small parking lots. This includes Norris, the Midway Geyser Basin, and the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

It’s actually not too hard to find parking at Old Faithful because the parking lot is massive. You may have a problem getting a parking spot at Canyon Village, especially along the North Rim. The North Rim is accessed by a one-way road, so if it’s crowded {which it usually is}, you won’t have the option to circle the parking lot. You’ll be forced to drive past some of the best views if you’re unable to find a spot.

What does this mean for your vacation? You’ll want to time things out so that you don’t hit these busy parking lots during the craziest times of day (especially from around 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.). Otherwise, you’ll spend a ton of time sitting in traffic and circling to find parking.

Where is the best place to stay in Yellowstone?

This answer is based solely on location, not the quality of the accommodations.

If you look at a map of Yellowstone, you’ll see that there is an upper loop road and a lower loop road. Yellowstone is a huge park, and if you don’t choose your lodging wisely, you’ll add hours of unnecessary driving to your day.

For this reason, I highly suggest staying along the middle road that travels through the park. That includes West Yellowstone, Madison, Norris, Canyon, and Lake Village.

If you aren’t able to stay along that middle road, you could book something on the south end of the park for a few days {Old Faithful or Grant Village}, and then snatch up something in the north {Mammoth Hot Springs, Gardiner, Tower-Roosevelt} to break up the driving.

I love Grand Teton National Park and Cody, WY, but I don’t suggest staying in either place for your vacation to Yellowstone. It just adds on so much drive time! You will end up spending most of your time in the car.

You can find more detail about all of these places to stay here.

Hidden gems in Yellowstone?

Well, there are quite a few awesome hidden gems in Yellowstone, but a few of my favorites are the Boiling River, Storm Point, and Trout Lake.

If you really like a good secret, you can find a special “secret” hike in this Yellowstone Itinerary.

Ash’s Yellowstone Favorites

Favorite Restaurant: The food in Yellowstone is not the best, but I like the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room or the Lake Hotel Dining Room for the ambiance. For a really fun experience with good food, look into the Old West Dinner Cookout at the Roosevelt Lodge.

Favorite Gift Shop: Old Faithful has some great gift shops with lots of good stuff. I also like the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store for unique things you won’t find elsewhere in the park.

Favorite Scenic Drive: This one’s not technically in the national park, but if you’re visiting for 3 or 4 days, definitely take the time to drive the Beartooth Highway (just outside the Northeast Entrance).

Favorite Place to Find Solitude: The Lamar River Trail is quiet with lots of wildlife watching opportunities, so you’ll find me there when I just want to slow down and enjoy the scenery. Also, Old Faithful around sunrise and sunset is absolutely magical (and surprisingly quiet)!