Yellowstone National Park. This expansive, preserved land has been on our radar for over years now. When Harvey was born, I found the coolest print of America’s national parks for his room. And as the boys grew older, we’d often point to a park and talk about what made it special. For Levi, something sparked — and ever since then, he’s been talking about visiting Yellowstone.
So when we had a gap in our slow travel plans, Steven and I thought to ourselves, let’s do this!
Let it be said here that beyond mapping out our route to get to Yellowstone — all 18 hours of the trek — we didn’t really make big plans for once we were within the park’s boundaries. Steven had stumbled upon two campsites that spanned over four days, which is pure luck from what we hear! This is where it paid off to have a 19.5ft van (the sites were allocated to 20ft max). But as far as the park attractions went, we knew we had to see Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic; beyond that, we were flying blind.
When we arrived in Jackson, we stopped off at the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center to allow the boys to burn off some of that pent-up travel energy. There are loads of resources here on Yellowstone, but the two best we found are the Yellowstone edition of the National Park Journal Magazine and well, a Yellowstone National Park map. Both offer up must-see attractions within the park, as well as fun facts to read off to the kiddos as we drove in. However as we set off exploring Yellowstone over those four days, we ultimately compiled our own pro tips for the park — provided in no random order. ?
(I should also state for the record that we visited the park in the first half of August. I’m 100% sure that our tips would adjust if we visited say, in the dead of winter. Regardless, do your own homework based on seasonality!)
1. You Won’t Have Cell Service in Most Parts of Yellowstone
Fortunately for us, we knew this going into our Yellowstone experience. It’s worth mentioning to any family or friends, especially if they’re following your #vanlife moments on the ol’ IG. Because it’ll literally be radio silent on your end. The park offers up some info on where Verizon and AT&T offer a signal, but we didn’t catch a bar pretty much all four days. (I should note here that we have AT&T, and have read that Verizon’s signal is much stronger.) Besides ensuring with family that you won’t fall off the face of the Earth prior to your departure, I also encourage you to take this as a nod from Mother Nature to just enjoy yourself. Sure, take pics and video, but relish in the fact that you probably need a social media detox!
2. Don’t Bring Your Dog
OK, so this may be easier said than done… especially if you’re nomads like us. Fortunately, we secured the best dog-sitter for Ruby (thanks, Mom & Dad!). Here’s why: first, we weren’t crazy about three weeks of road tripping with our old gal. Secondly, Yellowstone is amazing in its natural state — which includes geysers, hot springs and wild animals. Throw in two kids under six. The thought of managing our dog with all of these elements was overwhelming, to say the least. To us, the risks didn’t outweigh the rewards. Plus, Ruby had a pretty sweet staycation back in our hometown, none the wiser.
3. Bring Mosquito Repellant
This really should be at the top of our list, given our experience with those blood-sucking devils! When we arrived at our dispersed campsite in Grand Teton National Park, we were pretty much eaten alive by mosquitos. The worst recipient of this was our oldest, Levi. What seemed like irritating, itchy little bites, quickly became an allergic reaction of epic proportions! (See the photo of his poor eye below.) The mosquitos didn’t quit when we got into Yellowstone, either. All we had equipped ourselves with was essential oils, which honestly failed us fast. There’s something to be said about Wyoming mosquitos — they’re fat, merciless and will NOT be repelled by mere oils. We broke down and bought some Deet, which personally pained me every time we applied it on ourselves. (SO GROSS.) But, that thick layer of toxins was worth not having a zillion mosquito bites all over our bodies.
4. Buy Food & Provisions Before Entering Yellowstone
Before entering the park, we recommend stopping off at a grocery store to stock up on food, drinks and ice beforehand. While there are gas stations and small stores within Yellowstone, they all pretty much offer the same fare — and it’s limited. We preferred to make fresh sandwiches vs. buying pre-packaged stuff that had been sitting for days, you know? And our Dometic fridge worked perfectly, keeping all of our food nice and cold. The one exception we made was dining at Roosevelt Lodge. We had woke up particularly early on the day we were swinging through, and Harvey had a hankering for french fries (let’s be real — he always does!). The food was great and we were happy to have a break from turkey sandwiches!
5. Be Prepared for Wild Weather
Besides seeing the wildlife, this was one of my favorite things about Yellowstone: the weather is nuts! Based on some of the homework Steven did before we left, the temperature can swing by more than 30 degrees in one day. And boy, did it! Our first day in the park, we were in shorts and tees, sweating in the sun as we explored the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Later that day back at camp, we watched as the sky quickly turned from bright blue to dark gray. Then the sprinkles started, giving way to pouring rain and eventually hail! Throw in some thunder and lightening, and you can imagine why we hunkered down in the van for quite some time. The next day was more of the same, with the weather varying from one hour to the next. All that’s to say, layers are your friend! And without cell service to check the weather, a stop at any visitor center within the park can provide a snapshot for the day.
6. Break Your Itinerary Up By the Figure 8-Loop
We gave ourselves four days to explore Yellowstone, which some may say is too little. For us, it was just perfect, especially knowing that we weren’t going to be doing any major hikes with our littles. If you pick up (or download) the park map, you can easily see that the road system feeds into a figure 8 loop. We took each loop over the course of two days. For example, our first day we entered the park from the South entrance, so we stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin first, then made our way to our campsite at Bridge Bay. That evening, we drove along the Yellowstone Lake, eventually stopping along Hayden Valley to watch the bison. The next day, we drove in the opposite direction to Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic and Norris Geyser Basin. Our last campsite was Canyon Village, so we explored Lamar Valley and Roosevelt Lodge on Day 3, followed by Mammoth Hot Springs on Day 4. To see it all, you’ll be in your vehicle for a better part of your stay. By segmenting the attractions over those four days, we had a pretty good balance between fresh air and van time.
It’s also worth mentioning that most of the crowds are centered around the lower half of the loop. With our kids, once they saw one geyser, they had seen them all. (The boys just wanted to catch a glimpse of bison, elk and bears. We did get the chance to see one of the latter from far away, burying its kill!) Another Wyoming native I met at West Thumb gave us some tips on things to do and see, and mentioned that the northern loop feels like a completely different park. She was totally right. The terrain changes dramatically, offering up gorgeous canyon vistas along the drive. And for some reason beyond us, the crowds were fewer and farther between — making parking and the views that much better!
7. Hit the Road Early
When we got to the Bridge Bay campsite, our boys became fast friends with an older boy named Jake, who had been to Yellowstone every year with his dad. Steven eventually wandered over to say hello (#dadlife), and picked our neighbor’s brain about the best approach for tackling all that Yellowstone had to offer. His No. 1 piece of advice? Get up early. Like before the sun rise-early. Not only will you beat the crowds, you’ll also have the best opportunity to see bison and elk with unobstructed views! The same can be said about exploring in the evening, while most campers are enjoying their fireside dinner. On our last day, we heard that witnessing Old Faithful in the middle of the night, among a sky of bright stars, was unmatched. Next time!
8. Don’t Stop for the Lone Bison
We made this mistake on our first afternoon on our way to Hayden Valley. You’ll know it when you see it — a pile of cars, in a random turnout, and people flocking outside to catch a glimpse of the lone bison across the river. Trust me when I say just wait. Keep driving a bit further, especially if you’ve taken our early morning (or late evening) advice. Eventually you’ll find yourself sitting in your vehicle for an hour as bison literally cross the road in front of you, behind you and beside you!
On that note — because it HAS to be said — don’t be a dummy when it comes to wildlife. There’s a reason “wild” is in the name, people. Our first day, we were stopped in traffic as approximately 25-35 bison were roaming near the road. Steven put the van in park, and the kids popped out the binoculars to score a better look. As we took it all in, up ahead about 5-6 cars, we watched as two young women got out of their car to take pics of the bison with their cell phones. We also saw people put their car in park, exit their vehicle to run up to get a better look. Eventually, the bison stopped grazing along the banks of the river, and started walking on the road. And to our surprise, these people just kept snapping away at their photos, even when the bison were only a few feet away. We were blown away! Maybe because a week prior to our trip, a video of a little girl getting tossed by a bison in Yellowstone went viral… because of people getting too close. While folks may not have used common sense in this instance, it did provide a great opportunity to chat with our boys about the dangers of wildlife, as well as safety precautions.
9. Have Patience!
That takes us into our next tip. Bison are incredible animals, and so amazing to witness up close. But be patient. Traffic will eventually move ahead, and you’ll have a chance to view these brute creatures up close and personal — without having to exit your car. And if it’s your first day in Yellowstone, get used to a bison traffic jam. You might be there an hour, maybe more. There’s no use in losing your cool! Go with the flow. Pull out those binoculars and watch the animals. Take in the scenery. The same can be said pretty much anywhere in the park. Bathroom lines are LONG. If you happen to hit the boardwalks in the lower loop when it’s crowded, be prepared to move slow — especially with little ones around. Rushing to catch a glimpse of a colorful, steaming hot spring isn’t worth getting hurt or melting to death! ?
10. Make Time for Grand Teton National Park
If you’re entering or exiting Yellowstone via the South border, you’re basically coming or going into Grand Teton National Park. If you have never seen the Grand Tetons in person, it’s an absolute MUST! This was our biggest regret of our road trip — we did not spend any time exploring the Tetons (outside of driving through the park). We were on a mission to check into our campsite, likely because we were all dying for a shower and needed to tend to Levi’s mosquito bites. After we regained service, we caught a fellow full-time family, @baconsontheroad, as they explored Grand Teton National Park. It looked magnificent! Trust me when I say that we’ll be back.
With all that said, the best advice we could possibly give is to just go! Yellowstone National Park is absolutely incredible. There is so much to see, especially when it comes to the bison. We literally saw hundreds!
If you’ve been to Yellowstone, what tips do you have for first-time visitors? And if you haven’t gone to this beautiful park yet, what are you looking forward to seeing the most?
