Yellowstone is one of my favorite national parks, especially when it comes to wildlife. When you drive around Yellowstone, it feels like you’re going on safari – you just never know when you’ll luck out with a fun animal sighting and the thrill of that alone is worth the drive! The only other park I’ve seen more bears at was Katmai National Park, but that one is known to have the highest concentration of bears in North America.
Where to stay in Yellowstone National Park with Kids
Yellowstone National Park is massive, so it’s wise to split your stay over 2-3 nights to reduce driving. If you’re not from the area, you’ll also likely want to combine this trip with visiting Grand Teton National Park.
West Yellowstone
West Yellowstone is a small town just outside the West entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It’s a really convenient spot to stay outside of the park for affordable prices, proximity to grocery stores and of course the entrance to the park.
We stayed at the Explorer Cabins, which we absolutely LOVED! The kids went crazy over the bunk beds of course, and I always love a small standalone cabin that we can have entirely to ourselves. There’s a cute communal campfire for some s’mores, an indoor pool and lots of space inside the cabins.
We’ve also stayed at the Best Western Desert Inn in West Yellowstone. It’s quite a bit cheaper but also has a pool and is located in a very convenient location.
How many days to explore Yellowstone National Park with Kids?
I would highly recommend having at least two days for just this park alone – that means three nights so that you get the full two days in between without needing to worry about airport/arrival time.
Driving the entire Yellowstone loop (a huge figure 8) takes about 7-8 hour without stops. It’s reasonable to split it up across two days, if not more. Take one day for the lower loop which includes major sites like Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring and the Grand Canyon, and one day for the upper loop which includes sites like Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley. If you have extra time to spare, I would highly recommend renting a long telephoto lens and going on a Yellowstone safari, either with a guide or on your own!
1. Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook
There are two ways to enjoy the grand jewel of Yellowstone; the Grand Prismatic Spring. The first one is to do a short 1.6 mile hike (roundtrip) up to a lookout so that you can really see the blue colors of the spring. There’s no higher view point unless you’re doing a helicopter tour, so this is it! It’s not a very difficult trail and is stroller-friendly for the most part. You may have to carry kiddos up the last little section of the trail but that’s not very far.
2. Grand Prismatic Spring Boardwalk
The second way to enjoy the Grand Prismatic Spring is to go right up to it using the boardwalks.
Don’t underestimate how much time you’ll need at the boardwalk – there’s quite a bit to see!
The boardwalks are stroller friendly, and that’s probably the safest way to keep the kids contained here. If you’re not using a stroller, make sure you keep your kids within arm’s reach or just hold their hands. My biggest concern was other adults accidentally knocking into my kids and pushing them in, so I kept them super close here!
3. Great Fountain Geyser
This geyser erupts, but only every 9-15 hours or so. Even without the eruption, I really enjoyed watching the sun setting behind it! While it’s hard to predict, you can check the NPS website for their best guess at the next eruption so you can time your visit better. Keep in mind that there will be crowds coming to see the eruption, so maybe you want to use this information to actually *avoid* the eruption and visit it without the crowds 🙂
4. Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs resemble a giant inside-out cave. It’s at the very Northern-most tip of the park, and you’ll probably need half a day just to explore this area. It’s not just one hot spring, but a sprawling complex of travertine terraces and you can walk right through them. There is a lower terrace boardwalk and an upper terrace boardwalk both of which are worth a visit. The kids got pretty tired after walking around here the entire morning and we had to take a lunch break here right after. Make sure to pack enough food, as the food options are limited and very pricey!
5. Morning Glory Pool
This one might just be my favorite. It’s like a baby Grand Prismatic Spring and you can see the entirety of it from the boardwalk without needing to get to higher ground. The blue to yellow color gradient is really mesmerizing! This does require a short walk but it’s easily accessible and stroller friendly.
6. Artist Point
Artist Point is one of the lookouts at Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon. There are several great options for lookouts, but not all of them have a good view of the falls. There’s a few boardwalks you can check out or just walk around the rim looking down into the valley.
7. Lamar Valley
This is one of the valleys with a high likelihood of seeing animals!
Get ready with a long lens, lots of snacks and a ridiculous amount of patience and get driving! Usually if you see a lot of cars stopped, that means there’s wildlife nearby. Make sure you’re able to park safely and legally and stay inside the car if an animal is walking too close.
Most of the time the best and safest view you’ll get is from inside your car. It’s important to stay at least 100 yards away from bears, wolves, and cougars, and at least 25 yards away from all other animals like bison and elk. It is illegal to disturb wildlife of any kind!
8. West Thumb Geyser Basin
West Thumb Geyser Basin is located just steps away from Yellowstone Lake. It’s easily accessible from the parking lot and is very stroller friendly. Most of the boardwalks have rails so there’s less concern about kids getting knocked off the path by other tourists. The hike isn’t very long, but we did see quite a few animals here so we stayed to watch them!
9. Hayden Valley
This is another valley with popular for animal sightings! The best time to drive it is during dusk or dawn as that’s the most active time for animals. It had a similar vibe to the St Mary East Glacier area of Glacier National Park, where we would always see at least one bear out looking for berries!
10. Tower Fall
This is a great stop on your way to Lamar Valley. I wouldn’t drive out here just for the falls but if you’re already in the area it’s worth the stop. There’s also a small souvenir shop with food and bathrooms right at the parking lot if you’re looking to stretch your legs!
11. Old Faithful
This geyser is really only worth a visit if you time it with an eruption. Thankfully eruptions are quite frequent (every 60-100mins) and you can look up the times on the park website.
