Hi there!

 

So you want to go to Yellowstone National Park!

Even if you have a short time, Yellowstone National Park is worth it!

 

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park. What makes Yellowstone so special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

Yellowstone National Park is said to be one of the top 5 most visited national parks in America.

It is also said to be the first national park in the United States… and the world!

So of course Yellowstone sounds like a good idea!

Well, as long as it’s open… which it is in late spring, summer, and fall!

It is one of 2 official national parks in Wyoming.

While the vast majority of Yellowstone National Park is in the state of Wyoming, Yellowstone is in 3 states: Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

 

What makes Yellowstone truly special is that it is a supervolcano. 🌋

Because of this, there are sooo many natural thermal features that you can see all over Yellowstone National Park.

This includes geyser eruptions, colorful hot springs, bubbling mudpots, and steam vents!

You can get a glimpse of a bunch of different thermal features that makes Yellowstone special with just one day in Yellowstone!

 

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park. What makes Yellowstone so special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog
👆 Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: Go to see lots of geysers and hot springs! There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone National Park, which includes over 500 geysers! 🌋😲🤯 There are truly so many geysers and hot springs that you can see when you go to Yellowstone!

 

 

3 must-see things in Yellowstone National Park to see the thermal activity!

must see things to do in yellowstone national park

 

 

1. Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in Yellowstone.

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park: best geysers in yellowstone. see old faithful geyser eruption. Must-see in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

The Old Faithful geyser is in the Upper Geyser Basin.

The Old Faithful Geyser is the famous geyser that erupts regularly in Yellowstone National Park.

You have a very good chance of seeing the Old Faithful geyser erupt because its eruptions are predictable and the National Park Service will even tell you when the next geyser eruption is predicted. It usually erupts every 1.5 hours.

When you arrive, you can go to the Old Faithful visitor center and there will be a time listed for the next Old Faithful geyser eruption.

The most popular spot to watch the geyser is from the observation boardwalk that is right in front of the geyser.

 

Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: geyser eruptions. old faithful geyser observation deck. wyoming travel blog

 

You can also hike up to the Old Faithful Observation Point to see the geyser from above. You just want to make sure you give yourself enough time to get there before the next eruption!

 

Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: geyser eruptions. old faithful geyser overlook trail. observation point trail. wyoming travel blog

Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: geyser eruptions. old faithful geyser overlook trail. observation point trail. wyoming travel blog

 

While you are at Old Faithful in the Upper Geyser Basin, you also have a chance to see more geysers erupting!

Unlike geysers in the other Yellowstone thermal basins, there are geyser eruption predictions given for several geysers in Upper Geyser Basin.

If you do the Old Faithful Observation Point hike, then on your way back down, you can stop by to see the bright orange surrounding the Solitary Geyser!

 

best things to do in yellowstone national park: solitary geyser hike. wyoming geyser hikes in yellowstone

 

See more about this Yellowstone activity:

 

 

🌋

 
Side note!
Amazing Yellowstone experiences you need to consider:



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2. Grand Prismatic Spring is the most famous hot spring in Yellowstone.

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park: best hot springs in yellowstone. see colorful grand prismatic spring hot spring. Must-see amazing in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

The Grand Prismatic Spring is in the Midway Geyser Basin.

The way to see the Grand Prismatic Spring from above is to hike the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook Trail.

You will start this at the Fairy Falls trailhead.

If you want to see the Grand Prismatic Spring from ground level, that is in another location, and you will walk the Midway Geyer Basin trail.

 

See more about this Yellowstone activity: Hiking to Grand Prismatic Spring overlook

 

 

3. The West Thumb Geyser Basin is where to go to see thermal features with the backdrop of Yellowstone Lake.

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park: best thermal geyser basins in yellowstone. walk the west thumb geyser basin trail along yellowstone lake. Must-see in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

The West Thumb Geyser Basin is special because it makes for a nice lakeside walk along Yellowstone Lake while seeing the thermal features that Yellowstone is known for!

 

Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: thermal geyser basins. west thumb geyser basin. yellowstone lake. wyoming travel blog

Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: thermal geyser basins. west thumb geyser basin. yellowstone lake. wyoming travel blog

 

So it’s possible to spend all day driving to a bunch of different thermal basins and walk around to see different geysers and hot springs!

 

And those are some things you must see in Yellowstone National Park when you want it to be a short trip but still feel like you’ve experienced Yellowstone!

 

There are also more thermal geyser basins that can be easy stops along the way:

 

And there also is a chance that you can see buffalo in Yellowstone National Park.

Although the most popular spots to see buffalo in Yellowstone are Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley, buffalo roam throughout Yellowstone National Park.

 

Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: see buffalo, wildlife. wyoming travel blog
👆 Yellowstone buffalo seen in Black Sand Basin.

 

best things to do in yellowstone national park: geyser and buffalo. yellowstone things to do. hawaii travel blog
👆 One of the best things to do in Yellowstone National Park that you must do is to take a walk around different thermal basins! One of the thermal basins in Yellowstone is Black Sand Basin where you have a chance to see a geyser eruption and a chance to see buffalo! (As it goes in Yellowstone, emphasis on CHANCE for both!) You can see a ton of steam behind the buffalo because of the cooler air temperature in the fall!

 

 

 

What is the most common thing to do at Yellowstone National Park?

Watching the Old Faithful Geyser erupt and seeing the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring are the most common things to do at Yellowstone National Park!

Yellowstone National Park has a bunch of thermal geyser basins. The above 3 must-see sights are in different thermal geyser basins, but they are not too far apart.

Just to give you an idea of distance to drive between each of these activities, if you were to drive directly to each of these locations without spending any time at them, it would be total drive time of 45 minutes one way.

That is driving from the West Thumb Geyser Basin trailhead to Old Faithful parking lot to Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook trailhead. (map)

And then from there, you can add on possible time that you might spend at each activity.

You might spend about an hour for each activity. Maybe more, maybe less!

Note that this isn’t necessarily the order you want to do it in though.

For example, you might want to save Old Faithful for last when you only have one day in Yellowstone.

There’s a lot to do around Old Faithful, and by saving it for last you know you can take your time looking for more geyser eruptions around the Upper Geyser Basin… there are many potential geyser eruptions to see!

You can drive through Yellowstone National Park with stops to see a ton of the thermal features that Yellowstone is known for, including the most famous Yellowstone geyser and the most famous Yellowstone hot spring.

The 3 things you can do at Yellowstone National Park that you should not miss your first time at Yellowstone include an Old Faithful geyser eruption, the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook, and West Thumb Geyser Basin.

And then you also should not miss going to more thermal basins to see more geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and steam vents!

There truly are soooooo many things to do in Yellowstone National Park.

The National Park Service says that there are over 10,000 hydrothermal features (!!) and that includes over 500 geysers (!!) in Yellowstone!! 😲🤯

But to get you started, you should not miss these things to start to get an appreciation for what makes Yellowstone so special!

 

 

 

 

When I first started casually looking into Yellowstone to see if I wanted to go there as part of one of my next road trips, I became so overwhelmed by all the things to do in Yellowstone that I literally said to myself I can only go to Yellowstone if I have 2 weeks to spend there!

I wanted to take things in slowly and it seemed like 2 weeks in Yellowstone would be the only way!

And I quickly took Yellowstone off the list of possible places to go.

And then instead, it turned into a North Dakota national parkSouth Dakota national parks road trip, and then some. (I was driving from Michigan.)

Then I got back from the Dakotas, and it seemed like a Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone road trip was a thing, and I was like I want to go to Yellowstone. (Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota and I had just been there.)

And then a few weeks later I went to Wyoming and Yellowstone, and then some.

It ended up being more like a Wyoming road trip, rather then a Yellowstone-centered trip.

And I basically spent just one day in Yellowstone… plus an additional 1-2 hours the day before when I first arrived to Yellowstone from Grand Teton National Park.

And, as it turns out, I think I had a pretty amazing time with just that 1-2 days in Yellowstone!

Surely it would be ideal if you had a few extra days so you can experience all the different areas of Yellowstone National Park.

After all, it is a BIG park.

Thus the overwhlem!

But if Yellowstone is just one part of a greater national park road trip, then it’s quite possible that you will be very happy with your visit to Yellowstone with just 1 day in Yellowstone or 2 days in Yellowstone!

I feel like I did end up having a mostly easy-going one day in Yellowstone! Of course I did not see everything (or even close!) but since it was my first time in Yellowstone, I was very happy with what I saw!

 

Yellowstone in September or October

Weather can vary each year, but I was in Yellowstone in September and October in 2021, and it was definitely a memorable trip that has me wanting to go back for more!

First, you will have to prepare for cooler temperatures, but September and October can be a GREAT time to go to Yellowstone… I think!

Yes, you can drive through Yellowstone in September and October.

Yes, Yellowstone in September is worth it! September is a good time to visit Yellowstone! (I was in Yellowstone late September.)

Yes, Yellowstone in October is worth it! (I was in Yellowstone early October.)

I was in Yellowstone on the last day of September and the first day of October. ðŸ˜†

There is an extra special effect of going to Yellowstone during a cooler time.

You will see more steam coming from the geysers and hot springs throughout Yellowstone!

This also means that depending on the temperature, you might not want to start your day too early or else you might not see the colorful hot springs because there is so much steam!

On my full day in Yellowstone (October), I think the overnight temp the night before was in the 20s or 30s (!!) and during the day it warmed up to the 50s and maybe even low 60s. (Of course, this year may vary!)

 

Recap! What should you do your first time at Yellowstone?

The quick list!

 

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park. What makes Yellowstone so special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

1. Old Faithful geyser eruption

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park: see old faithful geyser eruption. What makes Yellowstone special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog
The most common thing to do at Yellowstone National Park is to watch the eruption of the Old Faithful geyser! The Old Faithful geyser eruptions can be predicted (unless other geyers), and the eruptions are relatively frequent. This means that it’s possible for a lot of people to see the most famous Yellowstone attraction in action!

 

 

2. Grand Prismatic Spring overlook

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park: see colorful grand prismatic spring hot spring. What makes Yellowstone special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

 

3. West Thumb Geyser Basin

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park: walk the west thumb geyser basin trail along yellowstone lake. What makes Yellowstone special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog

 

If you’re interested in Yellowstone National Park, you may also be interested in these road trip activities:

 

HAPPY VISIT TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK!

 

Best things to do in Yellowstone National Park. What makes Yellowstone so special? What should you not miss in Yellowstone National Park? Must-see amazing views in Yellowstone. wyoming travel blog
👆 Things to do in Yellowstone National Park: See lots of geysers and hot springs! Aside from the already mentioned Grand Prismatic Spring, West Thumb Geyser Basin, and Black Sand Basin, also pictured are the Clepsydra Geyser and White Dome Geyser.

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