Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the world, and aptly so, because it is one of those rare parks that has almost everything in one place: beautiful scenery, waterfalls, lakes, geysers, hot springs, wildlife, whatever you wish for.
Yellowstone is huge, and you could easily spend a week covering its main attractions. We obviously did not have the luxury of spending that long here, more importantly, the dollars needed for the expensive stays. The best way to explore the park is probably with an RV or a self-drive option, but since we could not drive, we had to rely on group tours.
Which entry point is better for Yellowstone National Park: Bozeman vs Cody vs Jackson
Yellowstone has multiple entry points across different parts of the U.S. You can enter from the south via Jackson Hole, from the west via Bozeman, or from the east via Cody.
Jackson is one of the more expensive options because it is a ski resort town, but it is also close to Grand Teton National Park, giving you the advantage of covering two national parks in one trip. Flight connections to/ from San Francisco and Las Vegas were best to Jackson, although flights, stays and tours are more expensive from Jackson
Choose Cody/ Bozeman if you have multiple days and are cost conscious. Choose Jackson if you are ok to spend 20-30% higher to see Grand Tetons in addition and save time in flight connections
Getting into Jackson, Yellowstone NP: Flights to Jackson Hole
We entered Jackson Hole on a direct United flight from San Francisco and left for Las Vegas, also on United, with a layover in Denver.
The San Francisco to Jackson Hole sector was a redemption booking using Air India points, and it turned out to be excellent value, almost ₹3 per point. Our Jackson Hole to Las Vegas booking, however, was paid in cash. In hindsight, I could probably have booked that journey on points as well, but the two flight segments needed to be booked separately and were never available at the same time. They did become available at different points, so waiting a little longer might have worked.
I was slightly anxious that cash fares could rise significantly because of the Autumn Art Festival, so I decided to lock in the fare and pay upfront rather than take the risk.
Jackson Hole is also supposed to be one of the most scenic airports in the U.S., where you can see the snow-clad peaks of the Tetons as you land. The right-hand side of the aircraft is considered the best side when flying into Jackson Hole, as it gives you closer views of the Tetons.
Getting around Jackson, Yellowstone NP: Taxis and Uber
Getting into Jackson Hole is fairly straightforward, and Uber/ Lyft do operate here, but the surge pricing can be dramatic around flight arrival and departure times. A ride between the airport and town can cost as little as around $30 during normal hours and shoot up to nearly $200 during peak periods.
We strongly recommend reserving an Uber in advance, as the fares are usually much more reasonable. There is always a chance that the fare may drop closer to the time of travel, which actually happened to us on departure, but advance booking still felt like the safer option because the price is capped beyond a point.
Check both Lyft and Uber as prices can be vastly different. Lyft has lower number of drivers on it in general, but at times had better pricing that Uber
Local taxis are also available at the airport, with a fare table displayed near the pickup point. The listed fare was around $45 for one person and $60 for three people. Our driver charged us $65, possibly because of the waiting time or perhaps because he had added a tip himself. We eventually paid $70.
Card payment was slightly inconvenient. The driver used Stripe, but the machine seemed to offer only a tap option. We did not realise that tap payments on our card were disabled beyond a certain limit, which in our case was $50. We never managed to try inserting the card and were not even sure whether that option was available. It is therefore worth carrying some cash, as card payments may not always work smoothly.
Airport taxis operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and the waiting time can be significant. We had to wait close to 30 minutes before getting one.
Things to Know Before You Visit Yellowstone NP
- We strongly recommend buying the annual America the Beautiful National Parks Pass. It covers up to four members of a family, and if you enter from the Jackson side in the south, you would otherwise need to pay separate entrance fees for both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. The pass therefore covers both parks for you. Since we had planned to visit multiple national parks during our trip, buying it made good sense for us.
- Jackson Hole can get extremely expensive during peak periods. Hotel prices can easily be two to three times normal rates. Local festivals and events can also affect both availability and pricing
- Food:There are very limited grocery options in Jackson Hole town. There is a Target towards the southern part of town, but it is not within walking distance.
There is also a Pearl supermarket near the central part of town, although the range of options is not very large and prices are quite high—almost one and a half to two times what you might pay in a larger city.
It still serves the purpose and is cheaper than dining at a restaurant. However, if you have the option, it is worth bringing some food with you from another city before you arrive in Jackson Hole.
Yellowstone: Lower Loop or Upper Loop?
The Lower Loop is supposed to be the best option if you want to see the highlights of Yellowstone. It covers Yellowstone Falls, the colourful Grand Prismatic Spring, the remarkably punctual Old Faithful Geyser, and a few other stops. Our tour also included Hayden Valley for wildlife sightings.
If you have an additional day, definitely consider doing the Upper Loop as well. It covers Mammoth Hot Springs, which reminded me somewhat of the Pamukkale travertines in Turkey, with their calcified steps and pools of water.
The Upper Loop also covers areas known for wildlife sightings, including grizzly bears and wolves. We were not quite that lucky, though.
Best Spots to Visit in Yellowstone lower loop
1. Grand Prismatic Spring
This is the extremely colourful spring you would probably have seen in photographs, with its rainbow-coloured edges surrounding vivid blue water.
The view is better from the elevated viewpoint, which requires a longer walk and can take around 1.5 hours in total. We only saw it from ground level, which was still grand enough, but it does not give you the same almost aerial, drone-shot-like perspective.
2. Old Faithful Geyser
The build-up to the eruption is not as dramatic as Strokkur in Iceland, but Old Faithful shoots much higher.
It erupts roughly once every 90 minutes, so if you miss one eruption, it can be difficult to catch the next one, particularly when you are on a day tour. The predicted eruption times are published online, although the timing is usually given within a window of around 90 minutes, plus or minus about 15 minutes.
We reached Old Faithful on time, but we felt the guide could have been more helpful in explaining the best place to watch it from. He suggested that we stand closer to the road because the other side was more crowded, assuring us that the views would be just as good.
What we realized only during the eruption was that a large amount of steam rises from the geyser, and with the wind blowing in our direction, we could barely see anything. From that side, you also lose a sense of the actual height of the eruption.
In our experience, it is much better to move towards the right-hand side, where you get a clearer view of the water shooting upwards and can appreciate the full height and scale of Old Faithful in all its glory.
3. Hayden Valley
Hayden Valley is another must-visit spot, especially for wildlife. We saw hundreds of bison here, but unfortunately no other animals.
There were no elk or moose in Hayden Valley during our visit. In fact, we saw only one moose during the entire trip, on the way between the airport and town, while the elk we spotted were in the Grand Canyon area.
4. Yellowstone Lake Shore
This area has multiple mud pots and bubbling fumaroles, making it another interesting geothermal stop.
5. Yellowstone Falls
There are different viewpoints for the Upper Falls and Lower Falls. We found the Lower Falls viewpoint the more beautiful of the two, as it gives you a wide view of the yellow-coloured canyon with the waterfall in the distance
Exploring Jackson Hole Town
Jackson Hole is a pretty artistic town, with many galleries showcasing photographs and wildlife-related art and artefacts. A lot of the shops also have bear-shaped chairs outside, which adds to the town’s character.
The most interesting feature for us was the park at town centre, which has large arches on all four sides made from naturally shed elk antlers.
You can also find elk burgers and other elk meat on menus around town, which we found rather sad.
Grand Teton National Park: Bonus to Yellowstone NP
The disappointment for us was that none of the peaks had snow. The landscape without snow looked very different from the pictures we had seen on the internet.
Grand Teton National Park was still beautiful, with hints of autumn colours beginning to appear. It would have been wonderful to visit about a month later, when the landscape would have turned more yellow and red. However, that would also have brought us much closer to the risk of snow-related closures, as snowfall starts increasing toward winter
You can get good enough glimpse of the park by taking lower loop tour. If you want to spend more time, try out Jenny lake, Cable cars and float trips on snake river
Which tour company to choose for your Yellowstone NP visit
Since we could not self-drive, we chose Teton Floats as our tour operator. They offered one of the lowest prices at $325 for lower loop along with a 24-hour cancellation policy.
The Jackson Hole Autumn Art Festival was taking place around the same time, so tours for the entire week were sold out several days in advance. I would strongly recommend keeping track of local event dates and booking early.
We booked through Tripadvisor since there was 10% discount promo
BrushBuck Wildlife Tours was another option at around $329 per person, but they had a non-refundable policy. Teton Scenic Floats and Fly Fishing offered the Lower Loop tour for $325 per person.
Lunch was included and, for us, the vegetarian option was a veggie wrap, which was healthy enough. The tour also mentioned granola bars, which we never actually had, although our guide did ask us several times if we wanted one. We kept refusing, as it felt a little strange to keep asking for them later. Unlimited water was also included.
Our guide was extremely friendly and nice. He spoke almost nonstop throughout the tour, partly because the other tourists kept asking him questions and encouraging him to share information and stories about the park. He never solicited tips. We willingly tipped him $100 for our family at the end of the tour. That was probably on the lower side compared with the usual 15% tipping guideline, but considering the already high cost of the tour, we felt it was appropriate.
All the spots mentioned in the itinerary were covered except one. The Lower Geyser Basin, which includes the Fountain Paint Pots, was skipped, although we did see similar geothermal features near the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Instead, our guide took us to Black Sand Basin, which is close to Old Faithful, as we had some time before the next eruption.
Our guide shared the photos of moose taken through spotting scope after the tour as requested!
Where We Stayed
Our first night was at Four Winds Motel, one of the relatively lower-priced accommodation options at $320 per night in Jackson Hole. It was extremely clean, fit for purpose, and had most of the basic amenities we needed.
The room had a microwave, coffee, a heater, hot water, and comfortable beds. No water filters
The reception is open only until 9 p.m., so it is worth contacting them in advance if you are arriving late or leaving early. They also helped us store our luggage until the evening on our checkout day.
Since nobody was at reception when we left, we simply left our bags in the room. The staff later moved them to reception, and we collected them on our way back.
Our second night was at Antler Inn Motel, which looked slightly better than Four Winds. The rate was around $375, for the night.
They also provided a light breakfast in the lobby, consisting of coffee, cereals, muffins, and fruit.
Neither of the two properties had an elevator, so be prepared to carry your luggage upstairs if you are allocated a room on a higher floor. Apart from that, the facilities at both places were fairly similar.
We stayed at two different properties because Antler Inn was available for redemption through SmartBuy. I did not have enough points to cover both nights, and Antler Inn was not available for redemption on both dates anyway.
Final Thoughts
Yellowstone is one of those destinations where there is far more to see than you can realistically cover in a short trip. Between the geothermal features, waterfalls, lakes, canyons, wildlife and the surrounding scenery, there is enough to fill several days.
If you are short on time, the Lower Loop gives you a very good introduction to the park. If you can spare another day, adding the Upper Loop would make the experience much more complete.
For us, the combination of Grand Teton, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone worked well, even though accommodation and tours were expensive. Planning early, booking tours in advance, keeping an eye on local events, and being prepared for high transport and hotel prices can make the trip much easier