Itinerary help with driving directions

Question

Hi Everyone,

I keep going back and forth about which direction to do the park as time is limited, please help!!

My initial plan:

Morning 1 we are leaving Moran and entering through the south entrance to head up anticlockwise around the central plateau and do hayden valley and over and around to see the geysers down to old faithful and then double back on ourselves and head to west yellowstone to stay the night.

Morning 2 leave West Yellowstone and head back across by madison and noris and canyon village and up and out through the lamar valley and exit the north east entrance, do the beartooth highway and head down to cody.

Day 3 leave cody and head to bozeman.

Other plan:

Morning 1 will leave Moran and enter through the south entrance and go clockwise towards old faithful and complete the loop over to the hayden valley and out the east entrance to cody.

Morning 2 will leave Cody and drive to beartooth highway and enter through NE entrance and drive lamar valley down and over to west yellowstone and stay the night

Morning 3 leave West Yellowstone for bozeman (Glacier NP being end game)

D0bby · Accepted Answer

When are you traveling?

Although in my view you are pretty short on time in Yellowstone, I'd go with Option 2 as to me if flows better. I'd consider staying in Gardiner for the last night before you head to Glacier.

Was there something specific you wanted to do in Cody? To me you are adding a lot of drive time but not giving yourselves time to see things there so I would consider cutting Cody from your plan.

Option 3:

Day 1: Leave Moran, head in to Yellowstone. Do the OF area which will take some time if you plan to wait to see any of the big predictable geysers go. Go to West Yellowstone for the night.

Day 2: Head in to Canyon, do the South and North Rim drives, then head north over Dunraven Pass, Go out thru Lamar Valley for wildlife. Overnight either in Cooke City/Silvergate or Gardiner.

Day 3: Head back out thru Lamar Valley if you stayed last night in Gardiner, then out the NE entrance to Cooke City/Silvergate. Head east over Beartooth HIghway to Red Lodge, then out to I90 and over to Bozeman. Are you spending this night in Bozeman or do you need to make it all the way to Glacier.

If your time in Grand Tetons and Glacier is as short as Yellowstone, I'd consider dropping some things to actually be able to see the highlights of whatever parks are your prime targets.

Have you seen the chart of approximate drive times for Yellowstone? All us regulars have done segments in less time but it helps you wrap your head around slower drive times.

https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/content/uploads/2017/04/Park-Map-with-mileage.pdf

Please don't go by googlemap drive times in the parks or over Beartooth. From Cooke City to Red Lodge over Beartooth it's 2.5-3 hours.

Pam

GrainneL86 · Answer

Thanks so much for the reply, Cody was for the Rodeo and it seemed like a cool town with that western vibe. I am irish and will only do this trip once so don't mind long days of driving as long as I see everything I want I can rest when I return home

Below is a loose plan so far of what I would like to see/do

Day 1:Friday 2nd August- Denver

Flight arrives Denver 8.40am

Red rocks amphitheatre (30 minutes drive)

Lookout mountain

Denver area

Day 2: Saturday 3rd August- Denver to Rocky Mountain NP

Drive 2 hours from Denver to Trail ridge road & bear lake

Peak to peak scenic byway

Spend day on scenic lookouts and hikes and back to Estes Park town for night

Day 3: Sunday 4th August DRIVE DAY Colorado-Wyoming

Leave Estes Park, drive to Cheyenne (2 hours)

Get lunch & spend 1-2 hours looking around if necessary

Leave Cheyenne by 2pm latest, Drive to Saratoga (2 hours 15 mins)

Arrive in Saratoga and go and enjoy the hot springs for an hour (free)

Leave Saratoga by 6:30pm and drive to Lander arrive by 9pm (2 hours 30 minutes)

Day 4: Monday 5th August Jackson Hole/ Grand Teton NP

Leave Lander by 9am drive to Jackson hole (3 hours) and spend time in the town

Drive 10 minutes to mormon row for pics

Drive 35 minutes to Jenny Lake trail (12km, 2.5 hours)

Snake river overlook

Scenic stops along way

Drive to Moran

Day 5: Tuesday 6th August South Yellowstone NP to Cody

Drive through south entrance take right side of loop road

Hayden Valley

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Lamar Valley

Leave Park drive to Beartoot

Drive to Cody (Gun fight show 6pm Night Rodeo 8pm)

Day 6: Wednesday 7th August Cody to W Yellowstone NP

Leave Cody & Enter through east entrance

Hayden Valley

Steamboat Geyser (largest in world)

Grand Prismatic Spring

Old faithful

Old faithful inn

West Thumb Geyser

All other local geysers

Turn around and head back to West Yellowstone

Day 7: Thursday 8th August DRIVE DAY- Yellowstone to Missoula

Leave West Yellowstone and drive the i90 to Missoula (4-5 hours)

Day 8: Friday 9th August - Missoula to West Glacier NP

Drive from Missoula to West Glacier (2.5 hours)

Do West Glacier side sights

Day 9: Saturday 10th August West Glacier to East Glacier

Going the sun road (reservations required 7pm night before or entry before 6am) and all other park sights

Day 10: Sunday11th August DRIVE DAY- Glacier to Calgary

Drive to Calgary for flight home (4 hours + border crossing)

Edited: 14 May 2024, 21:14

D0bby · Answer

Holy cow. A lot of territory to be covered in 10 days.

I assume you checked to see about the car drop off in another country? And assume you already have flights arranged.

I see what you wanted with Cody and if you do need to see the rodeo then yes, you should spend the night there.

Drive times on Option 2:

Day 1:

Moran to South entrance - 45 minutes

South entrance to OF - 1h30m-1h45m

OF to Canyon - 1h30-2h

Canyon to Fishing Bridge Junction - 30-45m

Fishing Bridge Junction to Cody - 2 hours.

So around 6 hours of just driving, not counting time to stop, park, walk to see the site + time for food and comfort.

Looking at your list I think you may struggle to work in Grand Prismatic (very busy during mid-day) and Norris Geyser Basin where Steamboat is located (also crazy during the day and you may have to park out along the road in the designated overflow parking and walk in.

Day 2:

Cody to Red Lodge for Beartooth - 1 hour

Red Lodge to Cooke City/NE entrance - 2.5-3 hours

NE Entrance to Mammoth - 2 hours

Mammoth to West Yellowstone - 2 hours.

**This is where I suggested you stay in Gardiner this night. It's a 4h 15m drive from Gardiner to Missoula and about the same drive time from West Yellowstone to Missoula so you are not gaining anything by going back to West Yellowstone for that night.

Pam

Itinerary help with driving directions - Wyoming Forum

Itinerary help with driving directions

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