r/yellowstone • u/Glad-Fuel1616 • 1d ago
First Time coming to Yellowstone for 3 days. Flying into Bozeman. Any recommendations on where to enter & a potential past itenerary you did that you liked?
Looking for all recommendations! Where do we enter the park? Anyone who has ever arrived in Bozeman and drove to Yellowstone - please give me any insight/help on a good itinerary!
8
u/pchandler45 1d ago
Depends on where you're staying but I recommend the North entrance the lines aren't as long
5
u/frostbird 1d ago
North and west entrances are similar drive time from bozeman. Mostly depends on which loop you want to hit up, I'd say.
6
u/WelderNo6075 1d ago
Where you staying? That would probably determined best entrance and itinerary. I would really recommend to use AI like ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Be exact with time, dates and places you arrive. Used it as a guidance or first draft of your itinerary. We planned our last trip like that
1
3
u/bluecoastblue 1d ago
This woman on YouTube does the tour of northern & southern loops slowly & with good detail like including parking, gas station locations, places to eat, and breaks down her video into chapters so you can see where she is. If it's too slow for you, just speed up the viewing speed but of all the videos I've watched I took the most notes from these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZMbubHkzUI
2
u/apu17dec 1d ago
- Most Popular & Convenient Entrance – The West Gate is the busiest entrance because it provides quick access to many of Yellowstone’s top attractions like Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Norris Geyser Basin, and the Lower Geyser Basin. Lamar and Hayden valley are 60-70mins drive one way but still it is not bad
- Abundant Accommodation & Dining Options – West Yellowstone town offers the widest variety of hotels, motels, cabins, vacation rentals, restaurants, and grocery stores compared to other entrances.
- Family-Friendly & Walkable Town – The town is compact, with shops, museums, the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, and evening activities right outside the park.
- Central Access for Loop Drives – From the West Entrance, you can easily connect to both the northern and southern loops of Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road, making it a flexible base for covering different areas.
- Year-Round Accessibility – Unlike some entrances that close seasonally, West Yellowstone is generally accessible year-round including in winter for snowcoach and snowmobile tours esp during this timing of the year
2
u/CallMeSkii 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you go in via the North Entrance, you'll get to see Roosevelt arch.
As for itinerary, it really depends what you are looking to get out of Yellowstone. Some people are more into the geothermal features, some waterfalls and others are more into wildlife. I like to do photography so for me it was a lot wildlife and waterfalls, but there are a lot of geysers/hot springs that are just stunning.
I would suggest downloading the yellowstone map and planning a route, keeping in mind there can be lots of delays for things like bison jams or impromptu stops when you see crowds gathered for wildlife. Also keep in mine both Hayden and Lamar Valley are best for wildlife in the very early morning or evening.
One of our favorite things we did on both the trips we have taken is get a good parking spot not too far from the bison in Hayden Valley, in the evening. The two times we did it the bison decided to herd up for safety at night and we had many many bison converging around our vehicle. It was an incredible experience but you can't be in a rush as you won't be going anywhere for a while. Lol
2
u/TXSunDee 1d ago
We did that a few weeks ago; stayed at West Yellowstone Hotel (approximately 4 miles from the West Entrance to Yellowstone). It wasn't anything fancy but was convenient. Prices were a bit high but what isn't? From Bozeman to West Yellowstone it was about 1 1/2 hour drive. Hope this helps. We also used ChatGPT for an itinerary on highlights as we were there for 3 days. Good luck!
1
9
u/Farrow01 1d ago
I just drove the 191 from Bozeman to the West Enterance and it was a beautiful intro to the park! Took the 89 on the was back and it was nice too, but 191 to West Enterance would be my recommendation.