Yellowstone National Park Tips | 5 Things to Know Before You Go!

You said it on that last tip! The place is ALIVE! You are right about the energy and vibe there, that park kicks it up a knotch

You might mention the speed limit in the park. That would also help people understand that you can’t get from one place to another quickly.

Yosemite is my favorite NP but Yellowstone is right up there.

Thank you for your enthusiasm and guidance. It has been 39 years since we visited Yellowstone (our daughter was 2 1/2), and that was just for a couple days en route to Alaska in our old VW bus. It was early September and we drove north from the Park in a blizzard. This June we are planning a week in Yellowstone and hope to spend most of it out of the car. I'll be prepared not to be frustrated by traffic, aiming to start our days early, before the mass of people, and finishing late.

I was there 11 years ago for 4 days and definitely not enough times to explore the park. Don't even think about staying at a hotel outside of a park because it is too far to drive back and forth. I stayed at 3 different cabins to save time during the trip. At the end of the day, I just drove to the next cabin (about an hour drive) and moved on to the next site in the morning. It was below freezing at night time during the early September month so be prepared for it. It was such an amazing place.

Went there when I was 4 years old. I just turned 46 today, and I’ll be going back soon in October. Good video, God bless.✝️😎👍🏻

Great video, especially about the different times of the year. If I had to give one piece of advice to first-time visitors to the park is to pack a cooler full of sandwiches and snacks. You are not going to find a lot of restaurants in the park. Definitely no fast food. And depending on when you visit, the few restaurants there are may not be open. Also, be sure to bring a paper map as there is little to no cell service in the park, so GPS is not always an option!

I think it's insane to have to book inside the park lodging 13 months in advance. So many people can't know ehat they're going to do and need that far in advance

This video is informative! A pity that such information technology of the World Wide Web didn't exist back in the 1980s when I was planning a motorcycle trip to Yellowstone. As it was, I was going to travel there near clueless about the realities of the Park; where I planned to camp there the entire time. I never made the trip, as a back injury had me canceling the plans I had made for that August 1982. The lingering effects of the back injury was such that I never made the trip in the future. But, from what I found out afterwards, that injury preventing me for motorcycle travel was a blessing. I phoned the ranger station in September of '82 [as email technology didn't exist] to ask a ranger what the August weather was like. She informed me they had afternoon rain showers on most days. Other aspects that I benefited from that canceled trip: The distance of the trip would have physically hammered me. It's one thing to cruise around 75 miles on a motorcycle for a single day's ride, but a completely different reality [as I found out years later] of doing several hundred miles of travel on consecutive days; as motorcycling riding, with its noise, wind, and vibrations, is physically hard when compared to driving a car on long distances. Driving oneself to physical soreness and exhaustion is not what vacation time is all about. Lastly, I never considered the aspect of wildlife in Yellowstone. Thanks to YT videos, I have a better awareness nowadays of the herds of bison and other large four-legged wildlife in the park, it would have made motorcycle travel a hazardous endeavor. As bummed out as I was in that year when I canceled my motorcycle trip to Yellowstone, in hindsight, there must have been a guardian angel looking after me to prevent that trip.

If you want to see parts of the park when few people are about, the best time is in Winter, on a snowcoach or snowmobile tour. It is an all day tour. West Yellowstone and Jackson are the main bases for these tours and you don't have to worry about parking jams. The bison are often on or next to the road. The thermal features are extra steamy and hardly anyone else is going to be close to your tour group. I have gone into the park with a snowmobile tour group several times and I went in on a snowcoach last February with my sister and handicapped nephew. All of those trips have been wonderful.

Thank you so much for posting about your experiences in Yellowstone! Tammy and I will look into your website to study more as we prepare to plan our trip in 2024.

So nice! Very picturesque views. Btw I am watching you from Russia!

Booked my end of August stay at Grant Village just 2 weeks ago. Lucky I guess... :)

Great video - thanks for posting! Hope to go go next year.

So helpful video!!!!! Thank you 🙏 ❤

One thing I would add to the driving time is it can take you 30 minutes to go a half mile like it did me and my wife. We were traveling to West Yellowstone from Old Faithful and traffic was at a near standstill about 5 miles east of West Yellowstone due to a herd of bison on the highway. You don't honk at a Bison or tail gate it if you're smart.😊

The best time to visit Yellowstone is thirty years ago. Today, it is as much fun as visiting the LA freeway at rush hour. We were driving through the park when we spotted a bear and cubs about 150 yards from the road. Within two or three minutes there were 100 cars stopped. Traffic was backed up for miles. People were out of their cars. Cameras lined the road. Within another few minutes the rangers showed up, told everyone to get back in their cars AND LEAVE. Everyone had to leave. Many were parked along the side of the road, and I can understand that, but we were well off the road in our car (never got out), in a paved turnout on the opposite side of the road from the bear who never got closer to the road. Didn't matter. Had to leave. Immediately. Even though the big ranger truck was parked (half in the road) in such a way that we couldn't see to pull out safely. I asked for help to pull out and was ignored. No where to back up until the vehicle behind me left, but who knew where the driver was? A minute later the ranger came stomping back over like I was in trouble when I pointed at his truck. I was told, "Back up!" I said, "No where to back up!" Then finally helped guide me out. Some folks were still out of their cars taking pictures, and illegally parked, but I seemed the priority even though legally parked in a turnout! I guess because I was in my car! Next thing I know they are crackershelling that poor bear and cubs who were interested in nothing more than the sweet grass in the meadow. KA-BAM! KA-BAM! The bears are running in a panic over the hill. They were never much closer than 150 yards! As I drove away some folks were still out of their cars having ignored multiple instructions to get in them and leave.

Very informative. Thanks for the video. Planning to go this month.

Thank you for letting me know!😊

Great talk on Yellowstone, we learned a lot.