After our visit to Spotted Horse Ranch, we book-ended our Wyoming trip with a visit to another national park – Yellowstone National Park! Visiting Yellowstone in September brings much-reduced tourist crowds. With the park’s southern borders just an hour drive from Jackson Hole, it was a straightforward decision for us to incorporate Yellowstone into our itinerary. The drive up took us through Grand Teton National Park, past Jackson Lake, and through the Bridger-Teton National Forest via John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway to the south entry point.

Note: You will have to either show your National Parks pass twice on this drive; once to get into Grand Teton National Park, and then again to get into Yellowstone National Park.

There are a total 5 entrances to Yellowstone –

• South Entrance (from Jackson Hole, WY via Grand Teton National Park)
• West Entrance (from West Yellowstone, MT)
• North Entrance (from Gardiner, MT)
• Northeast Entrance (from Cooke City, MT)
• East Entrance (from Cody, WY)

At the time of our trip, the North and Northeast entrances were closed to private vehicles due to repair work following the June 2022 floods. Fortunately, the entirety of the Grand Loop Road around Yellowstone was open to visitor vehicles.

The Grand Loop Road

The 140 mile-long Grand Loop Road is the main way for visitors to see Yellowstone’s attractions. Fortunately, you don’t have to drive the entire 140 miles everyday (unless you really would like to – in which case make sure your gas tank is full!); about halfway up the loop there is an East-West road called Norris Canyon Road, creating a figure “8” road structure in the park. This allows for more direct access to opposite corners of the park – instead of taking almost 2.5 hours to travel around the Grand Loop Road from West Yellowstone to Canyon Village, Norris Canyon Road gets you there in about an hour.

Itinerary for the Grand Loop Road

Given the length of the road, I would suggest breaking up driving each portion of the loop on different days (and breaking up visiting the attractions accordingly). Driving the full loop non-stop can otherwise take about 4 hours to do.

Here is how we broke up our drive of the Grand Loop Road:

Day 1

• Entered via South Entrance
• Took a right at the Grand Loop Road along the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake, up through Hayden Valley
• Cut across Norris Canyon Road to start our drive to West Yellowstone (where we were staying) through Madison Valley before dark

Day 2

• Entered via West Entrance on US Highway 191/Highway 287
• Took a left, heading North, on Grand Loop Road to view Gibbon Falls and Mammoth Hot Springs
• Drove through Lava Creek Canyon, up Mt. Washburn, then back down to Canyon Village
• Cut across Norris Canyon Road towards West Yellowstone

Day 3

• We didn’t plan to do “Loop” driving this day, but rather focused on visiting the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
• We cut straight across from West Yellowstone to Canyon Village via Norris Canyon Road for that “direct” access.
• After we finished visiting the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, we had a few daylight hours left, so we drove through Hayden Valley again to check for wildlife.

Day 4

• We finished the rest of the loop by heading south on the Grand Loop Road from US Highway 191/Highway 287.
• We saw tourist favorites including the Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful before we headed back to South Entrance Road / Jackson Hole.

The below points of interest follow in the order of our itinerary above. Due to the floods, we were unable to visit Lamar Valley. While we did see a lot of bison and many elk, we are convinced all other animals known for residing in Yellowstone, including bears and wolves, were in Lamar Valley during our trip. Better luck to us on our next visit to Yellowstone to see them!

Yellowstone Lake

The largest lake in the park, you can’t make out its shore edges from along the viewpoints on the Grand Loop Road drive. With many turn-outs along the stretch of the loop that runs along the shores of the Lake, visitors have many different points and perspectives from which to take in the enormity of this body of water, surrounded by mountains and trees. While we didn’t specifically seek it out, recreational activities such as boating and fishing are allowed at the Lake. Perhaps it was the time of day we were there, but this also seemed to be one of the quieter, more serene spots in the entire park if you’re looking for somewhere to park your car and just enjoy the views.

Hayden Valley

Centrally located, Hayden Valley is the first (and probably most frequently visited) place to see wildlife in the park. The road through the Valley is about 4 miles long, so pay attention once you descend from the shorelines of Yellowstone Lake, otherwise you may drive right through the Valley without realizing it! Fortunately, there were many vehicles stopped at various turnouts so we knew wildlife was somewhere within eyesight. Unfortunately, most of the wildlife were pretty far in the distance and required a good set of binoculars to get a decent look at them.

On our first drive through the valley, we saw a herd of bison off in the distance in the hills further east of Yellowstone River. They looked like little ants to me at that distance. On our second visit to the valley, we saw a few swans in Yellowstone River. While swans may sound commonplace, seeing them in the setting of the park gave them a whole different level of majesty.

Our second drive through the valley was a little later in the day than our first one. We noticed a lot of people had parked their cars and put out lawn chairs with no indication of leaving soon. We later learned from a ranger that there are known wolf dens in Hayden Valley and they tend to come out towards evening time. The ranger said that Yellowstone in September still has active bears, which outrank wolves on the predator totem pole. However, if you are willing to be patient, you can increase your chances of seeing some pretty incredible wild animals across the park.

Madison Valley

Madison Valley falls between the West Entrance and the Grand Loop Road at Yellowstone. This was our daily entry and exit point to the park from where we were staying in West Yellowstone, MT. A quiet, serene valley with the Madison River flowing to the south of the road, hills and forest beyond the the riverbed, and more forest to the north, Madison Valley provided a scenic way to start and end each day. We also got lucky with animal sightings (primarily bison and elk) in the area almost everyday. In fact, one evening we were able to witness the elk rut in action. Rangers told us that elk usually migrate south from Yellowstone in September, so we were lucky to see as many elk as we could.

Gibbon Falls

Right alongside the northwest segment of the Grand Loop Road, Gibbon Falls is a wide, 84 foot tall waterfall on the western side of Yellowstone. There is a paved pathway alongside the river feeding the falls and an outlook to the waterfall itself. There are portions of this attraction that require descending stairs to access. We stayed on the main pathway right by the parking lot and felt you got most of what you can of these falls without descending the stairs.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Close to Gardiner and the North Entrance, Mammoth Hot Springs is another popular visitor destination in Yellowstone. Walking the well-defined path around this attraction, you can see how the hot boiling hot spring water created natural terraces and pools in this area of the park. Walking the entirety of the hot springs took less than an hour. (One path is fully accessible, and another longer path has stairs / steep inclines.) Fortunately, the smell of sulfur wasn’t as heavy as one would expect in a hot spring area.

Lava Creek Canyon

After Mammoth Hot Springs, we visited the northern and northeastern parts of the Grand Loop Road. Shortly after passing the visitor center and village by Mammoth Hot Springs, we hit Lava Creek Canyon. We started to see a handful of bison walking in the grass about 10 feet from the road. As we kept driving, we kept seeing more bison… and then more bison… until we realized we were right by a herd (perhaps more than just one) of several hundred bison. At first a group walked alongside the road and then, one by one, started crossing the road to the south side of the Canyon. We shut off our cars and listened carefully as the bison grunted their way across the street. We sat there for a good 15 minutes before the bison gave us a chance to pass!

Insider Info on Lava Creek Canyon

• STAY IN YOUR CAR. We saw some people get out of their cars and walk next to bison for pictures and selfies. Bison are wild – even if you don’t think they notice you, the moment they do and if they feel threatened, there won’t be much for you to do to avoid the bison! There are videos on Youtube of some poor souls who tempted their fate!
• Turn off your car engine – this is more to save you precious gas and battery power. You could be sitting for a while.
• Don’t make loud noises (like accidentally touching the horn); the last thing you want is a spooked bison that starts a stampede!
• When you can start to drive, drive slowly. The bison will jump quickly out onto the road. You want to be able to stop in case they come in front of your car.

Road to Mt. Washburn from Lava Creek Canyon

Following the great bison crossing, we were at the edge of our seats for any other animals we could see along the way. Close to Tower Roosevelt Service Station, we saw a bull elk grazing in the field north to the road. Unfortunately, a ranger showed up and forced us to leave before we could get any pictures.

We stopped and looked at some additional attractions along the way:

• Petrified Tree – Formally a giant redwood, this rock is the last standing remnant of its kind in the area. You have to turn off the Grand Loop Road to get to the tree via a relatively narrow road. Once you hit the end of the road, there is a short path up to the tree from the end of the road. We opted to stay in the car to view the tree before we continued on our way sans picture.
• Tower Falls – Just beyond a General Store, there is a short path leading to the Tower Falls overlook. While you can hear the falls from the road, you can only see it by walking this short trail. Perhaps we missed the grandeur of these falls, but don’t think it compares to some of the attractions at Yellowstone.
• Mt. Washburn scenic drive – not officially its own drive (just the portion of the Grand Loop Road that takes visitors up Mt. Washburn), this road provides views of Yellowstone from a high viewpoint. Much of the windy road runs along a steep slope down the mountain – my knuckles were definitely white at points to carefully take the curves (the Southbound route is on the slope-side). If there is ever a place in the park I’d recommend heeding the speed limit, this would be it.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

While only 20 miles in length, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone does not lack in “wow” factor with two amazing waterfalls and a forceful river careening down a steep canyon. With several walking trails and outlooks along the Canyon, you can easily spend a day soaking it in. There are also several backcountry trails to the east of the Canyon for those interested to venture on the paths less traveled to see some lakes and potentially wild animals (would definitely recommend you go prepared with bear spray if you venture that way).

Visitors have access to viewpoints and hiking trails via two roads that run along the Canyon closest to the falls – North Rim Drive (closest to Grand Loop Road) and South Rim Drive (accessed by driving a cross a bridge over Yellowstone River).

The North Rim Drive and its various parking lots were packed (likely given its proximity to the Grand Loop Road). On our first pass through the North Rim Drive road (which starts about 1.2 miles south of Canyon Junction), we didn’t come across a single parking spot until we got about halfway through the drive to Grand View lookout. A short, paved trail down to the lookout, you can see how the river meanders through the canyon on its way north. We also found pamphlets at this spot providing more detailed descriptions of each of the outlooks and trails. Please note, visitors are asked to either return the pamphlet in good condition or donate $1 if they wish to keep it.

From there, we drove to Inspiration Point. Visitors do have the option of walking (as noted before), but we wanted to walk along the South Rim after. The view platforms at Inspiration Point are accessed by descending stairs. The signs indicate the size of each staircase, if that is a concern for you.

Both views were scenic, but we were too far down the canyon to see either the Upper or Lower Falls. On our way to South Rim Drive, we stopped off at the Brink of Lower Falls Outlook. Fortunately there were more spots at the parking lot closer to this outlook. A short downhill path followed by a set of stairs brings visitors right up to the Yellowstone River as it starts rushing over the cliff to form the Lower Falls. The viewing platform is right at the top part of the cliff edge, bringing visitors right up to the top of the waterfall. Protected from the spray lifting from the bottom of the falls, visitors can catch the rainbow created as the spray mixes with the sun.

By the time we got to the South Rim Drive, the volume of visitors seemed to have dissipated a little. We were able to easily find a parking spot in the lot by the Upper Falls overlook. From here, you get the iconic view of the falls with the bridge over Yellowstone River.

We opted to walk to Artist Point from the Upper Falls viewpoint. Visitors do have the option to drive, for those who don’t like to hike. The South Rim Trail follows along the cliffside on one side and forest on the other side. We’d consider it an easy to moderate difficulty. The trail is well marked, mostly with small inclines and up and down. A few spots had steeper grades, and the hiking poles came in handy to help us along the way.

Along the trail, there are a few well defined viewpoints (usually a concrete platform with guardrails and a bench). About 1/2 a mile down the trail from Upper Falls, you’ll get to the first viewpoint for Lower Falls, the taller of the waterfalls. While the closer view from the South Rim Trail, parts of the fall were covered by trees and the folding canyon walls.

Most of the other viewpoints provided views of the river below and the steep canyon walls. The walk was quiet and pleasant with the sounds of the river running below. Yellowstone in September has reduced crowds but it was far from quiet, unlike some of the other National Parks we’ve visited such as Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Hiking this trail offered us some much-desired escape from the crowds!

The final portion of our journey to Artist Point took us through the visitor parking lot to the paved trail down to the large, built-out viewpoint. Visitors need to descend stairs, walk across a lower viewing platform, and then climb another set to get a straight view of the Lower Falls at the far end of the Canyon, with Yellowstone River flowing from the base of the falls towards Artist Point.

While most of the viewpoints were crowded (as one would expect), the hikes and views around the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone were some of my favorite of the trip.

Grand Prismatic Spring (and other Hot Springs)

All along the western part of the Grand Loop Road you’ll see steam rising from the ground; sometimes in small amounts, other times it looks like a fog cloud rolling in. The southwest corner of the Grand Loop Road has clusters of the famous hot springs and geysers that comprise Yellowstone. Well defined, platform trails are built around the springs for visitors to get close without getting hurt.

The Grand Prismatic Spring – the “crown jewel” – announces its presence to vehicles with the volume of steam lifting from its surface. The platform trail to Grand Prismatic Spring is marked as “one-way” to keep an organized flow of foot traffic. There are a few benches at the foot of the spring; few people sat, many used them to stand on to get as high a view of the spring as possible. While I’m not sure if it was the way the Spring always gives off steam or it was the weather of the day, but it was hard to get a decent view of the spring beyond its outer edges. Nonetheless, I can still say I’ve seen it!

Insider Info on the Hot Springs

• The parking lots are quite small and you’ll likely be waiting 10 minutes to get a spot. Fortunately the Fountain Paint Pot Trail lot had quick turnover so a bit of patience here goes a long way. The lot for the Grand Prismatic Spring did not turn over as quickly. If the parking lot is full, I’d recommend parking along the side of the road by the entrance (you’ll likely see other cars parked there anyway) and walking.
• The area does get windy (especially by the Grand Prismatic Spring). Be sure to secure any baseball caps you wear else be prepared to say goodbye to them forever!
• DO NOT touch the water! It is boiling hot and you will get hurt!!

Old Faithful

Old Faithful is located about halfway on the southwest portion of the Grand Loop Road. There is a full boardwalk and trail built out in the area to other springs for visitors to walk to. Several benches are set up around Old Faithful for visitors to sit at in anticipation of watching the spring of water come out of the ground.

The estimated eruption time is available online, as well as within the visitor center. If you miss the eruption or want to stick around for the next one, there is fortunately plenty to do at the Old Faithful visitor stop. With gift shops, NPS visitor centers, restaurants, and walking paths to other geysers close by, you can easily pass time to view the next eruption. A lot of people gather to view the eruption, so be sure to get there with plenty of time to get your chosen viewing spot!

The restrooms in the visitor center are probably the nicest in the whole park, so do take advantage while you’re here.

Where to Stay When Visiting Yellowstone in September

You may wonder where to stay with so many amazing things to see all around the park! We were looking at staying in Gardiner, MT prior to the floods taking place. Given the road closures, we shifted our stay to West Yellowstone, MT. Each entrance (when open) provides its own unique advantage to visiting Yellowstone – whether it’s by proximity to geysers or a valley of wild animals. When determining where to stay, you may want to consider the following:

• How far from an entrance / Grand Loop Road do you want to be?
  West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and Cooke City are all very close to entrances, but West Yellowstone and Gardiner are closest to the Grand Loop Road
• What feature(s) do you want to have the option of seeing everyday? Wild animals? Geysers? Canyons and waterfalls?
  We saw a lot of wild animals along the northern portion of the Grand Loop Road; Gardiner and Cooke City would be the closest towns to that area of the park. Geysers and hot springs are located along the western side of the Grand Loop Road; Gardiner and West Yellowstone provide best access to these features, with West Yellowstone edging ahead with its proximity to visitor favorites like Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring. For the most direct access to canyons and waterfalls, West Yellowstone provides closest access to these features on the west side of the park; Gardiner and West Yellowstone provide the shortest routes to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone located on the east side.
• Do you want to minimize driving time to the main areas of the park or don’t mind a longer route?
  If like me, you don’t want to drive at night but want to maximize time in the park, staying at either West Yellowstone or Gardiner may be the way to go. But if you don’t mind night time driving to see what animals may come out or get pictures of the sky without a lot of light pollution, then Cooke City, Cody, or Jackson Hole may be the way to go.

Before you book your stay, look at the map and driving distances from the park to where you are staying! You will likely take longer than what online maps suggest because you’ll inevitably stop for something on the way back!

We landed up booking our stay in West Yellowstone, MT for this trip. Wanting to maximize time in the park, this was the best option for us (especially given that access from Gardiner was closed to private vehicles). One thing was less than ideal about staying in West Yellowstone – the sun would be in my eyes almost every evening on the drive back to where we were staying. The sun visors in the car did little to help.

Insider Info on Where to Stay

Keep your front windshield clean – both inside and outside!! That helped reduce the “blinding” effect from the sun.

Final Thoughts on Yellowstone in September

Yellowstone in September has a lot to offer and is not a one-day visit. Some final tips for your visit:

• Build an itinerary organized based on what you want to see in each corner of the park – focusing your time in each area will allow you to maximize what you get to see.
• Be prepared to stop and look at wildlife, but don’t get too close! They are wild and will protect themselves if they feel threatened.
• Look far and wide for animals, especially in large fields – I often drove slow so we could scout for animals. Valleys and fields will be your best bets to spot an animal.
• Use the turnouts to look at the animals and take pictures – no need to get nudged along by the park rangers.

Have you been to Yellowstone in September? Did you find the reduced crowds to make it a more enjoyable trip, or do you prefer a summer trip? Leave a comment below!