Yellowstone is the original national park and still one of the best places in North America for watching large wildlife in the open. Bison, elk, wolves, grizzly bears, moose — all visible from the road or short hikes, particularly in the Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley. Add in geysers, hot springs and a landscape shaped by a supervolcano, and it earns every bit of its reputation.
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Wildlife Viewing
Lamar Valley in the northeast corner is the best spot. Dawn and dusk are prime time. Drive the valley road slowly with binoculars and you are likely to see bison herds, pronghorn, coyotes and possibly wolves. The Druid Peak and Junction Butte wolf packs are regularly visible from pullouts. Bring a spotting scope or stop where you see other scopes set up — the wolf-watching community is generous with sharing their optics.
Hayden Valley in the center of the park is another good area — bison herds, occasional grizzlies, and pelicans on the Yellowstone River.
Keep your distance. 100 yards from bears and wolves, 25 yards from bison and elk. People get gored by bison every year because they walk up too close for photos.
Geysers and Hot Springs
Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes — check the predicted time at the visitor center. Grand Prismatic Spring is the most visually stunning feature in the park — a massive hot spring ringed in orange, yellow and green bacterial mats. The Fairy Falls trailhead overlook gives the best aerial perspective.
Mammoth Hot Springs has travertine terraces that are constantly changing. Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest and most dynamic. Midway Geyser Basin has Grand Prismatic.
Getting There
Multiple entrances: West Yellowstone (Montana) is the busiest, Gardiner (Montana) for the north entrance, Cody (Wyoming) for the east. The nearest airports are West Yellowstone (summer only), Bozeman, Jackson Hole and Billings. A car is essential — the park loop road is 230km and there is no public transit inside the park.