8-Days in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

Here is my 8-day itinerary for exploring both Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks! My husband and I joined my dad, sister, and my sister's dog for a roadtrip through the parks for my sister's 30th birthday, with our aunt and uncle joining us partway through. Because we were celebrating a birthday, our trip was in July which was peak time. This meant all our lodging was more expensive than usual and the towns were very busy. Despite this, we were able to find a lot of peaceful moments in the parks. I think doing this trip in September would have been my choice! Because of how expensive lodging was, and the fact that we were traveling with a dog, we had to stay a bit farther from the entrances than I would have liked, but it was totally doable. I will say that the weather was absolutely beautiful this time of year, though. It was low 70s most days! The Jackson Hole area was a little warmer, but never higher than 80.

I was surprised to find that we all loved Yellowstone the most after our trip was finished. We love to wildlife spot and Yellowstone is by far the best park for this! I was initially concerned because almost every picture I have seen of Yellowstone was of geysers and I'm sorry to say it, but: I don't like nor care about geysers. So I was definitely blown away by the beauty of Yellowstone. I think I would have liked Grand Tetons more if I could have done some harder hikes back in the mountains, but it was overall very crowded and felt like a lot of pull-offs of the same view (though an extremely stunning one). If I were to do the trip again, I would shave a day off Tetons to add to Yellowstone, probably to spend in the northern part of the park near Gardiner.

For this itinerary, we started in Yellowstone and moved south to the Tetons, but the trip can easily be done either direction. My husband and I also prioritized time and proximity and flew into and out of more local airports, but Salt Lake City is another option that is much more affordable (with way cheaper rental cars, too). I cannot emphasize enough how vast Yellowstone is. We stayed in multiple locations to cover the park and still did not even see the eastern side. It is a lot of driving, but so worth it. My sister brought her dog but because of wildlife, dogs are not allowed on trails in either park; while she was fine sitting with her dog at overlooks and parking lots (where they are allowed), I would not advise bringing a dog. Especially if you want to hike!

Day 1: Depart

My husband and I were supposed to fly in this day to Bozeman, MT. There were storms that caused our first flight to be delayed enough that we would miss our connection, so we opted to rebook for the next morning. My dad and sister drove in from Denver, which was about 10 hours. We stayed in this lovely Airbnb in Emigrant, MT. I would have preferred to stay in Gardiner, MT--which was closer to the park--but because we traveled during peak season with a dog, we had limited options. This house was about 40 minutes from the park entrance and while it was a bit quirky on the inside, it had stunning views. We all agreed that the view from our Airbnb window was one of the best mountain views we had the whole trip!

Day 2: Upper Yellowstone

My husband and I finally arrived! We had an early flight and grabbed lunch in Bozeman before driving about 45 minutes to the Airbnb, which we got to around 1pm. My dad and sister had a slow morning waking up, doing some grocery shopping, and enjoying the beauty of the property. By the time we arrived, they were ready to go! So after dropping off our bags, we opted to drive together in my large SUV rental; all four adults and one dog!

Before entering the park, my husband and I needed some coffee due to our early start so we stopped at Yellowstone Perk. I am still mad at myself for not buying a sweatshirt here; they had a super cute collection of items but I was pretty tired and thought I would see more options later. But alas, I was largely disappointed in the selections at the National Park gift stores across both parks (I was similarly disappointed in Arches National Park the previous year). I ended up buying clothing souvenirs on Etsy afterwards!

Our goal for the day was to drive through the Lamar Valley to see wildlife and it was quite a success. I think in part this was due to our late-in-the-day start since we finally entered the park probably around 2:30pm. My dad and sister did the same drive late morning/early afternoon the next day and did not see as much. Our first sighting came after turning onto the Grand Loop Rd from Mammoth: while crossing the Sheepeater Canyon Bridge, my dad and I both looked out our windows into the canyon and saw a black bear! We drove the loop road through Tower Junction to about the area labeled Soda Butte on Google Maps, which was where we turned around. Along the way we saw multiple more black bears, coyotes, thousands of bison (not an exaggeration), elk, antelope, a badger, and an osprey nest. This drive, roundtrip to our Airbnb, probably took approximately 4 hours. It did not feel super long, and we enjoyed getting out at all the stops. If we had had the full day like originally planned, I probably would have tried to do the Hellroaring Creek Trail to the suspension bridge. We ended the night with dinner at our Airbnb!

I would note that this part of Yellowstone had basically no cell reception (the four of us on the trip represented three different cell providers).

Day 3: Upper to West Yellowstone

We checked out of our Airbnb to transition to the western side of the park, near West Yellowstone, MT. My husband and I split off from my dad, sister, and her dog. They went back to the Lamar Valley and while they did not see as much wildlife as the day before, they did see a few more black bears--even a cinnamon-colored one! They also did the more private dirt road Blacktail Drive for some off-roading experience.

My husband and I grabbed lunch in Gardiner and had a little picnic in Mammoth. While you can see the famous hot springs from the village area, neither of our groups actually went and saw it. Hot springs were not as high as wildlife and hiking on our list of things we wanted to do! The village of Mammoth was cute and had a cafeteria, multiple stores, a hotel with a restaurant, ice cream, etc. But it was quite crowded so we did not linger long. My husband and I originally thought we might want to do a longer hike (such as Grizzly Lake or Bunsen Peak), but we weren't feeling it. Instead, we headed south (same direction as either of those hikes) and stopped at several beautiful pull-offs before eventually heading east on Norris Canyon Road, next to the Norris Basin. This took us to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which was on my bucket list to see; I love seeing the paintings of this view at the National Portrait Gallery in DC!

We chose to park at the Upper Falls View, which was beautiful, and hike from there to Artist Point (it is on AllTrails here). This was an easy hike with gorgeous views of the canyon the entire way. We mostly had it to ourselves! The hike takes you along the rim from the Upper Falls parking lot to the Artist Point parking lot, so you can definitely drive and take in the same views. But to us, the hike was definitely worth it and offered a more unique perspective of the canyon. The view from Artist Point was stunning. We did not go to the northern rim, but you could similarly drive to multiple viewpoints, with the famous one being Inspiration Point. (P.S. we did have great cell service here!)

Afterwards, my husband and I drove back along Norris Canyon Road and then south to the West Yellowstone exit. Along the way, we did stop at the Artists' Paintpots, a geothermal area known for its colorful pools. It was a quick walk, but kind of underwhelming. The Gibbon Falls pull-off was quite beautiful, though! On our way out of the park, following the road to the West Yellowstone entrance along the Madison River, both my husband and I and my sister and dad got caught in approximately 50 extra minutes of stand-still traffic because tourists parked their car on a two-lane road and left it there to take pictures of a black bear despite soooo many signs saying do not stop. Please never be this person and respect the wildlife and park rules!

We stayed at Ponds Lodge in Island Park, ID. This cabin was amazing and by far our favorite of the trip and definitely in our top favorite Airbnbs ever! Everyone had their own room and bathroom, it had a lot of nice touches like tons of blankets for the couch, everything was well stocked, and it had a washer and dryer. It was a bit in the middle of nowhere and off a main road, but that did not bother us. The lodge community had a gas station, a convenience store, and a restaurant. Since we got back so late (thanks, dumb tourists), we just ordered takeout dinner from the lodge restaurant and it was great. They recommend booking through their website for a better price.

Day 4: West and Lower Yellowstone

Today was the 4th of July! On our way into the park, we stopped at Espresso West Bake Shop since it was outside of the main bustle of downtown West Yellowstone and I needed coffee. The coffee was great, the baked goods were delicious, and the staff were very nice. Highly recommend! After entering the park via the West Yellowstone entrance, we headed south towards Old Faithful. We did a quick detour at Fountain Flats, which was an area known for spotting bison. While we did not see any, we saw several birds and it was nice to walk around a bit. We also stopped at Biscuit Basin, which had a short boardwalk to see some cool, vibrantly colored geysers. Now onto the Yellowstone classic! Old Faithful erupts almost every hour, and they are good about predicting the timing on the park service page. We got there at a good time to explore the gift store, grab a bite to eat, and walk over to see it erupt. The area was quite crowded, but watching it erupt was pretty cool.

After wrapping up, we knew we wanted to head east to see Yellowstone Lake but also decided to head back up to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone because my dad and sister were jealous that we got to see it the day before. On the way towards the lake, we did a brief stop at the Keppler Cascades. It was beautiful! Once at the lake, we parked in the West Thumb parking lot and meant to do the Overlook Trail, which I heard was good for birders like my dad and sister. Instead, we accidentally did the West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail. This was a nice trail with pretty views and it was cool to see the juxtaposition of the geyers and the lake. The views driving along the lake while heading north were very beautiful. We stopped a few times at pull-offs to admire it and birdwatch!

Next up was the highlight of our day: Hayden Valley. It was goregously green while we were there and we saw several bison and elk grazing. We then saw a grizzly bear! It was pretty far away, but easily identifiable through our binoculars. It was so cool. Then back in the car ten minutes down the road, we saw another one! This one was much closer to the road and easy to see. This was our first time ever seeing grizzly bears, which are distinguished by the hump on their shoulders and shorter snout.

Shortly after, we drove straight to the Artist Point parking lot so my dad and sister could go see the view while my husband and I stayed in the car and watched the dog. It was somewhat late by this point, so we started heading back to our Airbnb right after. There was a convenient gas station and convenience store in the Canyon Village area. On our way back out near the West Yellowstone entrance, there was a little dirt path that takes you closer to the river for a few hundred feet that we had noticed and wanted to try on our way out. I almost missed the sign, but we--somewhat dramatically--veered onto the road and immediately witnessed a bald eagle diving and catching a fish. It then landed just on the other side of the riverbank and let us take several photos. A very cool end to our day! We had dinner back at our Airbnb's restaurant. Driving-wise, we spent about 5 hours in the car total (not counting our frequent stops).

Day 5: Tetons

We checked out of our favorite Airbnb to head to our next national park: Grand Tetons. Originally, my sister, her dog, and my dad likely would have headed straight from Island Park, ID to Teton Village, WY via the most direct route down through Idaho and outside of the park which would have taken 2 hours. Meanwhile, my husband and I probably would have taken the longer drive back through the park/past Old Faithful, which would have taken 5 hours; we love scenic views and vibing while we drive! But my sister and dad had gotten a bit of a hankering for off-roading, so they wanted to try Ashton-Flagg Ranch Rd. This was a primarily gravel road that takes you through wilderness area and deposits you just between Yellowstone's south entrance and Grand Teton's north entrance. We decided to join them (in my rental SUV) and followed them to Ashton, ID where we filled up on gas and grabbed some snacks and lunch. Once on Ashton-Flagg Ranch Rd, our views most of the way were just dense forests and the dirt cloud from my sister's car in front. It was still beautiful, though. My favorite part was the last stretch where it opens up more and you can see mountains and grassy fields. We did not see any wildlife, though! Since the road was gravel, you had to drive pretty slow (about 25-30mph) and we did not run into very many people. My rental SUV handled it just fine!

Ashton-Flagg Ranch Rd. ends at Headwaters Lodge & Cabins, which was a nice stop. It had a very good gift store, a restaurant, and a convenience store. From there, we headed south until our jaws were dropping at our first views of Jackson Lake and we had to stop at a pull-off. I had somehow survived without coffee until this point, so we made a quick stop at Colter's Bay for some surprisingly good cold brew before continuing onto our Airbnb in Teton Village via another pull-off or two. The views the entire way were stunning; Grand Tetons was very picturesque!

Our Airbnb was conveniently located in Teton Village, which sits just outside of Jackson Hole. We discovered that the July 4th holiday weekend is consistently Jackson Hole's busiest time of year by a large margin and the crowds downtown definitely reflected that. Teton Village was a nice resort community with several restaurants, shops, and convenience stores that were all very walkable, so we mainly spent our time there if we were not in the park. After getting to our Airbnb, we met up with my aunt and uncle who were joining us and had dinner at the Mangy Moose which was very good.

Day 6: Tetons

For our first full day in Grand Tetons National Park, we mostly focused on dog-friendly scenic viewpoints and short hikes. We attempted to grab some coffee in Jackson Hole, but it was insanely crowded with long lines. So instead, our first stop was Schwabacher Landing. This viewpoint had a nice little trail along the river with beautiful views of the mountains! We then made our way to Snake River Overlook, which was a beautiful pull-off area.

For lunch, we went to Signal Mountain Lodge which--like everything in this park--had beautiful views. The restaurant was quite large (and so were the portions!) so we were seated pretty quickly. Dogs were not allowed on the outdoor patio, so my sister ordered to-go and had a picnic elsewhere. It was good! After filling up, we drove up to the very top of Signal Mountain and enjoyed wandering around. It was cool to see the more classic views of the Tetons but also the views of the surrounding valley.

Afterwards, we went back to Colter's Bay for the Swan Lake and Heron Pond Trail, which I heard was a nice and easy hike for birders. We loved it! It had some very nice views of the mountains, woods, and ponds. It was also mostly flat and had a lot of good spots to stop and lookout for birds, which we saw so many of! Including several bald eagles (juveniles, too), swans and their babies, coots, and more. By the time we were finished, it was later in the evening and my sister, her dog, and my dad wanted to go off and do more wildlife spotting while my husband, aunt, uncle, and myself were ready to go back to Teton Village. We went together to the Oxbow Bend lookout for some final views before breaking off. Back in Teton Village, we had a really nice dinner at Spur Restaurant before calling it a night.

Day 7: Tetons

For our last full day in Grand Tetons, we decided to finally brave Jenny Lake. When we were there (July 2026), the park was experiencing a lot of construction on main roads that made getting around quite difficult and time-consuming. But overall, it was not as bad as people had told us it would be. While yes, we did have to wait in a line of standstill traffic for a bit while they closed the road both directions to do work in spurts, it was fun; people got out of their cars, we played hacky sack, the woods were beautiful. But this ultimately meant we got to Jenny Lake a little on the later side, around 1100/1200. We circled the main lot a few times and were able to nab two parking spots. The views here are stunning and definitely worth dealing with the crowds! We opted to take the boat across the lake to do the Inspiration Point to Canyon Trail Loop; waiting in the long line and taking the boat took about an hour during peak time. The trail was very nice and while uphill, it was very manageable. Definitely take the slight detour to Hidden Falls! I chose this specific trail for Inspiration Point because it was a loop (vs an out-and-back), we did not want anything too long since my sister and her dog were waiting for us on the other side of the lake, and I also did not want anything super strenuous because of the varying fitness levels of my group. This specific loop was a little weird as the last half seemed to be down more of a horse trail. But we had that part completely to ourselves! Which scared my aunt a little because of bears, but the rest of us thought it was so nice and peaceful. Plus, we had our bear mace!

After we finished our hike, my dad waited in the long line to go back to the visitor center area on the boat; we had bought a roundtrip ticket for him because he was lugging a lot of camera gear, but they also have an option to buy fare back while you wait in the line. My husband, aunt, uncle, and myself opted to hike back to the visitor center via a portion of the Jenny Lake Loop Trail, which ended up being about 2.5 miles. It was really quite beautiful and a little more up and down than I was expecting. Towards the end, we were all pretty tired because we had hiked through lunch and I was running low on water. The visitor center was a welcome site! My dad beat us back by about 20 minutes.

Once we were all reunited, we decided we were hungry and wanted an early dinner. Because it was early (5pm), we were easily able to go to Hatch Taquería & Tequilas in Jackson Hole. It had a lovely, covered patio area that allowed dogs and the food was delicious! We ended our day by visiting Mormon Row and seeing the iconic barns before heading back to Teton Village to relax while my dad and sister and her dog went wildlife spotting at dusk.

Day 8: Depart

Sadly, we all had to leave. My dad and sister had a long drive to Colorado and the rest of us had flights out of Jackson Hole airport at different times. While my aunt, uncle, dad, and sister had a final brunch together at the Mangy Moose, my husband and I said our goodbyes and went out on our own. We had our own brunch at the delicious Persephone Bakery (Westbank) and quickly checked out the really cool National Museum of Wildlife Art. The Jackson Hole Airport was located right next to the park and was probably one of the more beautiful places we have flown out of. We lined up outside to board our flight, giving us our final glimpses of an incredibly beautiful place.