After being picked up from your Jackson hotel, we will make our way through Grand Teton National Park and then enter Yellowstone at the south entrance. Our initial stops may include Lewis Falls, Lewis Canyon and Lewis Lake, before we get to West Thumb Geyser Basin, lying alongside Yellowstone Lake.
From there we will continue north on the east side of the lower loop, past Lake Hotel and Fishing Bridge, to the Hayden Valley, where you can expect to see a lot of wildlife.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, an unexpected surprise amongst the thermal wonders, is close by, and we will visit both the north and south rims of the Canyon, taking in the Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls. We will head west across the road that divides Yellowstone’s lower loop from the upper loop towards Norris Geyser Basin, which we will tour tomorrow. Traveling south on the west side of the lower loop, we’ll pass Gibbon Falls on the Gibbon River, as we make our way to the part of the park where the main geyser basins are located.
The first of these is the Lower Geyser Basin, home to Fountain Paint Pot, followed by the Midway Geyser Basin and both Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring. Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin are just a short distance up the road. Time permitting, other locations we may visit in this part of the park include Firehole Lake Drive, as well as Biscuit and Black Sand Basins, before we retrace our steps towards the small town of West Yellowstone, right outside the park, where you will spend the night.
The next morning you will start touring Yellowstone’s upper loop. Leaving West Yellowstone we will once again travel through the Madison Valley, this time turning left or north at Madison Junction, towards Norris Geyser Basin, where you will visit both Porcelain Basin and Back Basin. The road to Mammoth Hot Springs goes past Roaring Mountain, and then alongside both Swan Lake and Golden Gate, before dropping down to Fort Yellowstone at Mammoth Hot Springs, which is Yellowstone’s headquarters.
You can explore the ever changing travertine terraces before we make our way towards the Lamar Valley, and the road to Yellowstone’s north east entrance. The Lamar Valley is known for its wildlife, with bison, elk, pronghorn, coyote and bighorn sheep amongst the species frequenting the area. This part of Yellowstone is also the best place to try and find wolves, and there is also a chance of seeing bears.
Rejoining the upper loop, we will travel towards Tower Falls, before making our way over Dunraven Pass, the highest road in Yellowstone. Dropping down the other side we’ll arrive at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which we visited yesterday. We will now make our way back past Norris and through the Madison Valley, to West Yellowstone, from where you will return to your hotel in Jackson.