Yellowstone and Grand Teton: Lamar Valley, Old Faithful and Jenny Lake

1. Day 1: Bozeman and Paradise Valley to Gardiner

   Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport to Livingston, then south through Paradise Valley to Gardiner

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Gardiner
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) in Belgrade, Montana, and land by about 3 pm; we confirm the group pick-up times with your final itinerary. Your See Sight Tours guide meets you in arrivals, and we drive east past Bozeman and over Bozeman Pass to Livingston, then south through Paradise Valley, with the Yellowstone River beside the road and the Absaroka Range rising to the east. It is about 145 km and under two hours, with a stop at a river pullout to stretch your legs. Gardiner sits at the park's north entrance, the only one open to cars all year, and the town is small enough to walk end to end. Check in, then stroll to the Roosevelt Arch, built in 1903 and inscribed 'For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People'. In the evening your guide briefs the group on the week ahead: distances from wildlife, bear spray, layers for cold mornings, and why tomorrow starts in the dark. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner in town.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN)
   • Drive through Paradise Valley with your guide
   • The Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance
   • Welcome briefing and welcome dinner in Gardiner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

2. Day 2: Lamar Valley at dawn

   Gardiner to Mammoth, Tower Junction and Lamar Valley, then back by Tower Fall

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Gardiner
   Day 2 details

   This is the one early start of the week, and it is worth it. We leave Gardiner about an hour and a quarter before sunrise (about 4:15 am in late June, nearer 5:45 am in mid-September) and drive through Mammoth and past Tower Junction into Lamar Valley, about 75 km, arriving as the light comes up. Wolves, bison, pronghorn, elk and sometimes grizzly bears are most active at dawn, and a local wildlife guide joins us with spotting scopes and news of which packs and herds have been seen that week. Sightings are never promised, but the valley at first light, with bison spread across the flats and the river below, is the Yellowstone most visitors miss. Breakfast is in the field at a pullout above the valley, with hot drinks. Mid-morning we head back by the Tower Fall overlook, where Tower Creek drops about 40 m between volcanic pinnacles, and sit down to lunch near Mammoth or in Gardiner. The afternoon is yours to rest after the early start.

   Included

   • Lamar Valley at dawn with a local wildlife guide and spotting scopes
   • Field breakfast in the valley
   • Tower Fall overlook
   • Sit-down lunch near Mammoth or in Gardiner

   Optional experiences

   • Half-day whitewater rafting on the Yellowstone River from Gardiner in the afternoon (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Stay by the van at each pullout and watch through the spotting scopes; nothing today needs more than a few steps.

   More active option: The short, steep walk up to Trout Lake, about 2 km round trip, where otters are sometimes seen.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Gardiner

   Activity: Dress for near-freezing temperatures at dawn, even in July. Wildlife jams can add 30 minutes or more to the drive.

   

3. Day 3: Mammoth, Norris and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

   Gardiner to Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Canyon and Hayden Valley, then to West Yellowstone

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in West Yellowstone
   Day 3 details

   We are at the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces by 8 am, before the tour traffic, and walk the boardwalks of the Main Terrace, where hot water has laid down travertine in white, cream and orange steps. Elk often graze on the lawns of the old Fort Yellowstone buildings. Then it is about 34 km south to Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest and most changeable of the park's basins and home to Steamboat Geyser, whose major eruptions come without warning, sometimes years apart; the Porcelain Basin loop takes about an hour. At Canyon we sit down to lunch, then stand at Artist Point to see the Lower Falls, 94 m high, between the yellow and rose walls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Hayden Valley, a few kilometres south, is where bison gather in summer, so we spend the late afternoon there before driving through Norris and Madison to West Yellowstone. About 150 km and three and a half hours of driving, split by stops at Mammoth, Norris, Canyon and Hayden Valley; the longest stretch is the last, about an hour and a half from Hayden Valley to West Yellowstone.

   Included

   • Mammoth Hot Springs terraces at 8 am with your guide
   • Norris Geyser Basin and the Porcelain Basin loop
   • Sit-down lunch at Canyon Village
   • Artist Point and the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone
   • Hayden Valley in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Stay on the level paths at Artist Point and Lookout Point and skip the Porcelain Basin loop at Norris.

   More active option: The Brink of the Lower Falls trail, about 1.3 km round trip with a steep climb of about 180 m back up, to stand where the river goes over.

   Free time: Evening free in West Yellowstone

   Activity: About 3 to 4 km of walking in all, on boardwalks with some stairs at Mammoth.

4. Day 4: Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful

   West Yellowstone to Midway Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, then back by the Grand Prismatic overlook

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in West Yellowstone
   Day 4 details

   We leave West Yellowstone at 7 am and drive about 40 km to Midway Geyser Basin to walk the boardwalk around Grand Prismatic Spring at about 7:45, before the small car park fills. Early on it steams heavily, so we come back for the colour later. Old Faithful is about 10 km on. Rangers post a predicted time for each eruption, so we time our arrival and watch from the benches. Then we walk the Upper Geyser Basin along the Firehole River, past Castle and Grand Geysers, to the deep blue of Morning Glory Pool, about 2.5 km each way. Lunch is at Old Faithful, then a look inside the Old Faithful Inn, the log hotel opened in 1904. In the early afternoon, when the steam has thinned and the sun is high, we drive a short way back north to the Fairy Falls trailhead, about 1.5 km south of Midway, and walk the 1.9 km round trip to the Grand Prismatic overlook, about 30 m above the basin. That small lot fills in the afternoon, so the van drops us there. Then we return to West Yellowstone for a free evening.

   Included

   • Grand Prismatic Spring from the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk at about 7:45 am
   • An Old Faithful eruption
   • The Upper Geyser Basin to Morning Glory Pool with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch at Old Faithful
   • The Old Faithful Inn lobby
   • The Grand Prismatic overlook in the early afternoon

   Easier option: Walk only the first part of the Upper Geyser Basin and watch a second Old Faithful eruption from the benches, then ride the van to the overlook trailhead and wait there if you prefer.

   More active option: Carry on past the overlook to Fairy Falls, 61 m high, about 8 km round trip on a flat trail from the trailhead.

   Free time: Evening free in West Yellowstone

   Activity: About 6 to 7 km of walking on boardwalks and level trails, plus a short climb of about 30 m to the overlook from the Fairy Falls trailhead. Stay on the boardwalks: the ground in the basins is thin and scalding.

   

5. Day 5: Yellowstone Lake and south to Jackson

   West Yellowstone to Craig Pass, West Thumb and Lewis Falls, then through the South Entrance to Colter Bay, Oxbow Bend and Jackson

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Jackson
   Day 5 details

   A travel day built around stops rather than miles. We leave West Yellowstone at 8 am, pass Old Faithful, and climb to Craig Pass, where the road crosses the Continental Divide at about 2,520 m. West Thumb Geyser Basin sits on the shore of Yellowstone Lake, the largest lake above 2,100 m in North America, and its boardwalk passes hot pools that run right to the edge of the cold water; we give it about 45 minutes. South along the Lewis River we stop at Lewis Falls, leave the park by the South Entrance and follow the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway into Grand Teton National Park. Lunch is a sit-down meal at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake, with the range across the water. In the afternoon we stop at Oxbow Bend, where the Snake River curls below Mount Moran and moose, otters and white pelicans use the shallows, then drive the valley to Jackson. About 205 km and four to four and a half hours of driving at park speed limits, the longest day, broken by five stops and a sit-down lunch; we arrive by about 5 pm.

   Included

   • Craig Pass on the Continental Divide
   • West Thumb Geyser Basin on Yellowstone Lake
   • Lewis Falls
   • Sit-down lunch at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake
   • Oxbow Bend and Mount Moran

   Free time: Evening free in Jackson

   Activity: The longest drive of the trip, about 4 to 4.5 hours including time for wildlife jams, with stops at Craig Pass, West Thumb, Lewis Falls, Colter Bay and Oxbow Bend. Short level boardwalk at West Thumb.

6. Day 6: A lake morning in Grand Teton

   Jackson to Schwabacher Landing and Jenny Lake, then Moose and back to Jackson

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jackson
   Day 6 details

   This morning is spent at the water below the range. We leave Jackson at about 6:30 am for Schwabacher Landing, where beaver ponds beside the Snake River reflect the range in the still early air, then drive on to Jenny Lake to be on one of the first shuttle boats across. The crossing takes about 12 minutes (the boat is included), and from the west shore dock a rocky trail climbs to Hidden Falls and on to Inspiration Point, about 125 m above the lake, with the view east across the water to the valley. The boat brings us back by late morning. Lunch is a sit-down meal at Moose, then we visit the log Chapel of the Transfiguration, whose window frames the Grand Teton, at 4,199 m the highest peak in the range, and Menor's Ferry, a rebuilt Snake River crossing from the 1890s. We are back in Jackson by about 2:30 pm. The afternoon is free for the Town Square and its elk antler arches, the National Museum of Wildlife Art or a rest, and in the evening we meet for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Schwabacher Landing in the early morning
   • Jenny Lake shuttle boat across and back
   • Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch at Moose
   • The Chapel of the Transfiguration and Menor's Ferry
   • Farewell dinner in Jackson

   Easier option: Walk only the short way to Hidden Falls, or stay on the east shore and walk the level lakeside path while the others climb.

   More active option: Carry on past Inspiration Point into Cascade Canyon for an hour or so before turning back, about 6 to 8 km round trip from the dock.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Jackson

   Activity: About 3 km round trip from the dock to Inspiration Point on a rocky trail with steps, climbing about 125 m.

   

7. Day 7: Mormon Row and home from Jackson Hole

   Jackson to the Gros Ventre River, Antelope Flats and Mormon Row, then Jackson Hole Airport

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   A last morning in the valley before your flight. We leave Jackson at about 7:30 am, when the sun is full on the east face of the Tetons, and drive north to the Gros Ventre River, where moose browse the willows in the early hours. Antelope Flats is just beyond, wide sagebrush where bison and pronghorn graze. On Mormon Row the weathered barns of homesteads settled by Mormon families from the 1890s stand in front of the range, a classic view of the Tetons, and we give it time for pictures without a crowd of coaches. Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) is a short drive away on the valley floor, inside Grand Teton National Park, and we drop you there by about 11 am. Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm. If you are staying on in Jackson, we take you back to town instead, and your guide says goodbye there.

   Included

   • The Gros Ventre River and Antelope Flats
   • Mormon Row and its homestead barns
   • Drop-off at Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), or in Jackson

   Easier option: For a morning flight we go straight from the hotel to the airport, about 15 minutes.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Jackson Hole Airport after about 1 pm to join the morning drive.

Wildlife and weather: June brings bison calves and snow on the high peaks, with cold mornings. July and August are warm, often 20 to 27 C in the afternoon, with thunderstorms and the bison rut in Lamar and Hayden. September brings the elk rut at Mammoth, first frosts and thinner crowds. Late-summer wildfire smoke can haze the views. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed.

• Gardiner2 nights
• West Yellowstone2 nights
• Jackson2 nights