I am so excited to be bringing this “how to see the best of Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Jackson, Wyoming” itinerary to the blog today! There are sooo many itineraries out there focusing on 10 days, two weeks, etc. to see even just one of the most iconic national parks in Wyoming, and I had the hardest time finding an itinerary geared toward a short trip when I was planning our first adventure to this amazing state. We had five days to spend in Wyoming, but we were able to pack in SO much. I know we can’t be the only people with limited vacation time, so this post will be great for those with a tight timeline like us or even anyone with a long time but wanting a condensed, clear guide.
I steadily worked away on planning our Wyoming, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons itinerary for eight months. And honestly, it almost still wasn’t enough time. Yes, you read that right. This trip can take a long time to plan and a lot of forethought. Accommodations, especially around Yellowstone can book up a year or more in advance! Don’t worry if you’re reading this just a few months before your trip though- it can still be done. I was planning for six people, and we wanted to stay in one place for the entire trip, so that made things a little more difficult. If you’re open to moving around nightly to different parts of Wyoming or have fewer people, I think that might be a little easier to plan with less time.
Also, it’s important to note that this is a summer guide to Wyoming. The things to do and sites to see in this state changes completely once winter and the snow comes. The only true summer months in Wyoming are July and August. You run the risk of snow pretty much from September-June, but those two shoulder months specifically can almost always still work.
The most essential item for your Wyoming vacation
If you’re currently in the midst of planning your adventure to Grand Tetons National Park or Yellowstone National Park, please listen to my next piece of advice. Are you ready?
Download the GyPSy app and guide for Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Do it! Like, right now.
This guide app is AMAZING. It doubles as a GPS that will work without cellular coverage (which you likely won’t have in Yellowstone or Grand Teton) and an in-depth audio guide to the parks. The guide gives so, so much detail that you otherwise would need to spend hours researching, organizing and remembering for your trip.
The app allows you to hear fascinating behind-the-scenes stories about the history, geology, hikes, wildlife and cultural highlights along your route. Trust me, you will get much more out of your trip to the parks with this app! Plus, it takes all the pressure off that one person who usually controls the GPS and directions- the guide clearly lays out which way you want to turn for which attraction and mentions side roads that are short detours with fun, off-the-beaten-path sites.
The audio guide triggers automatically based on geo locations, so it almost customizes an audio guide and route for you. It also clearly tells you which way to go for all the top destinations, even better than a GPS in my opinion. There were so many hidden roads and trails we would have missed if it hadn’t been for the guide telling us they were coming up soon and giving simple, yet highly detailed instructions for getting there and making the most out of it.
We all found ourselves wishing there was a walking guide feature too because we would miss the commentary when we weren’t in the car. Trust me, you need this app.
It’s currently $14.99 for the duo of Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, or $9.99 for the two separately if you aren’t going to both parks (which, you totally should be the way!)
How to see the Best of Wyoming in a Short Period of Time
We started this trip by flying into the Jackson Hole Airport, which is actually located in Grand Teton National Park. This is the only commercial airport located in a national park, which I just think is pretty darn cool.
Jackson is a great jumping off point for a lot of what you will want to explore in Wyoming, but there are several other places people choose to start from for a variety of reasons. Jackson worked for us though, and for the sake of this guide, we’re just going to go with Jackson being our jumping off point for the week. If you are planning to start from somewhere else, I will offer suggestions throughout this post.
Jackson is right next to the Grand Tetons and about 1.5 hours from Yellowstone. Here are a few other options people fly into if you want to look at different flight prices and/or rental car options in each city.
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Bozeman, Montana
- Billings, Montana
Where to Stay in Jackson, Wyoming
Like I said, only having eight months in advance to find reasonable accommodations in the Jackson area for six adults was no small feat. Because of the rooming needs we had, we would have needed 2-3 hotel rooms each night, and we wouldn’t have been able to spend as much time together.
After searching on VRBO and Airbnb, I came across the Outpost rental company, and it looked like the perfect fit for us. They offered a variety of condos, townhouses, cabins, etc. all throughout Jackson Hole, so we were really able to find what worked for us. They have accommodations to fit anywhere from 2-25+ people, so I think this would work for almost anyone.
We ended up staying in Wilson, Wyoming, and it was perfect. It’s about 15-20 minutes outside of Jackson town square, which I was honestly worried would be a hassle. It ended up being nice to be a little bit out of the business of the town, and we stayed close to the Aspens market area, which had a little grocery store and a Persephone Bakery location.
This was our specific unit, and we really liked it. They had everything we needed, and it was really clean and nice! I recommend this for anyone visiting with a family or a few people! Also, it’s important to not be scared when you see that these don’t have air conditioning. There are hardly any lodging options in Wyoming with air conditioning, because it’s just not common for the temperature to require AC. We were here in late August, and we were fine!
Best Restaurants in Jackson, Wyoming
There is a huge concentration of incredible food in Jackson. These are just the places we ate during our quick trip, but seriously this town is a foodies’ dream.
Gather – Please get the pork buns!
Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream – Definitely try the huckleberry ice cream with their homemade hot fudge. Incredible!
Snake River Grill – This is definitely where to go if you’re looking for a nicer place to mark your trip. You cannot miss the onion rings!
Calico – You could definitely tell this was a place for locals. We loved everything about it!
Snake River Brewery – Great spot for grabbing a few drinks. Don’t forget that the higher altitude makes inebriation occur much faster. Go slower than you usually would to see how you’re feeling after each drink 🙂
What to do for one day in Grand Tetons National Park
I can’t tell you how many times I searched “What to do for one day in Grand Tetons National Park (GTNP).” Each time I would search, I felt like people were just telling me what they did instead of recommending what was truly a great itinerary for one day in this incredible park. So I’m going to lay out exactly what to do in one day for GTNP.
Note: This is going to be ordered for someone coming from Jackson or entering the park from the south. Also, if you’re a photography enthusiast, feel free to switch this around based on the best lighting for the destination you’re most interested in. I can highlight which ones some people choose the see for sunrise/sunset.
Last thing, a Wyoming vacation isn’t really a good time to catch up on your sleep. We woke up early every single day of our trip so we could make the most out of our days and get in the parks before the crowds.
Stop to snap a photo at the Grand Teton National Park sign
While it might be the ultimate tourist move, I just don’t think you can miss out on taking a photo with this sign. It’s one of my favorite national park signs I’ve seen. I just love how much character it has!
Albright View Overlook
If it’s already clear, this is a good stop with a great background for a photo. It won’t take too much time, but it’s definitely beautiful!
Stop at Menor’s Ferry Historic District + Chapel of the Transfiguration
I love that Menor’s Ferry Historic District is one of the first things you come to after entering the park. Something about this settlement truly sets the scene and mood for the entire day!
It was still very misty and foggy out when we were there, but the window overlooking the mountains from the Chapel of the Transfiguration is breathtaking. You can also walk around this homestead built in the late 1800s, and if the ferry is operating, you can cross the Snake River for a few minutes to look around! A neat experience to start the day for sure.
Jenny Lake + Hidden Falls trail
Okay, this is where you will spend the majority of your day in GTNP. Jenny Lake is absolutely beautiful, and you cannot miss this.
As soon as you get to Jenny Lake, make sure to spend some time looking out at the lake from the main overlook. This is an excellent spot to snap a few photos.
Then, head over to the Jenny Lake Boating dock and purchase a roundtrip ticket. Roundtrip tickets are $18, which is pretty pricey, but it’s honestly a can’t-miss.
The shuttle takes off every 10-15 minutes, but the line can get pretty long if you don’t get there until lunch time (again, another reason for starting your Wyoming days early).
After enjoying a magical, beautiful and short boat ride, you will arrive on the other side of Jenny Lake. From there, I highly recommend the short (1.3 miles roundtrip) Hidden Falls trail, with the option to continue on to Inspiration Point, which will add another mile to your trip.
After that, you can board the boat again on the west side dock, or if you just purchased a one-way boat ticket, you can hike around the lake back to the Jenny Lake visitors center. This would be fun, but it also adds extra time and energy to the itinerary— feel free to play around with the to-dos here, but I highly recommend getting on the boat for at least a one way trip. It’s just too fun not to!
Eat a packed lunch
This is a good tip for your entire Wyoming trip- try to bring a packed lunch or make your lunch in the parks every day. Restaurants aren’t around every corner in national parks, and even the rare few are going to be extremely crowded, overpriced and probably not the best food you’ve ever had. I’m sure there are exceptions to this rule, but even from a time perspective, packing your lunch will save a lot of headache.
We went to the grocery store when we first landed and stocked up on bread, PB&J, turkey, mustard, cheese, snack bars, etc., and it saved us a lot of time and money on our trip. There are so many picturesque spots to stop and enjoy your sandwich, too!
Optional: Signal Mountain Overlook
Only, I repeat, only, if it is a clear day, I would take the hour out of your way to drive the Signal Mountain road. It was terribly foggy the day we went to GTNP, so we skipped this. If you have a clear day, make sure to stop at the Jackson Lake Overlook and the Signal Mountain Overlook. This whole trip will take about an hour roundtrip, but from the views I have seen online, it looks worth it to me!
Optional: Colter Bay
We did not get to go to the beautiful Colter Bay because of our time constrictions/how foggy it was the day we went, but I definitely want to make this a priority on our next trip. If you have to skip it, I think it’s fine, but definitely go see it if you can.
Oxbow Bend
This is a great spot to see Mt. Moran or maybe spot some wildlife. We loved this pullout! We actually saw the sunrise here on our way through to Yellowstone the next day, and it was so, so peaceful. It’s just a short, easy stop that’s more than worth it!
Optional: Cunningham Cabin Historic Site
This cabin was built in the late 1800s, and it’s just really cool to see what kind of conditions early settlers had to overcome to make a life in this area. Besides the cabin, we just really loved the view from here and took lots of photos! This also happened to be the time of day when the mountains were least crowded by fog, so it was the first time we really got to see (almost) their full glory. It was breathtaking!
Snake River Overlook
Do not miss this overlook! This is one of the most iconic views inside GTNP. Made famous by Ansel Adams’ iconic black and white shot, the Snake River Overlook is absolutely stunning.
Mormon Row
For the last stop of the day, make sure not to miss Mormon Row. On Antelope Flats Road, from here you can see the iconic John Moulton barn with the epic view of the mountains just behind it.
If you have any time at all left in your day, you should plan to eat dinner in Jackson. Here are some of the best restaurants to eat at in Jackson, Wyoming:
What to do for two days in Yellowstone National Park
Important to know before getting too far into planning your Yellowstone route- make sure you check for road closures and important updates on the park website. For example, one of the major roads is closed until spring 2022, so it dramatically impacted what we were able to do. You can still get to a lot of areas on the park (besides what is specifically on the closed road), but it impacts driving time quite a lot. Even if you’re reading this after the road is back open, a park this big and diverse is bound to have sporadic and planned closures alike.
Also good to know, the main sites to see in Yellowstone are mainly on the “grand loop” road. This road is a figure-eight shape, which makes it really easy to navigate the park. A lot of people split their days into the bottom loop on one day and the top loop on the other, but there are literally so many different ways to see and explore this park.
I am going to share what we personally did, but please know that you can “do” Yellowstone almost a million different ways. This is just what worked or us and fit into our schedule and wants. Itineraries can change based on where you want to enter and exit the park, if you have your eye on a specific accommodation, if you can stay in or out of the park, etc.
Yellowstone Day 1
We entered the park from the south entrance very bright and early in the morning. Again, the key to seeing a lot in this state is getting up early. No one on our trip regretted getting up early a single day because we saw so much more! Mornings in Yellowstone are great for spotting wildlife, so be prepared to pull over if you see a lot of cars stopped somewhere or hang out at a viewing spot overlooking water just in case you spot elk, bison, moose or bears grabbing a morning sip!
Coming from the south entrance, you will drive along the beautiful Lewis River (named after the Merriweather Lewis from the Lewis & Clark expedition), and you should see Lewis Falls, Lewis Lake and the Continental Divide.
We turned left to take our time through the lower left of the grand loop road that day, because there is a high concentration of the big sites are in that area. Right before Old Faithful, we stopped to look at Kepler Cascades, too. Here’s our order of stops!
Old Faithful / Upper Geyser Basin
Old Faithful is probably the most iconic spot in Yellowstone. You just have to stop! It was extremely overcast the day we went, but it was still really cool. Make sure to walk into the Old Faithful Lodge – it’s truly so beautiful inside!
Surrounding Old Faithful is the a large geyser basin with lots of sites to see. You can walk around a little bit, then drive a little down the road to get out and see the Morning Glory Pool, or you can make the long-ish walk to the Morning Glory Pool. There’s a lot to see this day though, so if you want to save your time and energy, I think driving is a good choice.
Biscuit Basin
Another good stop is Biscuit Basin. This is where the Sapphire Pool is located, which was one of my personal favorites!
Grand Prismatic Spring / Midway Geyser Basin
To see the incredible Grand Prismatic Spring (if it’s a clear day), make sure you pull over early and get on the Fairy Falls hike up to the overlook. You can take this hike up partially (turns out being really short but the elevation is somewhat steep) to a beautiful overview of the Grand Prismatic.
Then you can come down and see the Grand Prismatic from ground level by entering through the Grand Prismatic parking lot- really cool! The parking lot here was one of the hardest to get in, especially because we were here around the middle of the day. Have patience because it will be worth it!
Firehole Lake Drive / Firehole Canyon Drive
These are two side roads that don’t take any extra time out of your day, but they are so cool and definitely worth it.
Firehole Lake Drive is just an easy to drive to see some springs from your car- which is really nice after a long day of walking.
Firehole Canyon Drive has incredible views and a free swimming spot that could be fun if you’re in the mood to take a dip!
Optional: Gibbon Falls Hike
This is a fun, short hike that is pretty popular, but I don’t want to say it’s completely necessary. If you have extra time, definitely go for it.
Note: If you keep your pace high, you could definitely do more than this in one day. You would have to definitely eat lunch on the road, opt for driving instead of walking to any of the close-ish destinations, etc., but a lot of people do the lower loop in one day and the upper loop in one day. So just keep that in mind!
Spend the night in West Yellowstone
We chose to end day one here and spend the night in West Yellowstone at Under Canvas. We have now stayed at Under Canvas Yellowstone and the Great Smoky Mountains location, and we loved both experiences. Read a full, in-depth review about Under Canvas in my previous blog post.
For this stay with six people, we opted for the Madison River Suite, and it perfectly accommodated all of us!
We also ate at Pete’s Rocky Mountain Pizza, and it was so good. It was full of locals, and we loved all the pizzas we got. We also went to Espresso West for some Huckleberry Ice Cream, and it was amazing.
Yellowstone Day 2
We were once again up bright and early, and this day was so good for wildlife spotting because we were so close to the west entrance and were able to get really into the park while it was still early enough for wildlife to still be out.
If wildlife viewing is your main priority, you might want to speed straight toward Lamar Valley for sunrise for the best animal viewing opportunities. This would involve backtracking with the itinerary we did, but you could also stay in one of the other entrance cities closer to Lamar Valley if that’s really important to you. It wasn’t really an option for us because of that road closure I mentioned earlier, so we sadly did not get to see Lamar Valley on this trip. Yellowstone experts are probably exiting out of this post now, because it is one of the most “must do” experiences according to most regular visitors. It just didn’t work out or make sense for us with the short amount of time we had, on top of the road closure I mentioned earlier. Let’s get into what we did:
Artist Paint Pots
We absolutely loved this stop- it was so different than anything we saw anywhere else in the park. It is also really cool to know that the paint pots never look the same, and they change and evolve almost every single day into something at least slightly new.
Norris Geyser Basin
This is a huge geyser basin, so we actually didn’t end up spending a lot of time here because we had a super busy day. It’s fun to just get out of the car and go to the overlook of the entire basin to understand just how big it is. I don’t know about other people, but once we saw a lot of the geysers on the first day, we didn’t really feel like we needed to keep walking around miles of them again! They are extremely cool, but we had a lot of other things to see that day so we chose to skip this.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Then we headed up to Mammoth Hot Springs, and on the way you will pass Roaring Mountain, which was just a really cool site to see!
Mammoth Hot Springs was amazing. When you first get there, it’s a little underwhelming. Then, you turn one corner on the boardwalk and you enter what feels like an entirely different planet. I am so glad we didn’t pass going here up. There are also usually quite a few elk just hanging out around here!
Hayden Valley
Since we didn’t get to make it to Lamar Valley because of the road closure, Hayden Valley was a close second. We were there in late August, which is actually rutting season for the bison. There was a huge herd of them that we just drove through like it was nothing to them! It was really amazing to see them that up close.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
This is probably going to be your last stop of the day if you take the loop like we did. It was a short walk, and even though I said we were kind of over the geysers by this second day, we enjoyed these because they overlooked Yellowstone Lake- it was really neat to see the juxtaposition between the lake and the geysers and pools.
Jackson / Activity Day
We allotted our last day to just seeing Jackson, Wyoming, but we had gotten our fill of it from going into town for dinner most nights. There really wasn’t that much shopping to be done there like we thought there would be. We ate breakfast at The Bunnery and did a little bit of shopping, but then we really felt like we were done there.
If we had it to do again, I would have scheduled an activity today like horseback riding or rafting/floating on the Snake River. We checked out Teton Village, and we didn’t do it but they have a gondola that you can take up to the top of the mountain which looked pretty cool.
That is going to be it for our trip to Wyoming. It truly was the trip of a lifetime in five days. We already want to go back and see and do everything again!
I think I am going to also create a post about my sort of top ten things you must know before visiting Yellowstone / Grand Tetons that will be a more shortened, absolutely need to know info version of this post if you’re not looking for an itinerary!
By clicking links in this post, I may receive a small affiliate commission. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Gypsy Guide is the best! This was the best trip ever
We just returned from Wyoming, we stayed in Jackson, it definitely is a trip of a lifetime, have every intention of returning.
We already cannot wait to return to Wyoming! It’s truly one of the most beautiful places.