Your family will remember your visit to Yellowstone National Park forever

Old Faithful Inn is the largest log structure in the world. Wildlife roam freely throughout the park

The 308-foot Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is our favorite place in the entire park

It's almost certain you'll see elk in downtown Mammoth near the park's north and northeast entrances

The east entrance is our favorite of all five Yellowstone entrances and provides spectacular views

Yellowstone National Park

Cody is just 52 miles from Yellowstone National Park's east entrance. We've traveled through all five park entrances and we think the east entrance is the prettiest.

You'll want to plan a minimum of two days in Yellowstone and you could easily spend a week there. If you are a hiker, you could not traverse all the trails in 50 years. The park is 2.3 million acres in size and is so large, people are still discovering waterfalls that no one knew existed. In fact, you only see 1% of the park from the roadways. Yellowstone roadways are shaped in a figure eight that make up the upper loop and the lower loop.

Lower Loop

If you only have one day to see the park, we recommend taking the Lower Loop. This loop includes Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, thermal features and the spectacular Upper & Lower Falls. This loop also provides good opportunities to see bears, buffalo, elk, coyotes, otters and lots of water fowl. Click Here For a Photo Essay of Yellowstone's Lower Loop

Upper Loop

If you have a second day we recommend the Upper Loop. This loop includes Mammoth Hot Springs, the giant Norris Geyser Basin (shown in the movie "Super Volcano!") higher terrains and impressive rivers and water falls. This loop provides good opportunities to see wolves, bears, elk, moose, Bighorn Sheep and Rocky Mountain Goats.

General Information

Yellowstone has a series of civilized outposts within the park that provide groceries, gasoline, gift shops, restaurants and lodging. Prices are slightly higher in the park but not excessively so. Lodging inside the park is difficult to get in the summer season so make reservations early or plan to use Cody as your base camp. Online Yellowstone Tours & Webcams

Insider Tips: Summer temperatures can range from 20 to 80 degrees so dress in layers. Most summer days are a comfortable 60-70 degrees but due to its high altitude (5,360 - 8,860 feet), it's not uncommon to get the occasional summer snow flurry.

The Fishing Bridge gift shop offers the park's only "Discount Loft" that sells marked-down and discontinued merchandise from all the park's gift shops.

Purchase a trolley tour and you'll get a free copy of our 84-page "Best of Cody" souvenir guide that includes a good list of all our favorite, off-the-beaten-path, must-see places to visit within the park.

Your $25-per-car-load Yellowstone Park admission is good for 7 days and includes admission to Grand Teton National Park which is located just outside the south entrance to Yellowstone. If you plan on visiting other national parks and monuments on your trip, we recommend purchasing the $80 National Parks Pass. This provides admission to all national parks and monuments for one year from the date of purchase.

Grand Teton National Park

We highly recommend a visit to the Grand Tetons if you have a clear weather day. The spectacular peaks reach nearly 14,000 feet into the sky. Make sure to watch for moose because they are more abundant here than Yellowstone. Also, take the Jenny Lake Road for closer, amazing views of the Tetons.

Insider Tips: If you visit Jackson, make sure to take a ride up the chairlift at Snow King Resort. It's located right in the south side of town and provides amazing views of the Tetons and the town that you'll never forget.

If you want to see moose, your best chance is to turn east on Gros Ventre Road and watch both sides of the road until you get to the Gros Ventre Campground. Once you hit the campground, just turn around and head back. It's just a few miles and is worth the detour.