I am already starting to think of next year's family vacation and am wondering roughly how many days we should devote to visiting Yellowstone. We'll want enough time to do the highlights and a few activities. I realize it would probably take a lifetime to see the whole park, but how much time do most people plan for?

Also, is it best to stay in one location or do a day or two in one area and then move to another section?

In addition, how much time for the Grand Tetons?

Thanks!

Hi Kathryn, We visited Yellowstone in June and had originally planned to spend 10 days in the GT/YS parks, Sadly, had to cut that part of the the trip back to a week. We spent 6 days in YS and a day & a half in the GT. Six days was plenty of time to see YS though not so much that I was tired of being there. I like my vacations on the urban side but I was wowed and amazed by both parks. I'd go back in a heartbeat. We defintely didn't do the GT justice.

Switching locations within YS was a good thing in terms of maximizing the opportunity to see more of the park. We split our time between Old Faithful and Canyon.

It depends highly on how much you want to watch geysers erupt and how much wildlife you want to try and view.

If two or three geysers are all you want, then I would say 4 days is enough.
The Grand Tetons are another matter. That one is a function of how much hiking you want to do, and whether or not you want to do a float trip on the Snake River. Again if you want a good hike or two, I think 3 days would be sufficient. But your activities will dictate the time spent.

For example, the first time I was there was when I was not in control of the situation because I was with my parents.
My Dad's idea was to stay in the cheapest place possible and take one look at a few highlights and be on downthe road.

I did not get back for over 10 years for a variety of reasons. That time, i stayed 5 days and enjoyed all 5 of them.
Then we spent 1 full day in the Tetons.

Since then I have been back to the Tetons for a repeat visit. And of course I have been back to Yellowstone.

So I think the time is a function of what you like to do and how thoroughly you want to do it.

One activity that my son and his wife enjoyed was helping the two boys earn their junior ranger certificate. The activities were different because of the age spread. The older one was entering the 3rd grade while the younger one had just finished kindergarten. By being able to read more, the older one had some challenges in his program that required reading comprehension.
The program for the first grader to be was a little easier, but in both cases parental involvement was required. I think the program was great for both parents and children.

I jokingly told the boys grandmother, my wife, that I would help her earn her junior ranger certificate. She took me up on it. The ranger at the visitor center laughed and gave her the material, which she finished with knowledge from prior visits while standing at the desk.

We stayed in just one spot (Old Faithful area) and I would certainly recommend that you stay in two places.

At Old Faithful, we stayed in the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins and found them to be excellent values.

No matter where you stay in the park, it is not too early to make reservations once you settle on your travel dates.

As everyone else said, it's going to depend how much you want to get into the "nature" aspect of the park (hiking, fishing, etc.) or are you more of a visitor--looking at sites and moving on. Also will depend if you have kids in tow, how tired you get after hours of exploring, etc.

We are more visitors, albeit active in real life and in extremely good athletic shape--we were able to move about for many hours and did the park in 3 days. Our base was West Yellowstown, but we came in from the East entrance, so we were able to see things en route to our base, and then plan the rest of the trip from there. West Yellowstone served as a good base for doing that, and there are some ok hotels, restaurants there to pick from as well.

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. This will really help to get me started!

If you are going in the middle of the summer, expected crowds because Yellowstone is a very popular park.

To my knowledge, none of the rooms and cabins in Yellowstone are air conditioned. Usually, it is not needed.
But in July, temperatures can get hot.

Some of the rooms in Old Faithful Inn are abominable. I like the Snow Lodge Cabins and Western Cabins at any one of two or three locations.

I do not recommend staying in anything around Mammoth, except outside the park. Elevations at Mammoth are low compared to the rest of the park and often that area is hot in mid and late July.

I encourage you to stay a couple of nights in the park. Canyon is a good location. The elevation there is about 7,500 feet and temperatures cool off a little there in very hot times.

If you are going in June, then temperatures are cooler. August can be variable. Right now it is down right cold because there are quite a few showers in the area. Temperatures are sinking to 40 and below at some locations!

Even so, you will find many attractions of interest.