Grand Teton and Yellowstone in 7 to 10 Days: How to Plan an Epic National Park Trip

Going to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks seems like the quintessential family vacation, so you’d think it would be an easy trip to plan. But after I started researching my family’s trip, I quickly realized it came with some travel challenges. I spent more time than usual figuring out which airport to use, how long to go, where to stay, and what to do. All that time planning was worth it though. In the end, my family had an incredible trip that we’ll remember for a lifetime, with an almost perfect itinerary for seven to 10 days. Here are some of the things I learned while planning our trip to two of America’s top national parks.

This post contains an affiliate link, which means, at no cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Plan Early for Grand Teton and Yellowstone

My first piece of advice if you’re going to Grand Teton and Yellowstone is to plan early. Lodging inside the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks books up quickly, with the most desirable lodging snapped up as soon as reservations become available, more than a year in advance.

Previously, reservations for Yellowstone lodging opened on May 1 for the entire summer of the following year. But this policy is changing in 2022. Starting in April, Yellowstone lodging reservations will be made using a 13-month rolling window that opens on the 5th of each month. So, for example, if you want to make a reservation for June 10 to 15, 2023, you can make that reservation starting June 5, 2022. This change should benefit travelers given the high demand for Yellowstone reservations. If you miss a reservation window, you can simply delay your plans by a few weeks and wait until the next reservation window opens the following month.

Getting to Grand Teton and Yellowstone

The nearest airports to Yellowstone National Park are Salt Lake City, Utah; Bozeman, Montana; Billings, Montana; and Jackson, Wyoming. Flying into Salt Lake City is about half the price of the other airports, but it’s twice the distance—about five hours from Yellowstone. For our trip, we opted for Jackson Hole Airport because we knew we’d be doing a lot of driving while we were in the parks. It’s a beautiful regional airport with incredibly friendly and helpful staff, but only three major airlines fly there—Delta, United, and American—and the ticket prices reflect it.

If you fly into Jackson, along with your pricey plane tickets, you’ll also pay more for your rental car. It’s about twice the cost of renting a car from the Salt Lake City airport, but you can save a couple hundred dollars on a weekly rental if you use the off-site rental car companies. In exchange you give up some convenience, as we had to drive in the opposite direction from our destination for 20 minutes on a shuttle, and the site only offered return shuttles hourly at the end of the trip. If I did it again, I’d spend the extra and choose one of the airport’s onsite Alamo, Enterprise, Hertz, or National offices.

Where to Stay in Grand Teton National Park

We started our trip at Grand Teton National Park, just a 50-minute drive from the Jackson Hole Airport. During the Grand Teton leg of our itinerary, we stayed in an upper-level Lakefront Retreat cabin at Signal Mountain Lodge. Located on Jackson Lake, it had a stunning view of the Teton mountain range. The cabin includes a kitchen with a cooktop, full-size refrigerator, and microwave. My family stayed two nights at Signal Mountain, but we could have happily stayed more. It was beautiful to just sit on the deck of the cabin and watch the light change on the mountains with the rising and setting sun.

Grand Teton National Park also has two other great lodging options—Jenny Lake Lodge and Jackson Lake Lodge. Jenny Lake Lodge is considered the luxury accommodation—as far as luxury goes in national parks—and it books up early. Jackson Lake Lodge is a traditional hotel with a lovely view from the main lobby and back terrace.

What to Do in Grand Teton National Park

Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls

If you like hiking, you’ll love Grand Teton National Park. One of the best hikes—Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls—was closed while we visited because of a fissure in one of the rocks above the trail, but the trail re-opened in August 2018, after the park service found the area safe. If you go, don’t miss it.

You can take a short boat ride across Jenny Lake to access the Hidden Falls trailhead or you can hike around Jenny Lake to get there. The benefit of the hike around the lake is that you might see some wildlife you might not see elsewhere—we did the Jenny Lake loop trail as far as Moose Pond, which is where we saw our only moose of the trip.

Taggart and Bradley Lakes

My family’s longer hike was to Taggart and Bradley Lakes, two glacial lakes at the foot of the mountain range. It totaled about five miles and was not rigorous, so it’s a good family-friendly choice. You can make the hike even shorter by turning back once you reach Taggart Lake. Phelps Lake to Death Canyon, String Lake to Paintbrush Canyon, and Garnet Canyon are also great hikes with amazing views. While we didn’t do these hikes on our trip, if we ever go back, they’ll be on my list.

Snake River Float Trip

Another must-do activity in Grand Teton National Park is a float trip down the Snake River. It has beautiful views, opportunities for animal-sightings, and great park information from the tour guide. Several concessionaires offer these trips in the park, including Signal Mountain Lodge and Jackson Lake Lodge. You can book them right along with your accommodations.

Where to Stay in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is huge, so staying inside the park boundaries has its benefits. But you’ll pay for them. It’s not inexpensive to stay at one of the park hotels, but it’s definitely worth it. Because so many people want to stay inside the park and the visitor season is so short, you have to be on top of making your lodging reservations as soon as you know you’re taking the trip. As I mentioned, people regularly book their accommodations more than a year in advance.

Old Faithful Inn Reservations

The good news is that openings become available as people’s plans change, so if you can’t initially find the lodging you want, keep checking. I planned the trip six months ahead and at first wasn’t able to get a room at the Old Faithful Inn or the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Within two months of the trip, I’d secured three nights at the Canyon Lodge, one night at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, and one night at Old Faithful Inn.

If I were planning a year ahead and had my pick of accommodations, the only change I’d make to that itinerary would be one less night at Canyon Lodge and one more night at Old Faithful Inn, with a total of five nights in the park. When I was searching for openings, I checked the online reservation system about once a week to once every two weeks and was flexible with my dates. Canyon Lodge has more rooms than the other accommodations, so I was able to adjust my stay around my Old Faithful Inn reservation.

Canyon Lodge, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, and Old Faithful Inn

When you’re booking the national park lodges, it’s sometimes hard to know what the room you’re reserving will be like. The concessionaire’s website doesn’t provide the clearest information about the rooms. So here are some specifics about the three places my family stayed, Canyon Lodge, Lake Yellowstone Hotel, and Old Faithful Inn.

Canyon Lodge Superior Room

Canyon Lodge is actually a collection of lodges. We booked a Superior Room at Canyon Lodge and were in one of the newest buildings, Chittenden Lodge. Chittenden is conveniently located next to the building where guests check-in, Washburn Lodge, which also has a laundry.

Lake Yellowstone Hotel Premium Room

At Lake Yellowstone Hotel, we had a Premium Room. It was huge but on the backside of the hotel, without a lake view. Even though it was a Premium, if I did it again I’d select a Superior, on the front side of the building facing Lake Yellowstone.

Old Faithful Inn Premium West-Wing Room

We also booked a Premium West-Wing Room at Old Faithful Inn. Now this Premium room was more like it. We had a corner room with windows on both sides, and both windows overlooked geysers, Beehive Geyser on one side and Castle Geyser on the other. It was a treat to see Beehive Geyser, one of the geysers without a predictable schedule, erupt just a half-hour after we walked into our room.

What to Do in Yellowstone National Park

The idea of planning what my family was going to do during our five days at Yellowstone seemed daunting because I wasn’t sure how long the various sights would take. People say to spend a couple of hours in Lamar and Hayden Valleys to see the wildlife. But what exactly does that mean?

Before we went, I found some guides about how to allocate our time, but the best advice was given to me by my friend Shari who had just returned from her own Grand Teton/Yellowstone trip. She said, “It’s the kind of place where you just let the vacation happen. The trip is going to present itself and you go where it’s going to take you.” That’s good advice for any trip, but it’s particularly important for Yellowstone where the summer crowds can be thick, bison traffic jams can happen, and sights on the top of your list can be closed.

Canyon Area—Half Day to Full Day

Even if you’re going with the flow, you’ll need to have a general outline of where to focus your time. The park sights are situated around the Grand Loop, a figure-eight 142-mile road, and some areas around the Grand Loop offer more to do than others. Here are some thoughts on what to see and how long to stay there.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Artist Point

If you’ve seen pictures of Yellowstone National Park, you’ve undoubtedly seen the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and the famous viewpoint at Artist Point. The area has multi-colored canyon walls and two powerful waterfalls. I’ve seen a lot of waterfalls in my travels, but the Upper and Lower Falls of Yellowstone did not fail to impress.

There are numerous lookouts and trails on both the North and South Rims. While we were there, two locations were closed, Uncle Tom’s Trail and Inspiration Point, but we still had plenty of opportunities to see the falls from different viewpoints. Both the Brink of the Upper Falls and the Brink of the Lower Falls are amazing, but be warned that the Brink of the Lower Falls is not an easy hike if you have someone in your group that has trouble walking or has heart or respiratory issues. It’s a paved switchback path that’s deceptively easy to go down but hard to go back up. The hiking trail along the canyon to Point Sublime is also a great way to get see the canyon away from the tour bus crowds at Artist Point.

Mammoth Hot Springs Area—Half Day to Full Day

Mammoth Hot Springs is another area where you’ll want to focus a good chunk of your time. You can easily spend a couple of hours walking the boardwalks around the main and lower travertine terraces. You can also visit the Albright Visitor Center, the Historic Fort Yellowstone self-guided tour, and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, and you’ll definitely want to take some photos of the elk that hang out in the village.

Our favorite activity during our Mammoth Hot Springs day was taking a dip in the Boiling River. The swimming area is just a couple miles north of the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor Center, in a shallow stream where hot springs empty into the cold Gardner River. It’s not on the official map of Yellowstone so you’ll have to keep your eyes out for the parking areas on both sides of the road. Coming from Mammoth, use the lot on the right side of the road and walk along the path until you come to the springs. You may want to bring water shoes because the bottom of the river is rocky. While you’re in this area, also consider driving up to see the Roosevelt Arch and the North Entrance of the park and getting an ice cream (and a little cell service) in Gardiner, Montana.

Old Faithful to Lower Geyser Basin Area—Full Day to Two Days

When you hear about Yellowstone National Park being crowded in July, the Old Faithful to Lower Basin area is the place people are talking about. My recommendation is to save this area for the end of your trip. You’ll be more patient about the lack of parking and the numerous people on the boardwalks because, hey, you’ve already seen a lot of sights. It’s also not a bad idea to see the big geysers after you’ve seen the smaller fumaroles, pools, and paint pots. That way, the smaller thermal features won’t lose their luster for some of your more cynical travelers (like tweens and teenagers).

Old Faithful Geyser

If you’re staying at Old Faithful Inn, you’ll have multiple opportunities to see Old Faithful Geyser. We watched it erupt several times from the boardwalk, including once after sunset. My favorite view was from the second-floor deck of Old Faithful Inn. Even if you’re not staying at the Inn, you can sit on the deck, order yourself a drink at the bar, and kick back until the next eruption. Around the Old Faithful area are many other geysers, some with known eruptions times and some without. Bring some snacks and a book and be prepared to wait awhile. The geyser eruptions we saw in this area included Castle, Beehive, Grand, and Riverside.

Grand Prismatic Spring

A short drive from the Upper Geyser Basin is the Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring. The spring is a can’t-miss, though parking is tricky here. We found that it was hard to find a spot whether you went in the morning or afternoon, so you’ll likely have to wait for a spot to open. If you just can’t get enough geysers, also check out the drive along Firehole Lake Drive in the Lower Geyser Basin. We waited about an hour and caught the eruption of Great Fountain.

Other Sights and Activities

The following sights are great stops that will fill up just a few minutes to an hour of your time for each:

• West Thumb Geyser Basin—boardwalks with small springs and fumaroles
• Tower Falls—short hike to another impressive waterfall
• Roaring Mountain—roadside pullout next to a mountainside with steam vents
• Sheepeater Cliff—short driveway from the Grand Loop to see an unusual rock formation
• Mud Volcano area—boardwalks to thermal features
• Hayden and Lamar Valleys—wide-open areas with numerous pullouts. Go in the early morning or at dusk and stand and look around with your binoculars. You’re sure to see bison, you might see other animals, and it’s nice to be there and enjoy the primordial feel of the valleys.
• Lake Yellowstone Hotel—historic hotel with daily musical entertainment. Sit in the lobby, relax with a beverage on a couch overlooking the lake, and listen to the pianist or string quartet.

Yellowstone Tours

I also find it important to have some activities scheduled for my family in addition to sightseeing. Yellowstone has a variety of tours and activities available. We opted for the Old West Dinner Cookout near the Tower Roosevelt area and an hour-long horseback ride at the Canyon Village stables. Both activities got high marks from everyone in the family. And just like the lodging, book your activities and dinner reservations as soon as you can.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton GyPSy Guide