Yellowstone Trip Report

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Bison jams on the lower loop, a rainbow over the Lower Falls that felt like it was made just for us, prairie dog babies popping out of their burrows mid-traffic-stop, and of course, insane views — this is Yellowstone we’ve come to know and love.

And it’s what we experienced on our latest trip there, yes, even in the summer!

Prepare to be amazed, because even after several trips to America’s most well-known national park, there’s still so much to love.

In this episode, we cover:

Why Yellowstone traffic is wild, but how you can still find peace and solitude in the park
Why Lamar Valley remains the single best wildlife-watching spot in the country (and what we saw this trip)
Just how big this park really is, and why a good plan makes all the difference
Why the geothermal features in Yellowstone beat anywhere else on earth
Geysers you might not have on your radar yet
Why even frequent visitors to Yellowstone keep getting surprised, including a rainbow at Red Rock Point and a first-ever moose sighting in the park

Your task for today: Have you been to Yellowstone and had one of those moments of pure amazement? Tell us about it over on the @DirtInMyShoes Facebook or Instagram page!

Planning your own Yellowstone adventure?

Yellowstone Ultimate Guide: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/yellowstone-national-park/
Episode 112: Yellowstone Tips – What You Need To Know Before You Go!: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/yellowstone-tips-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-go/
Master Reservation List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/list/
National Parks Checklist: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/national-parks-checklist/
Trip Packing List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/pack/

Yellowstone Trip Report: Our 2026 Update

Yellowstone — without a doubt, the most famous national park in the country. A place where the geysers pulse, the bison herds shift, the traffic stacks up and then evaporates — and somehow still manages to surprise you, even after several visits.

We just got back from another trip with the family, and instead of giving you a day-by-day breakdown of what we did, we wanted to share a few things that are still completely, undeniably true about exploring Yellowstone National Park — whether it’s your first visit or your fiftieth.

#1: The Traffic is Unpredictable, But You Can Work Around It

Yellowstone traffic is alive and well. It hasn’t changed, and it probably never will. It just comes with the territory of being famous.

On our first day heading down to Old Faithful from Madison Campground, we told the kids it would be a quick drive — and then got stuck in a traffic jam almost immediately. This, my friends, is a classic Yellowstone welcome.

Why? It’s because of the wildlife. An animal steps out of the trees to make an appearance, fifteen cars stop to see, and suddenly, you’ve got a traffic backup.

INSIDER TIP:
The entire lower loop pulses around Old Faithful’s eruption schedule. When Old Faithful goes off, every car in the area tries to leave at once. If you’re planning to visit nearby spots (like Midway Geyser Basin, West Thumb, Lower Geyser Basin), be aware that they’ll flood with visitors in the 20–30 minutes after an eruption.

We recommend letting the wave pass if you want to avoid traffic.

You can make smart plans and still get caught in a jam. But if you know the rhythm of the park, you can work with it instead of against it.

#2: Lamar Valley is the Best Wildlife Spot in the Country

This is not an exaggeration. Lamar Valley, in the far northeastern corner of the park, is one of the finest wildlife-watching locations in the entire United States!

And it is a bit of a trek to get up there, but it is always, always worth it.

A few things we saw on this trip:

A bear attempting to climb a tree
Our first-ever moose!
Bison in numbers that made it feel like we were watching the Great Plains, in real time, centuries ago
A coyote sprinting right across the road in the Hayden Valley on the way
Prairie dog babies were popping out of burrows while we were stopped in a traffic jam

The reason Lamar Valley is so good for wildlife is the landscape. Most of Yellowstone is densely forested with lodgepole pines. Lamar opens up into wide, sweeping grassland with long sightlines across the valley floor, up toward the ridgelines, and over the river.

It’s a spectacular open space where animals love to make an appearance!

#3: The Food Inside the Park is Just Okay

We have been saying this since our very first Yellowstone episode, and it has not changed: food inside Yellowstone ranges from okay to mediocre, and it will cost you more than it should.

This food works in a pinch, but it’s not worth stopping over. If you want a meal worth remembering, eat outside the park. Our two favorites from this trip:

Firehole Barbecue in West Yellowstone: Always a go-to for us. Really good barbecue, worth every penny.
Beartooth Café in Cooke City: We stopped here on our Lamar Valley day and loved it. John’s Reuben got a genuine chef’s kiss!

One exception inside the park worth mentioning: if you want a meal that’s also an experience, the Old West Dinner Cookout at the Roosevelt Corral is the one we’d point you toward. It’s a chuck wagon-style dinner with a trail ride — the experience itself is the draw, and it’s genuinely fun.

#4: This Park Is Much Bigger Than You Think

Yellowstone covers 2.2 million acres. That number doesn’t fully land until you’re in the midst of it all.

So if you don’t plan your time carefully, you’re likely to spend the majority of your trip either driving or sitting in traffic. And for context, on our big wildlife day, we almost burned through an entire tank of gas. That’s how much time you can end up spending in the car.

Getting out of the car — on a trail, at a geyser basin, at a pull-out with a spotting scope — changes the whole feel of a day.

INSIDER TIP:
The Yellowstone itinerary will help you avoid unnecessary driving time. Every stop we recommend is sequenced to work with the park’s natural rhythms. That way, you spend more time actually experiencing the park, not just looking at it from the car.

Traffic and crowding in Yellowstone can be terrible.

Did you know that it’s common to sit in traffic for an hour in Yellowstone?

Are you hoping to see the best sights without getting stuck in traffic, circling parking lots, or being surrounded by people?

Stay ahead of the crowds with this Yellowstone Itinerary. You will see all of the can’t-miss spots, plus get lodging and dining guides, driving directions, and insider tips!

#5: The Geothermal Features Are Some of the Best on Earth

There is no place on earth that does geothermal like Yellowstone, and there are SO MANY things to see.

Riverside Geyser

On this trip, we finally got to see Riverside Geyser (tucked right along the Firehole River in the Upper Geyser Basin area), and it erupted for a full 18 minutes! It was as breathtaking as it sounds.

Old Faithful

In the Old Faithful area alone, we saw or walked past Old Faithful itself, Riverside Geyser, Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser, Lion Geyser (a rare one — not on a predictable schedule), Beehive Geyser, and Daisy Geyser. You could spend days in that basin alone just chasing eruption windows.

Red Spouter

At the Lower Geyser Basin, we stopped at a feature called Red Spouter — a fumarole-like pool that was making a rhythmic boom-boom-boom sound that sounded exactly like the opening of “We Will Rock You.” Everyone within earshot stopped and looked at each other.

Earth is a Queen fan, apparently.

Steamboat Geyser

At Norris Geyser Basin, we visited Steamboat Geyser (still the world’s tallest active geyser), and walked Porcelain Basin, where we spotted Whirligig Geyser for the first time.

If you stand still on the Porcelain Basin boardwalk and let your eyes adjust to the whole landscape, you’ll start noticing small 1–to 3-foot geysers popping up all over. It really does feel like you’re watching a plumbing system in action.

Grand Prismatic Spring

And then there’s the Grand Prismatic Spring. We’ve done the boardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin plenty of times, but the conditions on this visit were unlike anything we’ve seen before.

The steam was just light enough to see the colors, the sun angle was ideal, and the oranges and reds and blues were more vibrant than we’ve ever experienced.

INSIDER TIP:
For the best view of Grand Prismatic from above, do the Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail. It’s a short hike from a separate trailhead, and looking down on the spring from above is the only way to really understand its scale and colors.

Yellowstone Will Surprise You, Every Single Time

It doesn’t matter how many times you visit this park. It will surprise you every single time.

On this trip, we saw wildlife, spotted our first moose, experienced geysers, and hiked to see some of the best views in all of North America.

Yellowstone is also a great introduction to national parks. It might be the only national park some people ever visit. And that’s okay. If someone falls in love with this place and that love eventually takes them to their local park, and then the next one, and the next — that’s the whole conservation chain.

We want every visitor to have the best possible experience here, because what happens here ripples outward!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Dirt In My Shoes Yellowstone Itinerary

While You’re in the Area:

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