Yellowstone National Park Tips | 5 Things to Know Before You Go!

Check out these Yellowstone National Park tips before you head out on your vacation! Here are 5 things you need to know before you go! You’ll learn about the crowds, trails, lodging, when to go, and what makes this park so awesome.

0:38 Yellowstone is a huge national park
3:50 Book your lodging well in advance
8:23 Yellowstone is crowded
11:36 Yellowstone is seasonal
14:17 Yellowstone is the world’s first national park

My goal is to make national park trip planning easy!

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[dansxmencomics]

You said it on that last tip! The place is ALIVE! You are right about the energy and vibe there, that park kicks it up a knotch

[lindadurst]

Thanks for this video it is very helpful. I have spent the last 3 years working and living in Yellowstone. First the speed limit is mostly 35mph and goes down to 25mph near all of the built-up areas. 2nd avoid driving around the park at night and it is very dark. This is a time when very large animals are on the road, and they won't move for you. This is their home. We are just visiting. Also, there is always road construction (May-Oct) which slows down traffic even more. Bring your own food if possible. Buying food in the park is limited and very expensive. There are a number of day use areas which are good for a picnic. Have Bear Spray with you and know how to use it. You can buy this in the park or in a number of stores outside the park. If you do any hiking, you may need it. Always hike in groups of 3 or more and make noise so the wildlife will know you are there. Remember everything in Yellowstone is very $$$$ and there are lots of people so don't get upset if you can't get the parking spot you want. Most important Follow the Rules! They are there for your safety. Enjoy your visit.

[misha]

Thank you for your enthusiasm and guidance. It has been 39 years since we visited Yellowstone (our daughter was 2 1/2), and that was just for a couple days en route to Alaska in our old VW bus. It was early September and we drove north from the Park in a blizzard. This June we are planning a week in Yellowstone and hope to spend most of it out of the car. I'll be prepared not to be frustrated by traffic, aiming to start our days early, before the mass of people, and finishing late.

[annfurlough]

You might mention the speed limit in the park. That would also help people understand that you can’t get from one place to another quickly.

[MelbaToast]

I think it's insane to have to book inside the park lodging 13 months in advance. So many people can't know ehat they're going to do and need that far in advance

[CrimsonSurvival]

Went there when I was 4 years old. I just turned 46 today, and I’ll be going back soon in October.

Good video, God bless.✝️😎👍🏻

[papagen]

Yosemite is my favorite NP but Yellowstone is right up there.

[michellelee]

Great video, especially about the different times of the year. If I had to give one piece of advice to first-time visitors to the park is to pack a cooler full of sandwiches and snacks. You are not going to find a lot of restaurants in the park. Definitely no fast food. And depending on when you visit, the few restaurants there are may not be open. Also, be sure to bring a paper map as there is little to no cell service in the park, so GPS is not always an option!

[CellCoachCom]

Thank you so much for posting about your experiences in Yellowstone! Tammy and I will look into your website to study more as we prepare to plan our trip in 2024.

[allenra]

If you want to see parts of the park when few people are about, the best time is in Winter, on a snowcoach or snowmobile tour. It is an all day tour. West Yellowstone and Jackson are the main bases for these tours and you don't have to worry about parking jams. The bison are often on or next to the road. The thermal features are extra steamy and hardly anyone else is going to be close to your tour group. I have gone into the park with a snowmobile tour group several times and I went in on a snowcoach last February with my sister and handicapped nephew. All of those trips have been wonderful.

[bloqk]

This video is informative!
A pity that such information technology of the World Wide Web didn't exist back in the 1980s when I was planning a _motorcycle trip_ to Yellowstone.
As it was, I was going to travel there near clueless about the realities of the Park; where I planned to camp there the entire time.
I never made the trip, as a back injury had me canceling the plans I had made for that August 1982. The lingering effects of the back injury was such that I never made the trip in the future.
But, from what I found out afterwards, that injury preventing me for motorcycle travel was a blessing. I phoned the ranger station in September of '82 [as email technology didn't exist] to ask a ranger what the August weather was like. She informed me they had afternoon rain showers on most days.

Other aspects that I benefited from that canceled trip:
The distance of the trip would have physically hammered me. It's one thing to cruise around 75 miles on a motorcycle for a single day's ride, but a completely different reality [as I found out years later] of doing several hundred miles of travel on consecutive days; as motorcycling riding, with its noise, wind, and vibrations, is physically hard when compared to driving a car on long distances. Driving oneself to physical soreness and exhaustion is not what vacation time is all about.
Lastly, I never considered the aspect of wildlife in Yellowstone. Thanks to YT videos, I have a better awareness nowadays of the herds of bison and other large four-legged wildlife in the park, it would have made motorcycle travel a hazardous endeavor.
As bummed out as I was in that year when I canceled my motorcycle trip to Yellowstone, in hindsight, there must have been a guardian angel looking after me to prevent that trip.

[christhacker]

Great video - thanks for posting! Hope to go go next year.

[nld]

I was there 11 years ago for 4 days and definitely not enough times to explore the park. Don't even think about staying at a hotel outside of a park because it is too far to drive back and forth. I stayed at 3 different cabins to save time during the trip. At the end of the day, I just drove to the next cabin (about an hour drive) and moved on to the next site in the morning. It was below freezing at night time during the early September month so be prepared for it. It was such an amazing place.

[maryellenormond]

Two KOAs that were awesome out the west side. Close to entrance and mid park!

[MaximRedin]

So nice! Very picturesque views. Btw I am watching you from Russia!

[henryw]

I just came back from Yellowstone a week ago and it was great! You are right about all tips you mentioned. I stayed in Gardiner and that was done on purpose since I flew into Bozeman. I think it would have been nice to have change of stay on the west entrance you mentioned (maybe next time). Saw a lot of Buffalo and deer, unfortunately no bears :( Like any popular touristy spot, all of the shops and eateries are on the pricey side (i.e. 15-25 for a sandwich) so be sure to take that into account when planning your budget. I think if you enjoy nature and want to see some cool geysers, definitely go to Yellowstone (at least once).

[meanderingmaggie]

Thanks for this excellent video! I’m staying in Mammoth Springs second week of October and will plan for many different scenarios - especially weather related - thanks to your video! Coming in from the southern part of the park and hoping hoping hoping for a moose sighting on the way in or out. No matter what, the wildlife will be amazing, I’m sure! Thanks again!

[likeastarinyourheart]

😊 thanks for sharing this, I have also some questions about it.
1. What kind of things you can bring in your backpack? I don't what a 🐻 chasing me for an apple 😂.
2. Best time to visit the park?
3. Blisters 😮 How can you avoid it? What kind of shoes do you wear usually?
😊 Any other advice that you can provide me? I'm from Costa Rica. Thank you for your help.

[saplingthrasher]

One thing I would add to the driving time is it can take you 30 minutes to go a half mile like it did me and my wife. We were traveling to West Yellowstone from Old Faithful and traffic was at a near standstill about 5 miles east of West Yellowstone due to a herd of bison on the highway. You don't honk at a Bison or tail gate it if you're smart.😊

[moni]

Booked my end of August stay at Grant Village just 2 weeks ago. Lucky I guess... :)