Day 1: The 'Serengeti of the West' (Yellowstone northern range) - Cody, WY to Canyon Village
Stop At: Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, Wyoming United States
Let's jump right into the action of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as we enter the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway just 30 miles north of Cody. Here, enjoy sweeping views, rugged mountain tops and natural beauty. This is truly wild Wyoming.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Dead Indian Summit Overlook, Chief Joseph Hwy, Cody, Wyoming 82414 United States
Stop for some amazing views, pictures of the backside of eastern Yellowstone and the surrounding ecosystem.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Cooke City, Cooke City, Montana United States
Stop in Cooke City, MT just before we enter Yellowstone for well-maintained restrooms and coffee break if needed. Then, we head into Yellowstone.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming United States
Enter Yellowstone national park, the world's first national park, via the Northeast entrance. This entrance is the 5th most trafficked entrance, allowing for us to take it all in without all the people. Entering this way is a treat, and one of the wildest ways to enter Yellowstone.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Lamar Valley, Wyoming United States
Welcome to the 'Serengeti of the West' as we drive through the heart of Yellowstone's low elevation plains. Here, see massive herds of buffalo, glass for wolves, elk, coyote, witness the occasional grizzly crossing and so much more. We will take in this truly wild area.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Slough Creek, Wyoming United States
Near the end of Lamar Valley, we will stop near Slough Creek for known wolf sightings of the Junction Butte pack, a wolfpack that dens in this area.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Tower Fall, Wyoming United States
See where the inspiration for some of the 19th century most famous painters comes from at Tower Fall. Look up 'Below the Fall' by Thomas Moran for a glimpse of what you will see.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Mount Washburn, Wyoming United States
After a stop at Tower Fall we will drive up to Mt. Washburn for sweeping views of Yellowstone and the northern range, named after the Washburn expedition in 1870 that helped solidify Yellowstone to become a national park.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Fort Yellowstone Historic District, Wyoming United States
See the first developed area of Yellowstone National Park, Fort Yellowstone. Built in 1891 this area housed the US Army for park caretaking before the National Park Service was created in 1915. Plenty of time for a walking tour or see the museum in the visitor center or take pictures of the resident elk.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Loop Road, Wyoming 82190 United States
See this massive bed of limestone atop a hot spring at the 45th parallel of the earth (Yellowstone, am I right...) and the features it creates depositing calcium carbonate at the surface. This is an extremely beautiful and serene place.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Norris Geyser Basin, Grand Loop Road at Norris, Wyoming United States
See the hottest, oldest and most dynamic hydrothermal area in all of Yellowstone. Norris is also home to the largest geyser in the world, Steamboat Geyser!
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Canyon Village Area, Wyoming United States
We arrive at Canyon Village hotel complex approximately 5pm on Day 1. Here is where we will check in to the hotel rooms and show you where to go for Dinner or other shopping. We will also show you where you can go for an evening walk on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, an excellent preview of the next day's activities!
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
Lunch: Options of Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef or Veggie sandwiches. Gluten Free available, too.
Accommodation included:
We stay at Canyon Lodge atop the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Canyon Village Visitor Center Junction.
Day 2: Hydrothermal Paradise: "Welcome to the Supervolcano!" - Hayden Valley to Upper Geyser Basin
Stop At: Hayden Valley, Wyoming 82190 United States
Early morning viewing of wildlife in Hayden Valley can be unrivaled in Yellowstone for most of the summer. From Canyon Village we will check out and head straight to Hayden Valley for wildlife viewing, where we see Bison, Grizzly Bears and Wolves.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Wyoming 82190 United States
After the morning rut, and letting some fog settle, we will once again return to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and view both the lower falls and upper falls of the Yellowstone river from Artist Point and Brink of the Upper Falls.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Artist Point, South Rim Road, Wyoming 82190 United States
See the lower falls of the Yellowstone river in stunning fashion at Artist Point.
Duration: 25 minutes
Stop At: Brink Of The Upper Falls, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USA
Walk directly to the top of this raging waterfall and feel the power of the headwaters of the largest alpine lake on the continent.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Gibbon Falls, Along the Grand Loop Road, Wyoming United States
One of the most picturesque spots in Yellowstone, this cascade style waterfall is especially beautiful on a sunny day!
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Firehole Canyon Drive, Wyoming United States
Firehole Canyon Drive is an amazing reminder you are inside a bowl or caldera of an active supervolcano. See the sides of the caldera rim shoot out around you as we drive on this 15-minute side road along the Firehole river, including Firehole Falls!
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Lower Geyser Basin, Midway Between Madison and Old Faithful Village on Grand Loop Road, Wyoming United States
See Fountain Paint Pots and the amazing, goopy, bubbling paint pots of acid mud so thick they shoot up almost 15 feet in the air! There is truly nothing else like this, and many people's favorite feature
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Wyoming United States
See one of the largest hot springs in the world and by far the most colorful in the famous Grand Prismatic Spring! The thermophiles in this hot spring give us the colors, Yellowstone provides the heat this is really an amazing hot spring to witness.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Old Faithful, Center Loop Road, Wyoming 82190 United States
What we've all been waiting for! Old Faithful geyser is the largest predictable geyser in the world, erupting approximately every 100 minutes. We try to time this perfectly and get you in perfect position to see this world famous feature. Also here you can view the famous Old Faithful Inn and other geysers and springs.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming United States
One of the last stops on our journey is West Thumb, where you can see more hot springs and mud pots but this time right on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. This is a very picturesque experience and something to take in the beauty and fresh air one last time before returning to Cody.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Buffalo Bill National Scenic Byway, Wyoming United States
See the drive President Teddy Roosevelt called the "most scenic drive in America" and see rock spires, rivers and grand mountains.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Cody, Cody, Wyoming United States
End at Cody, Wyoming, the town founded by Buffalo Bill Cody and home to the Center of the West Smithsonian Museum and Cody Nite Rodeo, every night from 8-10pm in the summertime.
Duration: 15 minutes
