The table below is a great planning tool in selecting places to visit and things to see while going to and from Yellowstone Park. It covers things both inside Yellowstone National Park and outside the park but within the Greater Yellowstone Region. This is a checklist approach to seeing the greater Yellowstone area. There is obviously subjective judgment involved, and as they say, your mileage may vary. Planning with this kind of listing is certainly not the only appropriate way to visit the park. There are many other approaches, including completely random wandering. Depending on your interests, you can concentrate on things like seeing wildlife, taking pictures, studying geology, or just driving around to soak up the scenery. There are so many ways to see a place as rich and diverse as the Yellowstone region.

The Sightseeing Table

The first column contains the names of notable places, mostly in relation to a geographical area, or a particular section of road. The other three columns — Major Highlights, Good to See, Time Allowing — classify the feature or location as how important it is to see something depending on how much time is available.

For each item the diamonds mark the appropriate column and rank the importance (from 1 diamond, low to 4 diamonds, high) within that column. The diamonds are color-coded by column: Red = Major Highlight, Blue = Good to See, Black = If Time Allows. (The Yellowstone Insider book is keyed the same way.) For example, Old Faithful is in the Major Highlight column and has 4 red stars, which makes it a Must See. Another example: Lonestar Geyser Trail is in the If Time Allows column, but has four black diamonds, which makes it a top attraction…if time allows.

The length of this table is a good indication of how richly the Greater Yellowstone Region is blessed  with natural features and interesting places. The word is: incomparable.

In general, the shorter the visit, the more appropriate it may be to visit places highly rated as Major Highlight or Good to See. Features with a four-diamond rating are most appropriate for one or two day visitors, especially those who are in the area for the first time. People who have been to the Yellowstone region fairly often may find some little-known but very interesting things to visit in the Good to See and If Time Allows columns.

GOING TO OR FROM THE GRAND LOOP ROAD

 

LOCATION / FEATURE
Major
Highlight
Good to
See
If Time
Allows
WEST and NORTHWEST
Bozeman, Montana
   Museum of the Rockies

 ♦♦♦

U.S. Highway 191

 ♦♦

Big Sky, Montana

 

Hebgen Lake

 

Quake Lake (on U.S. 289)

 

West Yellowstone, Montana
The Museum of Yellowstone

 ♦♦

Grizzly Discovery Center

 

Yellowstone IMAX Theater

 ♦♦♦

WEST ENTRANCE
West Entrance Road

 ♦♦♦♦

Riverside Road

 

SOUTH
J.D. Rockefeller Memorial Drive (Highway)
Grand Teton National Park

♦♦♦♦

Teton Park Road

♦♦♦♦

Signal Mountain Road

Jenny Lake/String Lake

 ♦♦♦

Jackson Lake Lodge

 

Colter Bay Village
  Lakeshore Trail

 ♦♦♦

Jackson, Wyoming
National Museum of Wildlife Art

 ♦♦♦♦

National Elk Refuge (winter/summer)

 ♦♦♦w

 ♦s

Jackson Hole Museum

 ♦♦

SOUTH ENTRANCE
South Entrance Road

 

Moose Falls

 

Lewis Falls and Lake

 ♦♦

Grant Village

 

  Grant Village Visitor Center

 ♦♦

Yellowstone Lake Overlook Trail

 ♦♦♦

EAST
Cody, Wyoming
Buffalo Bill Historical Center

 ♦♦♦♦

Cody Nite Rodeo

 ♦♦

Cody Stampede (July)

 ♦♦♦♦

The Irma Hotel

 

 

Cody Memorial Highway

 

 ♦♦♦

Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir

 ♦♦♦

The Sacred City

 ♦♦♦

The Hoodoos

 ♦♦

Pahaska Teepee

 ♦♦

EAST ENTRANCE
East Entrance Road

 ♦♦

Sylvan Lake

♦♦

Steamboat Point and Thermal Area

♦♦

Storm Point Nature Trail

NORTHEAST
Red Lodge, Montana
   Pollard Hotel

 

 

Beartooth Highway

 

 ♦♦♦♦

Rock Creek Overlook

 ♦♦♦

Twin Lakes Overlook

 ♦♦♦

Beartooth Pass

♦♦

Beartooth Lake

 

Clark’s Fork Overlook

 ♦♦♦

Crazy Creek (May-July)

 ♦♦

 

Chief Joseph Highway

 

 ♦♦♦♦

Red Hills Overlook

 

Dead Indian Pass

 ♦♦♦

Garrison Creek Bridge

 

Cooke City, Silver Gate, Colter Pass, Montana 
NORTHEAST ENTRANCE

Northeast Entrance Road 

 ♦♦♦

Soda Butte

 

Lamar Valley

 ♦♦

Slough Creek

 ♦♦

Yellowstone River Overlook

 ♦♦♦

NORTH
Livingston, Montana
 

Paradise Valley (U.S. Highway 289)

 

 ♦♦♦

Chico Hot Springs Hotel

 ♦♦

Devil’s Slide

 

Gardiner, Montana
NORTH ENTRANCE
North Entrance Road

 

North Entrance Arch

Gardner Canyon (Sheep Cliffs)

♦♦

 

ON THE GRAND LOOP ROAD

 LOCATION / FEATURE
Major
Highlight
Good to
See
If Time
Allows
Madison Junction to Old Faithful

♦♦♦

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Flats Drive

 ♦♦

Lower Geyser Basin

♦♦♦

   Firehole Lake Drive / Fountain Geyser

 ♦♦♦♦

   Fountain Paint Pot Loop Walk 

♦♦♦

Midway Geyser Basin

 ♦♦

   Loop Walk

 ♦♦♦

  Grand Prismatic Spring

 ♦♦

Biscuit Basin

 ♦♦♦

   Biscuit Basin Walk

 ♦♦♦

Black Sand Geyser Basin

 

   Black Sand Basin Walk

 

Old Faithful – Upper Geyser Basin

 ♦♦♦♦

Old Faithful Geyser 

 ♦♦♦♦

Geyser Hill

 ♦♦

Firehole River Walk 

 ♦♦♦♦

Black Sand Trail

 ♦♦♦♦

Old Faithful Inn

 ♦♦

Old Faithful to West Thumb

 

Kepler Cascade

 

Lonestar Geyser Trail

 ♦♦♦♦

Shoshone Lake Viewpoint

 

Continental Divide

 ♦♦

West Thumb Geyser Basin

 ♦♦

Geyser Basin Walk

 ♦♦♦

West Thumb to Fishing Bridge

 

Gull Point Drive

 ♦♦

Bridge Bay

 ♦♦

Lake Village

 ♦♦♦♦

   Lake Hotel

 ♦♦♦

Fishing Bridge Area

 ♦♦

   The Fishing Bridge

 ♦♦

   Fishing Bridge Museum/Visitor Center

 ♦♦

Fishing Bridge to Canyon

 ♦♦♦

Le Hardy Rapids Walk

 ♦♦♦♦

Mud Volcano Area

 

   Mud Volcano Walk

 ♦♦♦♦

Hayden Valley

 ♦♦

   Wildlife Overlook

 ♦♦

Canyon Area

♦♦♦♦

South Rim Drive

♦♦♦♦

  Uncle Tom’s Overlook

♦♦

  Artist Point

♦♦♦♦

Brink of Upper Falls Road

 ♦♦

  Brink of Upper Falls Trail

 ♦♦♦♦

North Rim Drive

 ♦♦

  Inspiration Point

 ♦♦

  Brink of Lower Falls Trail

 ♦♦

Canyon Village

 

  Canyon Visitor Center

 

Canyon to Tower-Roosevelt Junction

 ♦♦

Washburn Hot Springs Overlook

 ♦♦

Dunraven Pass/Mt.Washburn Trail

♦♦♦♦

Chittenden Road

 ♦♦

Tower Fall

 

Calcite Springs Overlook

 

Roosevelt Lodge

 ♦♦♦

Tower-Roosevelt Junction to Mammoth

 

Petrified Tree

 ♦♦

Hell Roaring Canyon Overlook

 

Blacktail Plateau Drive

 ♦♦

Wraith Falls Trail

 ♦♦

Mammoth Hot Springs Area

 ♦♦

Lower Terrace

 ♦♦

Albright Museum

 ♦♦

Mammoth Hotel

 

Upper Terrace Drive (Mammoth)

 ♦♦

Mammoth to Norris

 ♦♦

Golden Gate

 ♦♦

Sheepeater Cliff

 ♦♦

Obsidian Cliff

 ♦♦♦

Roaring Mountain

 

Norris Geyser Basin

 ♦♦

Porcelain Basin Walk

 ♦♦

Back Basin Walk

 

Norris Geyser Basin Museum

 ♦♦

Museum of the National Park Ranger

 ♦♦

Norris to Canyon

 

Virginia Falls Drive

 ♦♦♦

Norris to Madison Junction

 ♦♦

Artist’s Paintpots

 

Beryl Spring

 ♦♦

Gibbon Falls

 ♦♦

Terrace Spring Thermal Area

 ♦♦♦

Bechler Region (Southwest)

 ♦♦♦

Cave Falls

 ♦♦♦

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