Yellowstone North to South

Day 2: Yellowstone North to South

Drive Time: 5 hours

We spent our first night just outside the North Entrance of Yellowstone at Park Hotel Yellowstone in Gardiner, MT. LOVED it! Gardiner is a sleepy mountain town with lots of charm without feeling touristy. The Park Hotel is a family-run inn, beautifully decorated & in a prime location. A 1-night stay was expensive ($325), but it was comparable to what we’d pay during the summer within the park itself. Yellowstone in summer is NOT a cheap destination unless you camp or book early.

If you stay in Gardiner, some good breakfast options are Wonderland Cafe or Yellowstone Grill. For lunch in the park, pick up supplies at Gardiner Market (you’ll have more selection than at the park visitor centers).

I pre-purchased our Yellowstone pass online ($35/vehicle), so we were able to enter through the north entrance as early as we wished. First on our agenda was to put our feet in the water at Boiling River, just south of the 45th Parallel Bridge. It’s just after the entrance & is where hot spring water meets cold river water, creating the right temps for swimming. Alas, it was closed due to high water. Good thing we didn’t come to Yellowstone to swim. 🙂

For a good science lesson & interesting cultural take on the 45th Parallel, visit this site.

Driving from the north, the first real tourist stop you reach is the Mammoth Springs area, which includes a 1.5mi walk along the Lower Terraces, a drive around the Upper Terrace, & a tour of historic Fort Yellowstone. We skipped all of this, because we were anxious to see wildlife while the morning was still young. We stopped at Undine Falls & walked the short trail to Wraith Falls (which was a lovely walk full of wildflowers).

Undine Falls

Wraith Falls Trail

Wraith Falls

Wraith Falls Trail

Once we finished Wraith Falls & headed into the Blacktail Deer Plateau, we began to see bison. This is what we came to Yellowstone for, so I’m glad our goal was met so early on. Bison were the easiest animals to spot. Sometimes it was just a loner on the side of the road, scratching his hide on a tree. Other times, it was huge herds running through the open plateau or small families with playful young. We saw bison every day we were in Yellowstone & Grand Teton, & we never had to leave the car to get up close.

The northern drive from Mammoth to the Northeast Entrance was beautiful & by far our favorite area of the park. It had everything we wanted: plentiful wildlife, short trails with waterfalls & lakes, & fewer crowds. We had planned to take the Blacktail Plateau detour, an unpaved 7mi scenic route, but it was closed for construction. We skipped Petrified Tree but DID stop nearby because there was a bear sighting.

Tip: If you see tons of cars on the side of the road AND a park ranger, it’s highly likely someone spotted a bear. People go CRAZY over bear sightings!

The Tower-Roosevelt area didn’t have much (unless you’re staying at Roosevelt Lodge), but it did have potties & gas station snacks so we made a pit stop. Then we continued heading toward the Northeast entrance, with its expansive views of Lamar Valley (one of the meccas for large animals). Along the way we stopped for photos at a bridge crossing the Lamar River & we hiked to Trout Lake (1.3mi round trip). The Trout Lake trailhead was near South Pebble Creek Campground & would have been a relaxing walk, if not for the pestilent bugs. The walk began with a steep climb uphill but quickly flattened out at the lake. We were hoping to see otters or beavers, but due to the swarming insects we didn’t stick around long enough to seek out our water friends. Once again, I was reminded why we never hike in the summer!

Trout Lake Trail

Trout Lake Trail

Trout Lake Trail

Trout Lake

Trout Lake Trail

Lamar River

If you want a good day hike along the northeastern region, try Yellowstone River Picnic Trail (2mi or 3.6mi loop). Another great short hike would be the 1mi walk to Natural Bridge.

We turned around at Pebble Creek & headed back towards Tower-Roosevelt, then headed south towards Canyon Village. Along the way we stopped at Calcite Springs, Tower Falls, & we drove around Mt. Washburn. Near the top of Mt. Washburn was the only time we had AT&T service signals while in the park. Canyon Village was packed full of visitors, but well worth the stop for lunch. We took the healthier route & ate plate lunches at The Eatery, even though the Ice Creamery looked VERY tasty. Prices aren’t cheap in the park (think Disney dining), so keep that in mind when planning your own trip. It had been a full day, so we passed up the scenic spots between Canyon Village & the South Entrance — we would see those the next day. We stopped at Lewis Lake to soak up our first full day in Yellowstone & to enjoy the plentiful blue wildflowers.

Calcite Springs

Calcite Springs

Mountain view

mountain view

Lewis Lake

Penstemon

Elk near Grant Village

Our lodging the next two nights was Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch, just a few miles south of the South Entrance. Now I don’t consider myself a diva with high expectations when it comes to lodging, but at $350/night I DID have high expectations for this place. The main lodge was very nice, with an excellent restaurant & very friendly staff. But the cabin was sparse, there was no porch to enjoy the outdoors, & the worst transgressor — NO AIR CONDITIONER OR CEILING FAN! Most of the year, no A/C would be perfectly fine, but it was hot in July. This resulted in stripping down to underwear, which is quite awkward when you’re traveling with your mother-in-law & brother-in-law! The location was excellent, however, as was their restaurant Sheffields which offered locally sourced healthy options & wonderful wait staff. I wouldn’t stay here again (unless it was cheaper), but it wasn’t a terrible experience.