Visiting Yellowstone National Park with Kids

Due to recent floods in Yellowstone National Park, some parts of the park may not be open; for the most up-to-date information, visit the NPS website.

Whether you’re traveling across town or across the country, planning a trip to a national park site with kids can be tricky. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and our partner Travelodge® by Wyndham want to help you plan your family’s best national park trip yet by sharing information about parks from someone who knows them well. NPCA consultant and leader of NPCA’s Veteran’s Council Chris Marvin has extensively explored national parks with his kids over the past two years, spending countless hours researching spectacular destinations and developing itineraries for educational and enjoyable trips. Through his travels, Chris has learned – by plenty of trial and error – some best practices to ensure his kids’ national park visits are memories they’ll cherish. And in doing so, he lays the foundation for a future love of and appreciation for parks, so they too understand the importance of preserving them.

Protecting public lands is at the heart of NPCA’s mission, as well as our partnership with Travelodge – and we hope that by helping you plan a national park visit with your kids, they’ll be inspired to protect our parks, too.

Meet Chris & His Daughters

Hi, I’m Chris. I am an Army veteran who is sharing my legacy with my 10- and 12-year-old daughters through national parks. In 2021, our family began an epic three-year plan to spend a month visiting national parks each summer – and to visit others during the rest of the year. We’ve visited national parks across the country, exploring new trails, observing wildlife and educating the girls about the importance of park protection. In this guide, I’ll share details about our visit to Yellowstone National Park, including some great recommendations on where to see wildlife. In July 2021, we spent eight days and seven nights in Yellowstone, exploring every corner of the park that we could reach.

Meet the Park

Established in 1872 as America’s – and the world’s – first national park, Yellowstone National Park is named after the river that runs through it and is home to rich and diverse landscapes, from rushing waterfalls to bubbling geysers. It’s also prime habitat for a wide spectrum of wildlife – Yellowstone National Park features the largest concentration of mammals in all of the Lower 48 states, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk.

Must-Visit Locations

We did a lot of research preparing for Yellowstone. We’d love to spend an entire summer there, but in the eight days we had, we hit most of the essentials for families. Our goal was to strike a balance between activities that allowed us to take in the splendor of the places we were visiting and ones that engaged the girls educationally. This was one of seven parks we visited in a month in the summer of 2021, and – though the expectations were high – America’s first national park lived up to the hype.

Old Faithful

You can’t visit Yellowstone without stopping to see the most famous geyser in the world. Old Faithful erupts every 60 to 100 minutes, and because the eruptions are so reliable, the crowds filling the bleachers can be immense.

Family tips

• If you want to see a more unique view of Old Faithful, try hiking along any of the trails north of the geyser where you’re farther from the crowds. The spots along these trails allow children to get great views of the famous geyser and saves you and your family from the difficulty of navigating crowds and busy parking lots. If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to stay for more than one eruption. We snuck in dinner between our first and second eruptions and still stayed for a third!
• Are your kids early risers or night owls? If your kids are ready to go first thing in the morning or enjoy staying out a little later, try taking in the geyser outside of peak times (mid-morning through mid-afternoon) and get there early in the morning or late in the evening. The last eruption after sunset – while there is still some light – can be quite magical and relatively free from people.
• Hike the rest of the Upper Geyser Basin. Old Faithful isn’t the only attraction in the area, and families can follow well-marked paths to see thermal pools and geysers such as Morning Glory Pool that are just as beautiful. Be sure to talk to your children about the importance of staying away from the water – while it might look beautiful, it is dangerous.

Finding Wildlife

What do you want to see: bison, elk, bears or wolves? All are possible in Yellowstone, but the best chance to see the most animals is early in the morning in the Hayden and Lamar Valleys.

Family Tips

• Try waking up before sunrise and finding a pull-off in the Hayden Valley. Be patient (this isn’t a zoo), and you’re guaranteed to see some wildlife. On more than one morning, we rolled right out of bed to get into one of these valleys, bringing our breakfast with us to enjoy while we scoped the landscape for wildlife. You can use this time to talk to your children about the habitat that Yellowstone protects!
• If you’re looking for wolves, do your research and find out where the wolf watchers are gathering this year. We joined them in Lamar Valley at Slough Creek keeping watch over a den with wolf pups.
• Bison are ubiquitous in Yellowstone. If you want to see some incredible behavior, come during mating season, when the males engage in elaborate rituals, in July and August. But remember, they are not to be messed with; this is a great opportunity to talk to your children about the importance of viewing wildlife from a safe distance.

Grand Prismatic Hack

Perhaps the most congested spot at Yellowstone is Grand Prismatic Springs, but you and your family can still get a great view and avoid the crowds as well as see a gorgeous waterfall with this hike. Though don’t get us wrong, the main boardwalk is amazing too. So if you’re like us, do both! Visit Grand Prismatic in the conventional way and check out our hack!

• Get an early start and hike Fairy Falls. It’s 5.5 miles round trip and pretty flat, ending at a 200-foot cascade.
• Along the way, hike up to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook, which provides a bird’s eye view and is typically less crowded than the boardwalk near the springs. Take this chance to talk to your children about the importance of viewing the springs from a safe distance, as well as how the colors of the spring are caused by microorganisms in the water.
• Keep your eyes peeled for bears – they’re known to frequent this area. We saw fresh grizzly scat and an enormous set of paw prints right on the trail. Remind your kids that when hiking in bear country, it’s always important to make plenty of noise on trail. Also, always carry bear spray at Yellowstone!

Yellowstone is huge and offers a lot of options. Quite frankly, it can be overwhelming. Take your time and tackle the park one section per day. You can’t do it all at once. Also, be prepared to go off plan if things don’t work out. One of our best days was a spontaneous boat rental and a few hours out on Yellowstone Lake – which at 136 square miles is the largest freshwater lake above 7,000’ in North America! No matter how you visit Yellowstone, be prepared to have an experience that you’ll remember for a lifetime!

NPCA and Travelodge® by Wyndham hope this guide helps you plan your family’s next park site visit. Review our 10 Ways to Adventure Responsibly so your family adventure is not only an opportunity to make memories together, but also a chance to show your children how to be a responsible visitor. By learning and acting together, you’ll help ensure that these places are protected for families to enjoy for generations to come.

Follow Chris and his daughters on their park-to-park tour at www.parktoparktour.com and @parktoparktour on Instagram.