It can take 7 hours to drive around the Grand Loop RoadTwo days for a quick trip to Yellowstone is feasible; one day for the upper loop and one day for the lower loop. But if you want to take your time and enjoy the beauty around you, planning for the detours you may experience, we suggest allotting four days.
However, the northern loop was our favorite. We started in West Yellowstone and headed North to Mammoth Springs then around to Canyon Village and back to West Yellowstone. We stopped many times for Elk, Bison and a Black Bear. Combine the animals stops with all of the scenic stops, our round trip took 11 hours.
You must have a car to see Yellowstone; there aren't any shuttles. Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road can be looked at as a figure 8, or an Upper Loop and a Lower Loop. Each loop takes about 2.5 hours to drive without stopping. It's feasible to spend a day on each loop and skim the highlights of the park.
A breathtaking river chasm, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is one of the most spectacular places to visit in Yellowstone National Park. This is the park's second-busiest area, after Old Faithful, and it's not hard to see why.
In 1915 Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road was opened. The 142 mile figure 8-shaped paved road connects the park's main attractions, and gives visitors up close and personal accounts of some of the world's most striking natural features.
What Yellowstone entrance is closest to Jackson Hole? Yellowstone is most accessible from Jackson Hole through the South Entrance just north of Jackson Lake. From the town of Jackson, the south entrance is about 57 miles, which takes about one hour 15 minutes in normal summer conditions.
Food is cheaper there and they have more variety. You can keep the cooler in your hard-sided car, hotel room, or one of the bear boxes in the campgrounds. Yellowstone bears don't seem to break into cars like in Yosemite.
In this “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”, families can view yellow-tinted cliffs and the Yellowstone River at its most active at both the Upper and Lower Falls. The best hiking and waterfall viewing is found at Lower Falls, which can be viewed by car pull-out along the North Rim Drive at Lookout Point and Red Rock Point.
West Yellowstone EntranceThe West Entrance is the park's busiest and most popular entrance, and it's also the second-closest to Bozeman International Airport, taking roughly two hours to drive to the West Entrance.
The West Entrance is an excellent jumping-off point for seeing some of the best geysers in the park! From here, you're close to Norris, Old Faithful, and Grand Prismatic just to name a few. Because of its location, this entrance is usually my preferred place to stay near the park.