Even a month after, it’s hard to believe the whirlwind May I had. After all, I visited four new states in just three days! While Washington was a bonus “bleisure” trip for me from work, Sara and I planned our Yellowstone National Park vacation as part of our “50 before 50” initiative. As we both prepare to turn 30 later this year, it was a great way to set ourselves up for another decade of exploring.
Side note: current state counts for both of us are Katie – 27 and Sara – 30.
And explore, we did! Our 3.5 days exploring Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area gave us a chance to get off the beaten path and turn off the road when something looked interesting. We had loose plans going into the trip, which meant we had plenty of opportunities to pivot. Here’s how we spent our time there…
Day 1: Bozeman, Montana > Gardiner, Montana
After a layover in Minneapolis, and the shared excitement of a girl sitting next to us on the plane receiving her acceptance to nursing school, we made it to Bozeman. Bozeman is one of the three airports accessible to Yellowstone National Park, and it was the best (read: cheapest) option for us. We landed in the early afternoon and picked up our Avis rental car – free upgrade! – to begin our drive south.
On our way to Gardiner, we stopped in Livingston, Montana, which turned out to be super cute. We spent a couple hours wandering around downtown, finding such gems as the book sale at the Livingston-Park County Public Library, where we both picked up some new reads; as well as Fireflies Coffee and Ice Cream, which was the perfect snack stop.
Driving from there, we found a rest stop with gorgeous views, which is apparently common in that area – use the rest stops as a chance to soak it all in! We checked into the Antler Lodge, which is just outside the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We grabbed dinner at Outlaws Pizza (would recommend) and picked up groceries from the Gardiner Market, then called it a night.
Day 2: Gardiner, Montana > Yellowstone National Park
Since we were right by the entrance to the park, this was our day to really soak in the park. After breakfast at the hotel, we packed up and checked out. Before entering the park, we were able to see the Yellowstone National Park Gateway Garden, as well as the Roosevelt Arch. We then paid our $35 entry fee – good for a week! – and made our way into Yellowstone National Park.
The park itself is beautiful, though we learned quickly that our great idea to visit in early May (more of the shoulder season) meant that some roads and views were still closed off due to snow. Not something two Florida girls had considered, but it did impact what we could see and do. Fortunately, we still got to see a ton of great things, including:
- The Albright Visitor Center, where we had our first bison sighting
- Pallet Spring
- Canary, Dreyad Springs
- Roaring Mountain
- Norris Geyser Basin Overlook (the actual basin was one of several things closed off)
- Gibbon Falls
- Madison Information Station, which was the closest we got to bison
- Fountain Paint Pot trail – highly recommend a stop!
- Midway Geyser Basin trail, where you’ll find Grand Prismatic Spring
And then we wrapped it up with an Old Faithful eruption, right as we got to our hotel, the Old Faithful Inn! In theory, this was a great place to stay, as the cabin was built in the early 1900s and kept us right by the geyser. In practice, we found it didn’t provide enough to be worthwhile. While super convenient, the restaurant options were lacking (and several were closed when we got there), we had a shared bathroom, and only one of the three hotels in the area – the Snow Lodge – offered internet access. I’m glad to have the experience, but I can’t say I’d stay here again.
Day 3: Yellowstone National Park > West Yellowstone, Montana
We had breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room, then managed to get another view of Old Faithful erupting, before we checked out. We used this opportunity to pick up some goodies from the gift shop – I got a YNP tee shirt for the kiddo for only $5 – and use the Snow Lodge’s internet before we hit the road.
We were now working part of the previous day’s path backwards, so there was a lot of overlap in the sights. New stops for us this time around were Black Sand Basin and then Biscuit Basin, where we had another bison sighting. From there, we made our way out of the West Entrance of the park, which brought us to West Yellowstone.
Lucky for us, we were able to check in early to the Explorer Cabins (affiliated with Gray Wolf Inn & Suites)! So we opted for an easy afternoon, walking around the shops and grabbing a late lunch at Firehole Bar-B-Que Co. We then “made camp” at our cabin for the night, which was absolutely lovely. I mean, who can pass up a s’mores kit?
Day 4: West Yellowstone, Montana > Bozeman, Montana
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out, with big plans for a new state! We grabbed gas, then coffee (and huckleberry ice cream) from the Espresso & Ice Cream House, then began our drive into Idaho! We were on our way to Upper Mesa Falls, which Sara had raved about from a previous visit to the area.
Well, the road to Upper Mesa Falls was closed due to snow. This was definitely disappointing, but we still got to check out the Island Park Dam (surprisingly gorgeous), as well as shop for snacks at Robin’s Roost. We made our way back to West Yellowstone for lunch, getting a great takeaway deal from Ernie’s Bakery & Deli, then started our trip north.
Shout out to Sara for the excellent playlists, as this was definitely our heaviest day of driving. When we arrived in Bozeman, I had so many new songs to add, and we were able to check into the RSVP Motel. Don’t let the “motel” fool you, this place is super cute. We then took the afternoon to explore downtown, which included highlights like Steep Mountain Tea House, The Montana Scene, and La Petite Châtelaine Chocolat Co. We ultimately made our way to Sidewinders, for some seriously tasty spinach artichoke dip.
Our evening was low-key, while I shopped for a covid test (a requirement for work), and we scoped out some of the local little free libraries. We put gas in the car and made sure we were as packed as possible before our very, very early flights out the next morning.