This is our recommendation if you are spending 4-5 days in Yellowstone. For this itinerary, it is best to start early, drive straight to Yellowstone Canyon, drive through Hayden Valley to Yellowstone Lake and the West Thumb Basin.
We recommend packing a breakfast/lunch or picking up a boxed lunch from Ernie’s to save time. Visit our West Yellowstone post for options.
To make this itinerary work, it is best to drive to the canyon early, hoping to arrive by 7am or 8am. Yellowstone Canyon with the Upper and Lower Falls is beautiful. We parked at Uncle Tom’s Parking Area (which has bathrooms) and highly recommend the South Rim Trail. You walk a short way to get a good look at the Upper Falls, and then continue hiking along the ridge to Artist Point. The South Rim Trail, in the spring, may still be snowy and hard to navigate, and is best attempted after Memorial Day. If you get to hike it, you are rewarded with a wooded trail, that winds out to the canyon’s edge at various picturesque points. It ends at Artist Point, which is definitely worth stopping and taking in the view. We then hiked along the road South Rim Drive to get back to our car.
Other options: You can drive to the different points. We visited on a spring morning and didn’t have any trouble parking, a concern during busier times. The North Rim Trail also has great view points, but it is a little longer.
Next, drive to Yellowstone Lake via the Hayden Valley. (If wildlife is your priority, start the day with this valley instead. Though, we visit the Lamar Valley in Itinerary 3, where wildlife is abundant.) Along the way, there is Mud Volcano. It is right near the road if you want to stop and take a quick peak.
The road goes along the north of Yellowstone Lake before turning south to West Thumb Basin. Along Yellowstone Lake, we pulled over in one of the alcoves to have a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day by the lake. A frequent visitor told us that seeing the lake still iced over in May was strange. We enjoyed the view and took a few scenic pictures before moving on to West Thumb Basin.
At West Thumb, take the short walk to look at the geysers. There is a concentration here, and some of them were spewing steam in the side of the lake surrounded by ice. We also saw moose close to the trail, so keep an eye out and keep a safe distance.
If you want to take a longer hike, you can take the Overlook Trail. It has some elevation, so you get a little view of the lake. The first couple of sections were so muddy that we turned back. A park ranger told us that, in the spring, the whole trail can be that way.
By this point, it Is likely to be late in the afternoon, and you still have a long drive back to West Yellowstone (our preferred base town for Yellowstone), so we recommend starting back towards town. We wrapped up this day at the Serenity Bistro. The restaurant takes local ingredients and serves them with a French twist. They serve local beers and wines are not overly expensive. It was a delicious way to end a day of driving and hiking.