For Day 3 of our Yellowstone Itinerary, we recommend the far north area of Yellowstone. See our 5-day recommendation in the Yellowstone Category.
Like we mentioned on the previous days, we started in West Yellowstone early with a packed picnic to get to Lamar Valley by 7am. This is a prime viewing area for animals, and this is where the famed wolves are typically spotted. If you are set on seeing the wolves, plan to be there closer to 5am with gear in hand. We had already seen plenty of animals on our trip, so we were casual viewers. To see the predators, it is best to pack binoculars and/or a telephoto lens, since you do not want to get close to the animals. You can rent these in the gateway towns. Either way, there usually is a photographer set up with a lens on the wolves bright and early. They often will let you take a peak.
After hanging out in the valley for a few hours and viewing bison, elk, and sheep, we drove across the park to Mammoth Hot Springs. During this drive is when we spotted our bears! They are common in this area, so keep your eyes peeled. Likely, there will be a line of cars pulled over near the bear.
Mammoth Hot Springs has beautiful terrace formations. The Lower Terraces area is a short walk full of stairs. The scenery is fascinating and we took our time. There is a general store and bathrooms in this area if you need a break. We recommend the Lower Terraces, but were tired and skipped the Upper Terraces. You can drive and park to see the Upper Terraces, but traffic can be busy. If you have the energy, we recommend just walking around them, too.
Afterwards, we drove to Gardiner, Montana for a late lunch and to see the original northern entrance gate. This road became flooded out in the summer of 2022, and we recommend checking on the road conditions before finalizing plans. Otherwise, Gardiner has eateries, groceries, and equipment rentals. We stopped at the Iron Horse for beers and pub food on their large outdoor deck.
We decided to visit the Yellowstone Hot Springs and take a dip in their mineral pools. We were there with a handful of people, and the hot springs were just want we needed to relax our muscles a little bit. The springs are pumped into the pool and hot tubs, which include both hot and cold plunges.
After that, drive the several hours back to the hotel, with dinner in Gardiner or West Yellowstone depending on how long you were out for the day.