For Day 4 of the itinerary, we recommended scheduling a specialty tour, such as horseback riding or kayaking. We booked Yellowstone Mountain Guides for a half-day ride. The guides were wonderful and great with leading the horses.
The meeting place is close to West Yellowstone, so we had more time to eat a proper breakfast and chose the classic diner Running Bear Pancake House. It served great pancakes and egg plate specials. Many tours include a lunch, but you’ll want to pack extra snacks to fuel your day until dinner.
If you have time after the tour, we recommend finishing up the sites with the Norris Geyser Basin (pictured above). The steam and roar from the geysers in this area feels “other worldly.” Choose either of the short loops to take in the view.
Optionally, on the way back to West Yellowstone, you can stop at the Artists’ Paintpots Trail. Though, you will see similar features in other parts of the park that we mentioned.
This is our last recommended night at West Yellowstone, so call it an early day and pick a local restaurant to go out.
Day 5:
While you are visiting Yellowstone, we highly recommend visiting nearby Grand Teton National Park. Take the scenic park route to Jackson, Wyoming, the recommended base for Grand Tetons. There are more stops along the way in Yellowstone, such as Great Fountain Geyser, Firehole Lake Drive, and Firehole Canyon Drive, but these were closed for the season during our late spring visit.
Drive out of Yellowstone via its South Entrance and then all the way through Grand Teton National Park. This will give you a good overview of the park. If you have time, feel free to stop at any of the scenic lookouts, but there is time for that on other days, too.
Make sure to reserve a hotel well in advance in Jackson, Wyoming. Lodging can be expensive and fill up quickly. We stayed at the Antler Inn, which we highly recommend. It was a standard hotel room decorated in a western cabin style. It included a fridge/microwave, was close to the center of downtown Jackson, a community hot tub, and was one of the more reasonable options. The inn lets you borrow bear spray at no cost.
After getting settled in, walk around Jackson, check out the main square with the antler arches, and find a restaurant to eat. It’s worth walking into the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, to see the unique saddle bar stools and check out their musical performance schedule.