Very thankful we caught this beautiful sight, this was on our way out from Lone Star Geyser. It was an amazing first trip!

Just took an awesome, multi-week cross-country trip to Yellowstone, and stopped at Indiana Dunes, Badlands and Rushmore on the way.

Went to Old Faithful the very last day of my trip and witnessed this absolute jerk flying a drone around the geyser during an eruption. Grabbed this video, sprinted to the visitor center, and found a ranger. Ranger immediately went out and confronted him and walked him to an awaiting park vehicle.

I left my information behind at the visitor center with another ranger in case they wanted a statement but did not hear back, so I really hope he was banned and heavily penalized. Screw this selfish behavior - this is how incredible natural features get destroyed or changed forever.

Canon R5 RF 100-500
RF 70-200 2.8

This was my families and I first time in Yellowstone. We had a grand time there and the Tetons and were able to see a Black Bear, a herd of Bison, a Grizzly Bear, herd of Mule Deer, herd of Elk, Chipmunks, Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels, a couple Mooses and I want to say a Mink but didnt get a good look before a power hiking couple barged right past everyone and scared off the critter.

One thing that did annoy me was the day we saw the Grizzly. about 2 pm we made our way through Hayden Valley on our way to the mud volcanoes and hoping to spot some wildlife along the way. that's when we approached a huge traffic jam and told my wife that it must be a bear but we couldnt spot anything except a couple of bison far off in the distance. We parked alongside the road and walked over to where everyone else was.

here i can say most people have no idea what they are looking at as a gentlemen, on his way back to his car, pointed out to me an animal far off into the distance as a grizzly bear. all he had were his own two eyes. I had already confirmed with my binoculars that that animal was a bison. luckily there was a lady with 2 spotting scopes who pointed out exactly where the grizzly was by the water, and even let my 2 kids get a better look at the grizzly with her scope. now at this time most people were along the road and there were a handful of people further up the road (away from canyon village) on a hill but the lady we talked to was the only one with a spotting scope set up.

about 30 minutes later we left and spotted some orange rocks that were definitely rocks to the naked eye. we stopped and confirmed that we were very wrong and that they were indeed elk as another older gentlemen near us told us as he marveled at them. told him about the grizzly on the other side and he said he had enough elk for the day and ran off with his party.

now were things got dicey is that after we visited the mud volcanoes we went back to see if the herd of elk moved, hoping to get a better look at them. they were more active than before but they were in the same spot. but we noticed the crowd around the grizzly moved closer to the turnout where the elk were, on the hill on the other side. so we went back to the grizzly but were now on the hill where at least 20+ spotting scopes were set up. we did notice that the lady we spoke to earlier was no longer there.

the bear had moved across the river in the time that we were gone but was still pretty close to it when we came back. i made sure my 2 kids with their binoculars were not blocking the view of the scopers, but within the first few minutes we were there, the grizzly continued to move away from the river and the people with the scopes started telling people to move out of the way and to not block their views. My kids hadnt move until some lady started to physically brush up against people to force them to move out of the sightlines between the scopers and the still moving bear.

told her to dont push my kids which she responded that they are in the way and needed to move. a different lady chimed in and told the lady trying to push my kids and others, and the scopers to move like everyone else which was responded by a scoper "What, like closer to the bear like you idiots?" (everyone was on the same hill and the bear was over 500 yards away, (according to Google Maps)). think they lost everyone with that one line, because a handful of people with scopes kept on going about respect, that they were there first, common decency and etiquette but was ignored by everyone else with some of the more aggressive non scopers standing directly in front of the spotting scopes.

is this a common issue at the parks? i have mostly read about people behaving badly by assuming that spotting scopes are public property, entitled to use them to get better looks at animals or obstructing views of preexisting sightlines but not about people with spotting scopes feeling entitled to clear sightlines when an animal is moving.

Hi! I need help thinking through my Yellowstone Plan. Here’s the skeletal schedule: 

Day 1: Arrive Bozeman at noon, stay in Bozeman
Day 2: Bozeman, Cowboy Cookout at 4:45pm, (staying Roosevelt Lodge)
Day 3: ____ (staying Roosevelt Lodge)
Day 4: ____, Geiser tour 4:45, (staying at Old Faithful)
Day 5: ____ → Tetons
Day 6, 7: Tetons
Day 8: Drive back to Bozeman

I’m really needing help with how to maximize time. A few questions:

Is it worth it on Day 1 to drive to the park to see anything or just check out Bozeman?

On day 2, should we do part of the upper loop (Like Mammoth → Norris) and then drive back to get to the Roosevelt area by 4:45? I’m lost here.

We really want to drive on the Beartooth Hwy and hang in Lamar Valley– how do we fit this in?

Could I do the bottom loop on Day 4, or partially, and then hit West Yellowstone on the way back on Day 8?

What other advice would you give on how you’d arrange your time?

I think Yellowstone might be my new favorite national park. Here's a summary of our Yellowstone trip.

We spent two nights in Yellowstone and three nights in Jackson for Grand Teton.

Stayed in Canyon Lodge at Dunraven building fourth floor with a view of the woods. Had some strong thunder storms that was cool to watch out the window. in our last night, the power went out in the afternoon through the next morning when we checked out.

We were able to see Hayden Valley on the way to Canyon Lodge and spotted a bear coming out of the river.

After we checked in we went to the Brink of the Lower falls. Got dumped on by a thunderstorm just as we got to the bottom of the trail.

Next morning we got up early and headed to Lamar Valley for the Lamar Valley River trail. Lots of bison. Got to see a trio of coyotes and a bear that was much further away than the one we saw in Hayden Valley.

After our hike we headed towards Mammoth Hot Springs​ for a hike around the springs.

Called it a day after that and headed back to the lodge for some burgers in the village.

Power went out after dinner, so we just chilled in the room. Wifi was actually still working.

We passed out super early at like 7pm, so ended up waking up at like 2:30am. Decided to head out for stargazing. Tried to stop at inspiration point nearby, but it was too foggy. Headed to Mt. Washburn instead and wow... milkyway was just above us and lots of shooting stars.

Headed back to check out and made our way back to Jackson. On the way back we stopped by Norris Geyser Basin to see Steamboat Geyser.

Continued our drive and took the Firehole Canyon Road detour. Wow, one of my favorite parts of the trip. Got to see a bald eagle chase a crane or some sort of large bird.

Next was the Grand Prismatic Spring ​Overlook. It was pretty foggy at the time so we ended up waiting 45min or so for the fog to clear up a lot. Steam was still rising though, so didn't get to see it completely clear.

Final stop before Jackson was Old Faithful. Got lucky with timing and waited about ten minutes to see it erupt.

​I know Yellowstone has a lot, but I feel like we covered a lot in the two nights and half travel days.

Jackson and Grand Teton were also great.

Edit: Few videos posted in comments.

Any Yellowstone locals looking for some cash? Second car just cancelled and I need a last minute shuttle for 2 on Sunday, July 26th ish. Could split part of it Saturday. Bechler RS to Lone Star TH, by Old Faithful.

We could do part Saturday and part Sunday if that’s easier. Whatever works for you.

Gratuitous picture from 6Y6 last year.

Thanks much

My friend and I will be traveling to Yellowstone and Grand Teton in a couple weeks from Washington. We will be road tripping and car camping/backpacking for the duration of the trip. We plan on entering the through the Yellowstone North Entrance, backpacking Lamar Valley (yes, we have a permit) and then slowly heading south into Grand Teton. We do want to see some of the touristy stuff but are more interested in things that draw less of a crowd. I do think Grand Teton may be more our vibe and we’ll probably end up spending more time there.

Looking for any advice on:

Dispersed camping/campsites in nearby national forests, we do have some campground reservations but not for our whole trip.

Paddle boarding destinations in Grand Teton, we did buy the non-motorized boat permits for our inflatable paddle boards and do plan on stopping at boat check stations.

Long-distance road tripping advice, any gear or recommendations that we may be missing.

Want to preface that yes, this will be our first time in grizzly country, but we are no strangers to bear country and bear safety while backpacking. But any tips that may be useful for our first time backpacking in Yellowstone would be appreciated. We both work in the outdoor industry and have backcountry/wilderness skills and knowledge.

Favorite places to shower/do laundry

Favorite places to eat

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, my girlfriend and I are going to Yellowstone next week. I have done a decent amount of geologic field work there, mostly completely off trail, but she is not familiar with the area. We aren't in great shape anymore, but I would like to find a fairly secluded hiking trail. Hopefully, with some snow, but not necessary if the hike is too strenuous. I miss the feeling of being completely immersed in the park, but I also want to keep safety in mind.

Do y'all have any suggestions for 2-4 mile hikes with scenic views that aren't super crowded (the last time I went was 2017)?

Thanks!

We have a campsite booked at Madison campground and will be car camping in the next week, should we change our dates to September to get away from the crowds and the heat or stick with our reservation? We see it going up to 40 degrees some days.

EDITING: THIS IS FOR CASUAL HIKERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU KNOW, TOURISTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bear spray, check; travel in groups, check; make noise, check ....................... the ONE piece of advice that I always tell people is one of the most important ones that gets seldom mentioned: do not start your hikes outside of 9am to 5pm. Remember the fatal mauling in Glacier ? The guy emptied the bear spray can (https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/07/22/nightmare-scenario-victim-of-glacier-grizzly-attack-likely-surprised-bear-in-the-dark/) and did not help at all.

He was hiking at night in a heavily wooded area and he literally ran into a bear that he never saw (if you are a bear and something is coming at you, it's game on). You need to reduce your chances of running into a bear, forget about what to do when you run into one, and the way to reduce those chances is to be on the trail when the chance of a bear being there is also reduced when the bear is getting up to eat or getting ready to bed for the night. I suspect the guy deployed the bear spray after the initial charge, but in darkness you have no clue where the bear is coming from.

The Glacier attack was vicious, not typical. I see people posting here asking for dawn and dusk locations, make sure those locations are safe (ask the rangers, they are beyond helpful).

Week trip planned for end of September. Staying in Gardiner 3 nights and 3 nights in island park.

My odd day is Friday night. We need to leave Gardiner and head somewhere. I really wanted to see the grand Tetons, but not sure if I can squeeze it in.

I know the park is huge. We don’t have anything really planned besides seeing wildlife so I’m pretty flexible in terms of time.
Would it be worth it to drive south towards Tetons and stay at headwaters? That’s really the only place around there that’s available. It’s not cheap, but I keep thinking it might be worth it.

Would it be too long to drive south that far and then Saturday we would need to be heading to island park. Maps says it’s about hr and half drive from headwaters to island park. Not too bad. Basically are the Tetons worth a day?

Has anyone stayed at headwaters?

Thank you!

Hello! I'm looking for some advice for our upcoming mid-September trip.

We're flying into Bozeman around 9:00 p.m. and would like to get into the park as early as possible the following morning. I know the drive can have a lot of wildlife after dark, so our original plan was to stay overnight in Bozeman and enter through the North Entrance the next morning.

However, I realized Livingston isn't much farther and would put us a little closer to the park. How is the drive from Bozeman to Livingston after dark? Is it generally considered a safe and easy drive, or would you recommend just staying in Bozeman for the night?

Thanks in advance! We're so excited for this trip!

Zoomed in photo included

going to Yellowstone for a few days in August. have campgrounds booked for Madison and Canyon Campground. I obviously plan to do Old Faithful, grand prismatic spring, Grand Canyon (along with many other stops) but what advice would you have for timing those larger tourist attractions? Is there a better time of day to visit these? Advice for parking? TIA