Tips for Visiting Yellowstone with Kids

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most amazing places on the planet, and if you’re considering a trip there with your family, I’ve got two words for you: DO IT. There are so many sights to see that you can’t experience anywhere else, and they will blow your kids’ minds. I promise you that you’ll walk away with great family memories that will last a lifetime.

That being said, you can expect to encounter thousands of other families trying to make the same memories at the same time. Yellowstone is a big, marvelous, and busy place – especially during the peak summer season. So if you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone with kids, here are my top tips to make it as smooth as possible.

1. Buy the Trail Guides. At most of the roadside stops and attractions are detailed trail guides that are available for a $1 donation. While you can certainly walk around and admire the formations and topographical features without it, they add so much richness to the experience. The trail guides offer easy-to-understand explanations of geothermal activity, outline eruption frequency and characteristics of individual geysers, and offer a wealth of information about the specific area you’re in, along with a map of the area. The trail guides are also great because even though there are frequently ranger-led walks and informational presentations, we found the park to be so expansive (and the timing of our stops and between-attraction travel to be so unpredictable) that trying to attend these talks was nearly impossible to plan for. Once in awhile we’d catch one, but most of the time it was just on accident. The trail guides are also helpful because you won’t have data service or wi-fi to look up information about specific sites. These are available at the Visitor Centers and sometimes at the trailheads. Pick one up for every place you plan to see!

2. Start Early, Stay Late. Any location you visit between the hours of 10am -5pm is going to be crazy busy. To avoid the crowds, visit the most popular locations first thing in the morning (like 8:00am) or at the end of the day. Don’t feel bad about taking an extended mid-day break to relax if you want to extend the start and end of your day as much as possible. If it’s convenient, head back to your campsite for a long lunch and to let the kids nap! It’s amazing how parking lots clear out around 5:00pm when everyone else heads home for dinner.

3. Pack Lots of Food. Okay, I just told you to take a mid-day break. But now I’m going to tell you to pack like you’re going to be gone for the whole day. No matter how well you plan your days at Yellowstone, there’s a good chance it’s going to get sidelined. You might get drawn in at a certain location, decide to stop off at a roadside attraction you hadn’t planned, or find that your drive time got extended by an hour because of wildlife in the road. More than once we had planned to return to our trailer mid-day but never made it. Pack enough food, snacks, and drinks to be gone the whole day and keep the kids happy and fed – even if you don’t plan to be out more than a few hours. Better to be safe than sorry!

4. Pack Extra Clothing Layers in the Car. You probably already know that the temps will fluctuate wildly and are planning to bring both warm-weather and cold-weather clothes. But do yourself a favor and keep clothing for all climates IN YOUR CAR – not just your hotel or campsite. It may be in the 40s when you wake up, but it could be blazing hot just a few hours later. And if you’re walking through the heat and steam of the geysers – forget it. On the other hand, a thunderstorm will probably roll in mid-afternoon and bring the temps right back down along with a wind that could end your day early if you’re not adequately prepared. To keep everyone comfortable and happy to continue exploring, make sure you’ve got clothing for every occasion on hand.

5. Plan Around Geysers. Geysers are ridiculously fun to watch – especially for kids. The park rangers predict the eruptions of a few of the most regular geysers, and the times are displayed at the Visitor Centers around the park. There are several other geysers that go off at short intervals. You could easily spend an entire day just in the Old Faithful area, so try to arrive at a time that will allow you to view as many geysers as possible. Check out the geyser times the night before to get an idea of when they erupt, and plan your “geyser day” accordingly. We found it easiest to arrive first thing in the morning and hit as many as possible during their eruptions times.

6. Ask the Rangers at Grant Visitor Center. If you have questions, are trying to finalize your day’s itinerary, or need hike recommendations, the park rangers know their stuff. They’re absolutely amazing resources – but it’s not uncommon to see a gigantic line at the Visitor Center waiting to talk to one. If you want to skip the line, we found that the Grant Visitor Center seemed to be less busy and have quicker access to park rangers.

7. Don’t Drive Loops. At first glance, it seems like Yellowstone was designed for you to drive a loop here and there to see the park. Though it doesn’t look like much on paper, it’s a LOT of driving. To get the most out of Yellowstone, pick one area a day and explore it as much as possible. We would frequently drive up a road and, if one of the stops along the way seemed overcrowded, we’d skip it and make a note to hit it on the way back when it was a non-peak time. With this strategy we only had to wait in line for parking once, for about 15 minutes.

8. Don’t Worry Too Much Whether You Plan Your Trip or Not. You might plan your trip down to the minute. Or you might not pick up a brochure until the ranger hands you one at the park entrance. Either way, you’ll love your visit. It’s helpful to know your “big ticket” attractions before you go (especially if your visit is brief) but it’s absolutely not necessary. The major stops are well-marked on all maps, you get fantastic informational material when you pay your admission fee at the entrance, and you can easily make a day-by-day game plan on the fly. So don’t worry if you haven’t read all the books and done all the research in advance. I bet you’ll still see everything you want.

9. Pack Your Patient Pants. This is good advice for any trip with kids. You might plan for 1 hour in a certain location, but your kids are enthralled and want to spend 3. Traffic might make drive times double, or your kids are just too hot mid-day and need a break. Don’t let your personal agenda sideline the mood of the vacation, and try to roll with the punches.

Yellowstone National Park is an amazing family vacation destination, but it’s also expansive and busy. Keeping your kids happy is essential to having a stress-free vacation, and knowing what to expect is half the battle. Have a loose plan, be well-prepared, and be flexible as you explore the park!

Have you visited Yellowstone? What are your top tips?

Tips for visiting Yellowstone with kids. Yellowstone National Park vacation tips.