Epic 4 Day Itinerary for Yellowstone With Kids: The Grand Loop Road!

Planning a trip to America’s first National Park can be overwhelming! It’s huge, magical, and a total bucket list vacation. Both me and my husband grew up visiting Yellowstone multiple times, and we’ve got you covered with the best 4 day Yellowstone National Park itinerary for families. From the best easy hikes, boardwalk trails, and wildlife viewing spots – you’ll have the best trip EVER!

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Day 1 in Yellowstone With Kids:

Explore Gardiner, Montana and Mammoth Hot Springs!

Where to Stay for Day 1:

Camping Near Mammoth Hot Springs

• Mammoth Campground: the only campground inside the park that is open year round!
• Yellowstone Hot Springs Campground: you can explore the hot springs here too
• Yellowstone RV Park
• Indian Creek Campground

Hotels & Vacation Rentals Near Mammoth Hot Springs

• Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel & Cabins: A historic hotel located inside the park
• The Ridgeline Hotel at Yellowstone
• The Roosevelt Hotel
• Yellowstone Riverside Cottages

First Stop: Gardiner, Montana

This 4 day Yellowstone itinerary is based in starting your trip in Gardiner, Montana near the North entrance of Yellowstone. If you come in through the West entrance, just follow this itinerary backwards.

Yellowstone Hot Springs

Start your trip off with a bang by visiting Yellowstone Hot Springs! This family friendly hot springs is one of the best in Montana and the perfect way to start the trip. If you are interested in getting into the park right away, you can skip this stop – but it’s a little bit outside of the park so you’ll have to backtrack if you plan to visit later (it’s 8 miles outside of the park).

They have two hot pools – the main pools are 98-100F and the hot pool is 103-105F. They also have a cold plunge if you’re brave that is 60-65F! Kids of all ages are allowed.

Tip: you don’t need a reservation, but if you want to camp – you can reserve a campsite here! Don’t forget your swim diapers – they do sell them in the store, but may not carry every size.

Grab Food in Gardiner

We haven’t spent a ton of time in Gardiner, we are usually too excited to get in the park! But it’s a cool gateway town that you could spend a whole weekend exploring. If you want to grab some food before heading into the park, here are a few family friendly options in Gardiner.

• Yellowstone Pizza Company
• Yellowstone Perk (for icecream!)
• Backcountry Bistro

Visit the Roosevelt Arch

The Roosevelt Arch was built as a way to draw people to visit Yellowstone National Park, and has since become a recognizable symbol of the first National Park in the world. You can walk or drive through the arch, and make sure to check out the inscription “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”.

Tip: if you packed a lunch, there is a grass park just down the hill from the arch where you can enjoy your picnic. Elk like to hang out here, so be looking for wildlife!

Take a Picture with the Yellowstone Park Sign

If you have a family tradition of taking a picture with the National Park sign, you can find a park sign right near the Roosevelt Arch. Once you’re done here, you’ll be headed towards the park entrance, so get your national park pass ready!

Tip: If you’re visiting multiple National Parks this year, you can save yourself money by buying an America the Beautiful pass! This pass will get you entrance to all National Parks over the course of a year. It will definitely save you money, if you frequent the National Parks.

STop #2: Explore Mammoth Hot Springs

Walk Around the Mammoth Terraces

The mammoth terraces are one of my favorite places in Yellowstone. They are constantly changing and will likely look different the next time you visit. The Mammoth Terrace trails are boardwalk trails that circle around the upper and lower terraces.

If you only have a very short time, choose the lower terraces, but if you have more time, check out both. The boardwalks can get really busy mid day, so I recommend visiting on the evening of your first day, or early in the morning.

Total distances are hard to estimate because the boardwalks are regularly changing (due to the changing terraces), but the lower terrace trail is really short, probably 0.5 miles or less. The upper terraces, if you do the whole trail is probably 1.5 to 2 miles.

Yellowstone Itinerary Day 2

Where to Stay Near Lake Yellowstone

Camping Near Lake Yellowstone

• Fishing Bridge Campground
• Bridge Bay Campground

Hotels & Vacation Rentals Near Lake Yellowstone

• Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Cabins
• Lake Lodge Cabins (we stayed here and loved it!)
• Canyon Lodge and Cabins (closer to the Grand Canyon and farther from Lake Yellowstone)

See Wildlife in the Lamar valley

The next day you’re going to want to wake up EARLY for the best chance at seeing wildlife. I would recommend trying to make it to Lamar Valley before 9 AM if you want the best chance at seeing animals. Drive about an 45 minutes to 1 hour to the Lamar Valley which is the best spot to see wildlife in Yellowstone including bison, bears, wolves, and more!

TIP: If you don’t want to spend the extra time in the car, there’s a good chance you’ll see wildlife in other places in the park, especially bison. We loved the Lamar Valley, but depending on how good your kids are in the car, you could skip this stop!

Visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is the perfect stop on the way from Mammoth Hot Springs to Lake Yellowstone. There are several different viewpoints that you can visit that are ALL beautiful and worth visiting if you have time.

One of our favorite viewpoints is the Artist Point area. It’s a very short (maybe a quarter mile) from the parking lot to the viewpoint. From here, you can see the whole canyon and a view of the waterfalls. If you want to explore more, you can drive the North Rim drive and South Rim drive and check out some of the viewpoints along the way.

TIP: Parking for the North Rim and South Rim drives can be sparse. But it’s usually a relatively quick stop for people so a spot should open up if you wait a few minutes!

Drive Through the Hayden Valley

Continue on the way from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone towards Lake Yellowstone and you’ll drive through the Hayden Valley. Be prepared to be stuck in a bison traffic jam here, it’s one of the most well knowns places in Yellowstone to see wildlife (after the Lamar Valley).

There are a few viewpoints you can stop at on the way if you want to stop and check out the bison with your binoculars or just stretch your legs. Even if you don’t stop, keep your eyes peeled for wildlife and enjoy the beautiful drive.

See the Mud Volcano Explode

Another great boardwalk trail in Yellowstone is the Mud Volcano. This stop is a little less known than some of the other boardwalk trails, but it can still be pretty crowded. Here you can see mud bubbling up in small “eruptions” that looks like a small scale volcano.

Our kids loved this spot and so did we! The total boardwalk trail is about 0.5 mile and the perfect kid friendly trail for stretching your legs.

Have a Drink at the Lake Yellowstone hotel

This stop is a little more for the parents, but exploring the Lake Yellowstone Hotel is a must when visiting the Lake Yellowstone area. This hotel is the oldest hotel built in a National Park (built in 1891!) While it’s obviously had some renovations, this hotel retains a lot of it’s old charm.

Plus, it has some pretty beautiful views of the lake, and is the perfect place to have a cocktail after spending a little bit of time in the car. If you’re lucky enough to stay here, you can explore more of the area!

Watch Sunset on Lake Yellowstone

Lake Yellowstone is the largest lake above 7000 feet in the lower 48, and spending sunset here is the perfect way to end your action packed day. You can enjoy the sunset in several different ways. One way is to take a one hour boat cruise of Lake Yellowstone. Kids under 3 are free, but you’ll still need to make a reservation here.

If you’re not interested in a cruise, you can enjoy a beautiful sunset from the shore. There are several pullouts where you can park and see the view. Keep in mind that Lake Yellowstone stays VERY cold all year round, so be extra cautious if you are going to swim.

Day 3 Lake Yellowstone Itinerary

Where to Stay Near Old Faithful

camping Near Old Faithful

• Madison Campground
• Anywhere in West Yellowstone

Hotels & Vacation Rentals Near Old Faithful

• Old Faithful Inn
• Old Faithful Lodge
• Old Faithful Snow Lodge
• Grant Village (about 15 miles from Old Faithful)
• Explorer Cabins (about 20 miles from Old Faithful)

Walk the West Thumb Geyser Basin

The West Thumb Geyser Basin is a fun boardwalk trail located along the shores of Lake Yellowstone. The whole boardwalk is about a mile but could be a little shorter or longer depending on the detours you take. Along this trail, you’ll see hot springs inside the lake, incredible blue colors, the fountain paint pots, and more.

Visit the Visitor Center Near Old Faithful

The Old Faithful area is one of the busiest areas in the park, so if you’re going to be out and about mid day you need to prepare yourself for the crowds. If you are interested in getting a passport stamp, talking to a ranger, or shopping for souvenirs, go check out the Visitor Center at Old Faithful.

Tip: They have a board in the visitor center that shows the predicted eruption times of the major geysers in the area. Take a picture so you can reference later.

Another Tip: If you’re getting a passport stamp, ask the person at the gift shop if they have the “special stamp”. They keep it behind the counter to prevent it getting stolen.

See the Historic Old Faithful Inn

The Old Faithful Inn is the biggest log structure in the world and is a really beautiful hotel to visit. We actually got to stay here, so we were able to explore the stunning hotel when there was no one around! If you’re not staying there, you can explore during the day (again expect crowds), or visit the restaurants, gift shops, etc.

Tip: They offer tours of the hotel which leads to more crowds here. If you’re visiting with little kids, I personally wouldn’t recommend a tour in the busy season. Keep a close eye on your kids here so they don’t get lost in the crowd!

Another tip: follow these guidelines for avoiding crowds in Yellowstone – it’s especially important in the Old Faithful area.

Get Ice Cream at the Old Faithful General Store

The Old Faithful General Store is a great place to get souvenirs and ICE CREAM. If you’re like us, we usually have ice cream on most days of our family vacations. If you’ve had enough shopping for the day, you can also get ice cream at the Old Faithful Inn.

Explore the Trails Near Old Faithful

Because the Old Faithful area can be so crowded mid day, I usually recommend waiting to watch Old Faithful erupt until sunrise or sunset if you can make it work. If that doesn’t work for where you are staying, make sure to get there early so you can get a spot close enough to see.

If you are able to wait to visit Old Faithful, head over and explore some of the boardwalk trails nearby. Here are a few options, or talk to a Park Ranger at the visitor center for recommendations.

Black Sand Basin:

The Black Sand Basin loop is about 0.5 miles. If you have to choose one, I would choose to do biscuit basin over black sand, but they are both great! Keep a close eye on your kids on the boardwalks, there aren’t always railings and the hot springs are extremely dangerous.

Biscuit Basin

(The boardwalk trail is closed as of 2025 – check all trails or ask a ranger)

The Biscuit Basin loop is a 0.7 mile boardwalk loop. From this area, you can also access Mystic Falls (2.2 miles) or do the hike from Biscuit Basin to Morning Glory Pool (2.1 miles).

4 Day Itinerary for Yellowstone:

Watch Old Faithful Erupt at Sunrise

One of our core memories in Yellowstone and maybe our favorite moment of our 4 days in Yellowstone was watching Old Faithful at sunrise. There was no one around and it was absolutely MAGICAL. If you can drag your kids (or yourself!) out of bed to watch this, you won’t regret it.

Then spend the next hour or so wandering around the boardwalk trails around Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin to see the some of the other unique geothermic features. We loved how peaceful this area was in the morning!

Visit Midway Geyser Basin

Another one of our favorite parts of our trip to Yellowstone (check out our first timer’s guide!), was visiting the Midway Geyser Basin. Here we walked along the boardwalk trails around the famous Grand Prismatic Spring. Grand Prismatic is the 3rd largest hot spring in the entire world and the beautiful colors are really impressive.

If you walk the whole boardwalk it’s about 0.7 miles. You can’t see the colors as well from down here on the boardwalk, but it’s still pretty incredible.

Hike to the Grand Prismatic Overlook

If you want to see the incredible colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring, you’ll need to get a little higher for a birds eye view! Luckily, there is an easy and family friendly trail, Grand Prismatic Overlook, which will do just that.

The hike to Grand Prismatic Overlook is 1.5 miles with 200 feet of elevation and it’s a great easy hike in Yellowstone! It’s for sure one of our favorite things to do in Yellowstone.

The Fairy Falls Trail and the Grand Prismatic Overlook trailheads are located in the same place. The parking lot is pretty small and this is a popular trail so as with everything in Yellowstone – plan to be there early!

Explore West Yellowstone

To end your trip, head out through the West entrance to the park and explore the town of West Yellowstone. There are a ton of things to do here with kids! A few of our favorites are:

• Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center: an educational, non-profit facility where you can see grizzlies and wolves in captivity. They have 8 wolves who were born in captivity in a facility that could not keep them but they cannot be released into the wild, They also have 6 bears that were deemed “nuisance bears” and had to be placed in a facility or be euthanized.
• Eating Dinner at the Yellowstone Beer Company – good food and beer for the parents and room to roam for the kids.

Map of Your 4 Day Itinerary for Yellowstone

Happy Travels! Looking for More About Yellowstone?

I hope you enjoyed this Yellowstone road trip, it’s one of our favorite family vacations. Check out our list of everything you need to know before traveling to Yellowstone with Toddlers or Babies! And for a little fun before you go, here is our list of all the Best Books to Read Before Visiting Yellowstone (both adult and kids books!)