My friends and I did a roadtrip to Yellowstone and I took this photo that I felt really embodied the experience for me. Thought I'd share

Jam jam jam

Anything happening that I am not aware of? I thought the post Labor Day weekend usually the crowds started to diminish.

I was surprised to find a bit hard to find a hotel room this time around.

i'm a very beginner photographer but i wanted to share these! i'm going again next year and hope to take some better pics ❤️

What a trip it was!

My two boys and I were in Yellowstone from late Sunday (8/30) to early Saturday (9/5). Reddit and other online resources helped us have a great experience so I wanted to pay it forward by sharing my thoughts and experiences.

One thing I’ll note is that my boys and I sensed a major difference in crowds starting on Friday night. Labor Day weekend and all, so not unexpected. But Monday through mid-Friday felt extremely relaxed in terms of crowds and we enjoyed that so much. Not an option for everyone but if you can avoid peak times I strongly recommend it.

Overall, we had amazing luck in our wildlife viewing. We stayed in Gardiner and entered the park around 5:30-6:00 am the first few days. Eventually we were so satisfied with what we had seen that we started having more relaxed mornings. But we kept looking for wildlife until dark every night.

We ended up seeing an amazing array of animals, some in great quantities. The park gave us a newspaper upon initial entry that had a checklist of 22 animals (including birds) for kids to track. We ended up seeing 21/22. The only one we didn’t see was a moose (though we saw two in Glacier, where we’d been a few days before). Most of what we saw was in Lamar/Hayden Valleys and, my personal favorite, between Tower and the Hayden Valley approaching Mount Washburn/Dunraven Pass.

Re: specific notable animals:

Bison - we probably saw over a thousand, counting seeing the same herds on different days or at different times. They were everywhere in Lamar and Haden, usually in big herds. Reliably saw individuals from Mammoth to Tower. Only a few single individuals from North Entrance to Old Faithful. Unlike all the other animals, time of day didn’t matter. Plus we saw a ton of baby calves.

Grizzlies/Wolves - Best thing we saw was a grizzly and a pack of 5 black wolves chasing each other over an elk carcass. Between Tower and Mount Washburn, in a valley either ascending Mt Washburn toward Hayden or descending toward Tower, depending which way you were driving. There was initially a coyote feeding on the carcass, who was then chased away by a lone wolf. The grizzly then came and chased the wolf away. The wolf disappeared into the valley and returned with the rest of the pack who then chased away the grizzly. We had a basic spotting scope which I highly recommend. By naked eye you could see black dots chasing each other but you couldn’t tell what they were. We didn’t end up seeing any other wolves or grizzlies but we stopped focusing on looking for them after experiencing this.

Black Bears - Saw a mama and cub on our last night close to the Mt Washburn trailhead on the Dunraven Pass.

Elk - We easily saw over 150, likely from the same herd or couple of herds. We got to see some great bugling both by bulls and littler ones. We saw most in Mammoth and the rest on the drive from North Entrance to Mammoth. Didn’t see elk anywhere else.

Coyotes - Saw about 6. One in Lamar Valley. Three in Hayden Valley, two around a bison carcass and one walking through Mud Volcano. And we saw two between Tower and Mt Washburn, one of which was at the elk carcass before being chased away by a wolf.

Bighorn Sheep - Saw 8, all females or lambs, all around Tower Falls/Calcite Springs. We searched for rams in various different places but had no luck.

Mountain Goats - Saw 5, all with spotting scopes. At Baronette Peak near Northeastern Entrance and on some hills just after Mammoth on the road between Mammoth and Old Faithful. White dots on a mountainside, which we confirmed were mountain goats through our spotting scope. Even through the spotting scope we could barely make them out but still very cool.

Pronghorns - Saw over 50, including little ones. Almost all in Lamar Valley but saw a few near the North Entrance also.

Mule Deer - Saw about 5, all on drive from Mammoth to Tower.

Pelicans/Trumpeter Swans/Sandhill Cranes/Osprey/Bald Eagles - Saw three pelicans and five trumpeter swans in the Yellowstone Lake Area around Bridge Bay. Saw two sandhill cranes in a field close to the Norris Geyser Basin driving from Mammoth area. A few osprey in the Lamar Valley. Two bald eagles near Mud Volcano in Hayden around the bison carcass.

My kids were so thrilled with everything we saw and did. One of the best experiences of my life, as well. Thanks to everyone who has shared info to help others.

Some pics I got of the bison hanging out in Hayden Valley the other week - we stumbled upon three larger herds, with single males dotted all over the valley. We were able to sit and watch them for so long, and thankfully (most) of the other people around were giving them space.

It was incredible to just be able to sit back and observe them, we saw so many different behaviors - calves running around playing with each other, bulls sticking close to the road shielding the rest of the herd, even some (attempted) mating by one of the males!

Absolutely breathtaking scenery in there too, I loved the color of the sagebrush rolling up the hills. We didn't make it to Lamar Valley to compare the two, but this day of our visit was a highlight of the entire trip!

Several miles away from Old Faithful it was backed up for miles. There was a couple ambulances that I saw go by but never saw what happened. We ended up turning around and going to a different side of the park. Just curious if anyone knows what happened.

Hi I just got hired to work here for the next 6 weeks and I’m wondering if there’s ways to get around to the tourist areas as well as grand Tetons without a car? Are there any employee shuttles or activities to sign up for that allow these areas to be accessible without a car?

Recently, the Mollie’s pack has moved outside of protected park lines and established a den in the middle of hunting grounds to raise their pups, making it so they are vulnerable to being hunted.

Named after Mollie Beattie, the first woman to direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mollie’s are only remaining pack today that can trace their bloodline back to the very first wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone.

Now they are in danger of being killed. Some hunters have even already started making threats to specifically shoot 1090F, a 12 year old wolf who is not only the matriarch of the Mollie’s but the OLDEST living wolf in Yellowstone national park.

There is only TWO WEEKS left before it is legal for them to do so. If you can, please sign. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

This should be an honorable NP

I’m planning a trip from September 26 to October 3 and flying in and out of Bozeman (BZN).

Which option would you recommend?

Option 1: 4 nights in Yellowstone and 2 nights in Grand Teton

Option 2: 3 nights in Yellowstone and 3 nights in Glacier National Park

This will be our first visit. We are four adults and mainly interested in scenic drives, wildlife, major attractions and some easy-to-moderate hikes.

I understand that Glacier is much farther from Yellowstone and BZN, but it also looks incredible. Would the Yellowstone-Glacier option involve too much driving for only six nights? I’m also concerned about weather, road closures and limited services in Glacier during the last week of September.

Which option would give us the better overall experience?

Bison jam in Hayden Valley this summer.

I was in Yellowstone at the end of August and it was the most beautiful and incredible thing. If you have never been and you’re debating, I say PLEASE GO. I also went to the Grand Tetons.

Recently visited Yellowstone for the first time, and it was absolutely breathtaking! Blew my expectations clear out of the water.

A post-visit thank you to everyone who's posted about their experiences and suggestions on here, it was honestly much better advice than anything I got from more 'official' guides or itineraries.

My group all agreed that we wanted more time in the north part of the park than we ended up doing (it was also definitely the quietest visitor-wise!), Old Faithful was fine but completely out-done by every other geothermal feature on the rest of the boardwalk, and that absolutely no amount of warnings could have prepared us for the hellish stench of the entire Mud Volcano area.

1. Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
2. Grand Prismatic Springs
3. Castle Geyser with Grand Geyser erupting in background
4. Morning Glory Pool
5. Dragon's Mouth Springs
6. Yellowstone Lake

To experience Yellowstone to it's fullest and to not have any regrets, it's critical to also visit the fringe towns of West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and drive the beartooth highway from Lamar Valley to Red Lodge. If you're short on time, at least drive to the Rock Creek Vista Point which is near Red Lodge. And stop to have a meal in Silver Gate, Cooke City, and/or Red Lodge MT along the way.

Yes, the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge is widely considered one of the absolute best drives in the United States.

P1-West Yellowstone, P2-P4 - Gardiner, P5-Siver Gate, P6-Beartooth Highway to Rock Creek Vista Point

I've already provided my airport, plane, and animal photos. Here's my landscape, rivers, hot springs, and geyser pics. All taken within the past week.

P1-Mammoth Hot Springs, P2-Mammoth Hot Springs, P3-Upper Geyser Basin near Old Faithful, P4-Upper Geyser Basin, P5-Old Faithful Geyser eruption, P6-West Thumb Geyser Basin, P7-Storm Point Trail, P8-Norris Geyser Basin, P9-Grand Canyon upper falls, P10-Grand Canyon brink of lower falls, P11-Midway Geyser Basin, P12-Midway Geyser Basin, P13-Grand Prismatic Hot Spring

Hi we are doing a trip next year and super excited. Thinking of going around Sept 12-18. Curious what the bugs are like at that time...do we need to have bug spray, long sleeves, pants? Or does it reside because of the cold nights?

I've been taking photos in Yellowstone and the surrounding area for a long time. Some people think eye contact is absolutely essential in a wildlife photo, but I don't agree. I've gotten a lot of very good photos with no eye contact. Still, you can't deny that eye contact can make a really compelling image!