Interested in planning a road trip to Yellowstone National Park but don’t quite know where to start?  We have everything you need to know to start planning your personal Great American Road Trip.  Keep reading for our awesome start to finish Yellowstone road trip itinerary!

If you ask someone what is the ultimate Great American Road Trip, you will likely get a huge variety of answers.  From the Pacific Coast Highway, to the deserts of Utah, and the Great Smoky Mountains, everyone has a different view; however, in my eyes, Yellowstone should be the focus of the true Great American Road Trip.

Starting in the heartlands, specifically the upper midwest where I am from, this trip will take you across the Great Plains, through the rugged landscapes of the Badlands and Black Hills, and finally into the Rockies and Wyoming’s glorious national parks.

This trip can be conducted exactly as written, but it also serves as a great starting point from which you can make it fit your own interests and needs!

You could fly in or out somewhere to lessen the miles and driving time.  You could increase or decrease the time you spend in certain places.  You could cut out entire destinations.  No matter your exact timeline or interests, our guide can serve as a great starting point for your Yellowstone road trip itinerary!

Consider picking up an America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting multiple national parks!

Length

We at Top Down Lifestyle have this trip constructed as a 2 week trip.  If you are going to drive from the midwest all the way out to Wyoming, it would be a rushed trip if you only gave your self 7 days.  If 2 weeks is more than you can swing, this trip could be done in 10 days, or if you are willing to fly west, it could be done in a week.

If you are interested in extending your trip, there is enough to fill lifetimes!  This route will take you through multiple national parks, national forests, national monuments, and lively towns and cities.  If any destination catches your eye, you could definitely spend more time there!

Looking for road trip planning tips?  We got you covered!

The Itinerary

Day 1: To the Badlands/Rapid City

Your goal for the first day of your trip is to arrive in western South Dakota.  I would recommend driving if you are able.  I am not the biggest fan of driving across the Great Plains (might be an understatement), but I think it is worth doing once in your life!  

If you can’t or don’t want to drive, you do have the option of flying into Rapid City Regional Airport.  For those who don’t live in the midwest, this is probably the best option.  Rent a car for the rest of your journey!

Depending on your vision for your personal trip, lodging is the next thing to consider.  Camping is a great way to do this trip, whether you are tent camping or camper camping, campgrounds are abundant along the route we have outlined.  There are numerous campgrounds within and without Badlands National Park, as well as throughout the Black Hills.

If you want to sleep inside throughout your trip (a reasonable stance to take), Rapid City is the largest city in the area and has the most options for lodging.  Rapid City is also a convenient option as I-90 runs right past it.

For our full guide on visiting the Badlands and the Black Hills, read our full guide here!

Day 2: Badlands/Mt Rushmore

Day two is when the fun begins!  Now that you have crossed the plains and are in the west, its time to see the sights.  The focus of day two is to see the Badlands and Black Hills.

You should start your day bright and early and head to Badlands National Park.  The main area of the park is situated just of I-90, and is easily accessible.  

Once you arrive at the park, my recommendation is to drive the loop road through the road.  At 31 miles long, the loop road through Badlands is one of America’s great drives.  Weaving through the otherworldly formations, the loop road will take you to all of the must see sights in Badlands.  

Along the loop road, stop at the Notch Trail, the Door Trail, and the Window Trail.  All are short, easy trails, and lead to the best views the park has to offer.

After your morning excursion through the Badlands, head west into the rugged terrain of the Black Hills.  The last thing you would expect on the Great Plains is a mountain range, but thats exactly what the Black Hills are, with peaks rising over 7,000 feet!

The main focus of your afternoon should be on driving the Needles Highway to Mt Rushmore.  The Needles Highway, highway 87, is an absolutely fantastic drive through Custer State Park in the Black Hills.

With hairpin turns, tunnels, and spectacular wildlife, the Needles Highway is an attraction in and of itself.  I personally have been stuck in traffic due to bison casually wandering across the road!

Eventually, make your way to Mt Rushmore.  Carved into a mountain, take in the views of 4 of America’s presidents.  While I actually found it a little underwhelming (it was smaller than I was expecting) it’s definitely something you should see once in your life.

From Mt Rushmore, make your way back towards your lodging for the night.  I would recommend staying in the same place as night 1, but you could find somewhere new!  There are tons of little towns in the Black Hills to find dinner at, and from there, you’ll probably be ready for bed!

Day 3: Wind Cave

As the sun comes up on your third day of your western road trip, you have a truly unique experience to look forward too.  While it is not widely known, western South Dakota contains some of the largest caves in the world.

The most famous of these caves is Wind Cave, the namesake of Wind Cave National Park.  With bison above ground, and expansive caverns below, Wind Cave is one of the most diverse parks in America.  

With a few different options to choose from, you have multiple ways to explore the cave.  Take a ranger led tour, or just check out the entrance for yourself.  Not feeling up to exploring below ground?  Take some time to hike or horseback ride on the prairie, and experience some of the best wildlife viewing in the west.

If you aren’t interested in cave diving, this could be a chance to explore other parts of the Black Hills and western South Dakota.  Visit a former nuclear missile silo at Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.  Visit the massive Crazy Horse Memorial.  There’s lots to do and see around here, and this could be your day to explore!

Day 4: Devils Tower

Moving on from South Dakota, we will finally make our way to Wyoming on day 4.  About an hour and 45 minutes west of Rapid City, Devils Tower National Monument rises abruptly out of the surrounding dry plains.

The distinctive volcanic rock is like nothing else you see in this part of the country, and it really is a truly unique sight to behold.  For the truly adventurous, Devils Tower is a famous rock climbing objective, so get some rope and get climbing!

For the slightly less extreme, outdoor opportunities abound in this area.  A number of hiking trails thread through the area.  Boat on the Keyhole Reservoir, visit Keyhole State Park, or even camp at Cottonwood Campground along the shores of the reservoir.  Go for a bike ride, or take a drive south to Thunder Basin National Grassland.

When it comes time to sleep, again you have a few options.  If camping, there are a number of options in the area.  There are a few campgrounds within view of Devils Tower itself, as well as a few miles south along the Keyhole Reservoir.

If your road trip includes sleeping indoors, you may need to drive a bit to find a town to stay at.  Your best bet is to head back to I-90, and continue west towards Yellowstone.  The closest city with multiple options is Gillette, where you will find a number of different sleeping options.

Day 5: Drive to Yellowstone

Waking up in Wyoming for the first time, you’re now ready to head into the mountains.  This is a day with a fair amount of driving, but you’ll finally arrive at Yellowstone!

From Devils Tower, continue west on I-90 deeper in Wyoming.  Eventually you will have to leave the interstate for the 2 lane highways which will lead you to Yellowstone.  You have two options.  

The northern option is to take highway 14.  You will spend more time on the interstate, but highway 14 is the road that will take you all the way to Yellowstone.

The other option is to get off the interstate earlier, and head west on highway 16.  Eventually you will meet up with highway 14, which will lead you to Yellowstone.  In my eyes, there really isn’t a bad choice.  Both roads cross the Bighorn Mountains, a worthy destination in their own right, and both are very scenic options.

Eventually, you will arrive at the eastern entrance to Yellowstone.  You’re finally here!  Where you go from here depends on your choice of lodging.  There is camping all over Yellowstone, as well as a number of different options of lodges, hotels, and any other sort of lodging you might want.

For a full breakdown on my recommendations for Yellowstone lodging, read our full guide to Yellowstone here!

This will be a long day of driving with over 6 hours on the road, and maybe more depending on where you stay.  If you have time, explore the area around you, but you might be ready to relax for the day!

Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!

Day 6: Yellowstone: Geysers

The morning of your first day in Yellowstone finds you with many different choices on where to adventure.  While you really can’t go wrong with any of the adventures in and around Yellowstone, I would personally recommend seeing the highlights of the park, the geysers.

It can be a little overwhelming trying to figure out where to go in Yellowstone, the park is bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined!  However, you can focus on a small section of park and see tons of the best geysers the park has to offer.

Start your morning at West Thumb Geyser Basin.  Overlooking Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb offers a boardwalk trail between many geothermal features.  You will walk between and over numerous hot springs and geysers.  

Continue onto the parks biggest attraction, Old Faithful.  While it is a giant tourist trap, and it will almost certainly be packed, it is a really cool and worthwhile thing to see.  To get away from the worst of the crowds, go beyond the viewing area and do the Upper Geyser Basin Trail.  While it will still probably be busy, this trail will get you away from the worst of it, as well as get you up close to tons of geothermal features.

Continuing on to see more geothermal highlights of Yellowstone, take a short drive to Biscuit Basin.  A short trail leads to up close views of brilliantly blue hot springs.  Just don’t fall in!

The final must see spot of the day is Grand Prismatic Spring.  The most magnificient of all of Yellowstones hot springs, it is colorful, huge, and totally unique.  There are a couple ways to see it.  Either walk along the boardwalk for an up close view, or take the  Grand Prismatic Hot Spring Overlook Trail for a birds eye view.

From here, the day is wide open.  Continue your tour of Yellowstone’s hot-springs and geysers with stops at the Artists Paint Pots Trail or the Fountain Paint Pot Trail, or head back to your lodging and relax for the rest of the evening.  The choice is yours!

Day 7: Yellowstone: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Your second full day in Yellowstone also has all sorts of possibilities, but I think you should spend your day with a visit to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The Yellowstone River, America’s longest undammed river, carves a massive gash into the earth as it flows downhill.  While it’s not as massive as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is none the less a spectacle in and of itself.

If you want to do a longer day hike, there are a couple of different options.  One option is to follow the North Rim to Inspiration Point.  At just under 8 miles, this hike would take about half a day.  Or, continue on for a longer hike and drop into the canyon along the Seven Mile Hole Trail.

Along the south rim of the canyon, the two main viewpoints are Artist Point and Point Sublime.  Either can be reached via a 1-2 mile hike.  Another option is to combine them via the Canyon Rim South Trail.  At around 6 miles, this hike combines the best viewpoints on the south rim into one manageable trail.

From here, the rest of the day is yours to explore.  Depending on the hike you did, you may or may not have time to kill.  Take a drive, hike another trail, check out some wildlife, or go fishing.  The options are limitless! 

Don’t be rude; always following basic etiquette when on trail!

Day 8: Yellowstone: North to Beartooths

For your third day in Yellowstone, head north beyond the parks borders and into Montana.  It may seem like an out of the way place to go, but the Beartooth Mountains are 100% worth the drive.

Park of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Beartooths are a high and rugged range located outside the northern boundary of the park, and crossing them is the Beartooth Highway, one of the best driving roads in the country.

Head north through Yellowstone and take highway 212 out of the park.  You will cross into Montana, and briefly back into Wyoming before the highway eventually veers north to Red Lodge Montana.  The Beartooths have tons of great alpine hiking, but even if you’re just here for the road, it’s worth the trip.

Topping out at nearly 11,000 feet at Beartooth Pass, the road often doesn’t open until late into the year.  While it may be open in May, definitely make sure you check and be sure it’s open well into June before you head for this amazing road.

Whether your carving up switchbacks in a S2000, or cruising along in the family SUV, it’s a remarkable drive.  You will climb high into the alpine and onto the tundra.  Above the tree line, you will look down into the valleys thousands of feet below surrounded by snow nearly all year.  

The Beartooths are a great hiking destination themselves, so if you’re making the drive, stick around and take a hike.  While there is tons of hiking in the Beartooths, a couple of options that are close to the highway follow the West Fork Trail near Richel Lodge.  One option is to take the West Fork Trail to September Morn Lake, or you could also take the trail to Black Canyon Lake.  Both hikes look long on paper, but remember you can turn around at any time, making it just the right length for you!

Day 9: Drive to Jackson

After three days exploring Yellowstone and the lands to the north, it is time to leave this magical place for another equally amazing national park.  Your goal today is to pack up and head down to the town of Jackson Wyoming.

While there are a few different ways to get from Yellowstone to Jackson, by far the best route is to take the John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway.  This road, which connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park, is one of the truly great drives in the country.

Descend from the high elevation pine forests of Yellowstone into the valley of Jackson Hole.  The terrain will open up, and you will enter an area of meadows and scattered forest, all underneath the towering peaks of the Teton Range.

Grand Teton National Park, named after its highest mountain peak Grand Teton, contains by far the most picturesque mountain range in the United States.  Soaring upwards of 7,000 feet nearly vertically from the valley floor of Jackson Hole, the Teton Range is something you have to experience to truly believe.

Once in Grand Teton National Park, the road splits and you have two options.  If you want to slow down and take the day to enjoy the park, take Teton Park Road for access to most of the amenities, view points, and trails within Grand Teton National Park.  For a quicker drive to Jackson, continue south along highway 191.

The drive will not take you all day, so you will have time to explore the area.  Return to civilization in Jackson and do a bit of shopping, or go out for a nice meal.  Take a hike in Grand Teton National Park (the Taggart Lake Loop is a nice easy option), or just relax.

For a full guide on Jackson including things to do and places to stay, read our full guide to Jackson here!

Day 10: Grand Teton

Waking up in Jackson, you should be looking forward to exploring Grand Teton National Park!  Make sure you get going early, as the park is super popular, and the main areas and trails will be busy pretty early in the day.

I highly recommend hiking in Grand Teton.  It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and you will have tons of opportunities to see wildlife on the trails, just make sure you bring bear spray!

Learn everything you need to know about bear safety here!

For the adventurous hikers, there are two intense but incredibly rewarding hikes that I recommend.  The hike to Delta Lake is my favorite hike in the park.  From the Lupine Meadows trailhead, hikers follow a well maintained trail up the side of the mountains.  The final half mile or so is a mostly off trail scramble up steep slopes and over boulder fields.  The view at Delta Lake provides exquisite views of Grand Teton.

Another adventurous trail is  Hanging Canyon to Lake of the Crags.  This trail, apart from the approach, is entirely off maintained trails, and at times it feels like it isn’t there at all!  Be prepared to work your way through overgrown bushes, climb up talus filled gullies, and be absolutely exhausted on the steep incline!  The view at the end is worth it though!

The most popular trail in Grand Teton is the  Cascade Canyon Trail.  To cut miles off, take the boat shuttle across Jenny Lake, and begin the trail towards Inspiration Point.  Inspiration Point provides wide open views of Jackson Hole with Jenny Lake in the foreground.  For a longer outing, continue hiking up the gentle Cascade Canyon.  It’s up to you when you turn around, but there’s plenty of trail to make it into a multi-day backpacking trip if you were interested.

After your hike, head back to Jackson and eat your well earned dinner.  We have a list of restaurants we recommend in our Jackson Wyoming article for you to check out! 

Day 11: Grand Teton

I personally love Grand Teton National Park, so I recommend taking a second day in the park to explore.  As an avid hiker, I would spend a second day hiking.  

Check out our full list of the best hikes in Grand Teton National Park here!

If you are all hiked out, there are tons of things to do to fill your time in the park.  If your legs are getting tired, you can still get out on the trail via horseback.  If you want something relaxing, head to one of the many lakes or picnic areas and relax in the sun.  

Grand Teton National Park is one of the highlights of the National Park System, so I highly recommend spending as much time as you can in this amazing place. 

Click here for even more information on Grand Teton National Park!

Day 12: Jackson

On your third day in Jackson, you might be ready to do something other than hike; even I get sick of hiking sometimes!  Fortunately, the town of Jackson has tons of awesome things to do!  For our full article on Jackson, click here!

Consider rafting the Snake River, one of the mountain west’s largest rivers.  It roars through Jackson Hole on its way to the Pacific, and it’s whitewater is world class.  Or, take a relaxing, gentle float in the sunshine down one of the gentler sections of river.

For a truely once in a lifetime experience, fly high above the Teton Range in a plane or helicopter on a sight seeing flight.  It’ll set you back a pretty penny, but it would be an amazing vantage to see.  Bring your camera if you do!

Maybe you’re ready to spend some time indoors after almost two weeks of outdoor adventures.  If so, Jackson has multiple museums that could fill your day.  The National Museum of Wildlife Art and the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum both offer exhibits open to the public.

If you’re truly ready to be relaxing and watching a movie, do that!  Watch a movie at the local theatre, or for some live action visit the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

Whatever you are looking for, I’m sure you can find it in Jackson Wyoming.

Day 13: Drive Home

Unfortunately, most of us do have to return to the real world at some point, and that time has come for our two week itinerary.  From Jackson, you are looking at 2 days of solid driving to make it back to most cities in the midwest, or a flight to somewhere else in the country!

Use Google Maps for exact directions, but most will likely take either I-90 or I-80 back east.  While it sounds tempting to make the entire drive in one day, always be safe and don’t overdue it.  Especially if you are driving alone, slow down and be safe.  It’s ok to not make it back in one night.

I can say from experience that driving 16, 20, or even 24 hours non-stop is far from fun, and definitely not safe.  The most important thing is to make it home, so cover the ground that you can, and finish up tomorrow.

Day 14: Get Home

Day 14 will hopefully find you back home falling into bed, likely to get up early the next morning.  While it is always sad when a trip ends, you will probably be ready for a good nights sleep in your own bed!

You will always be able to look back on the trip that you just finished as an amazing experience where you hopefully had experiences and made memories that will last a lifetime.  

You will return home with memories of places that you probably never imagined existed, let alone places that you thought you would visit.

Mud pots where super heated air boils through thick, brown mud.  Deep pools of blue, orange, and red filled with boiling hot water.  Jagged formattions of earth and stone emerging from the near featureless canvas of the Great Plains.  And mountains more vertical than you imagined could exist.

These places that you will have experienced are timeless, persisting through generations and centuries, and you will have had the privilege of seeing them for yourself.

To us at Top Down Lifestyle, this is the true Great American Road Trip, as it traverses more quintessentially American places than any other trip you can take.  Nowhere else can you see the concentration of geothermal features of Yellowstone.  The Grand Teton truly is America’s mountain, and the Great Plains are foundational to our pioneer history.

We hope you consider taking this trip; it really is amazing.  Let us know if you do, and how it went!  If you have any questions about our itinerary, or think we left anything out, we’d love to hear your feedback; leave a comment or contact us!