Yellowstone National Park is a fabulous family vacation destination. Here’s everything you need to know for an amazing trip with kids, including family-friendly hikes, where to stay, wildlife tips, the Junior Ranger Program, and fun family activities nearby.

Our family loves visiting national parks, and Yellowstone is one of the most incredible places we’ve visited so far. In fact, did you know Yellowstone was actually the first national park (established in 1872)? It’s also the third most visited park, with over 4.7 million people coming to see its wonders each year.

But don’t worry. While some areas of the park can get crowded during peak times, Yellowstone is massive (over 2.2 million acres!) so there’s is plenty of space for visitors to spread out and explore. Yellowstone is also incredibly family-friendly with plenty of easy hikes, lots of wildlife to spot, fun educational activities, and amazing geological features you’re unlikely to find anywhere else!

If you’re planning a Yellowstone family vacation, here’s everything you need to know.

Why Yellowstone Is Great for Families

Here’s the thing. I love hiking and the outdoors, but my kids do not have the same stamina that my husband and I have. So when we visit national parks, we need to be able to see a lot without having to hike forever to get to the cool stuff.

Yellowstone is PERFECT for this. Most of the hikes are really short (under a mile), and the whole park is like one giant outdoor classroom where kids can learn all kinds of truly fascinating facts about geology, wildlife, and more!

In one day, kids can:

Watch geysers erupt.
See bison, elk, bears, wolves, and more.
Learn about volcanoes and geothermal features.
Earn a Junior Ranger badge.
Hike to waterfalls and scenic overlooks.

Also, because of the nature of the geothermal features, many of the hikes are on boardwalks, making them stroller and wheelchair friendly! Can I get a high five for that?!

Where to Stay Near Yellowstone with Kids

Alright, before we get into the activities, you’ve got to choose a place to stay. I’ve visited Yellowstone three times in the past several years, and we’ve stayed in different places each time. Here are your best options, in my opinion:

Option 1: Stay in the Park

There are several hotels and cabins for rent inside the park itself, and this is certainly the most convenient option if you really want to maximize your time. That being said, accommodations in the park tend to be more expensive and they often sell out during busy times, so you’ll want to plan in advance if this is a priority. We have always stayed outside the park, but I’d love to rent a cabin at Canyon Village sometime to really take advantage of the morning and evening hours to seek out wildlife.

Option 2: West Yellowstone, Montana

If you’re planning to spend most of your time in the park, but staying in the park isn’t an option, West Yellowstone is a good choice. It’s just minutes from the park entrance and has lots of hotels, cabins, and vacation rentals to choose from.

Yellowstone National Park itself involves a lot of driving, so if you want to cut down on travel time to and from the entrance, West Yellowstone is your best bet (especially if you have young kids who struggle with long car rides).

Option 3: Island Park, Idaho

Island Park is another great option. It’s about 30-40 minutes from the West Entrance and is quieter than West Yellowstone. There are tons of cabin rentals in Island Park and it tends to be more affordable than West Yellowstone.

It also has lots of great outdoor activities to enjoy. If you have a longer trip and don’t want to go into the park every day, It’s fun to spend a day fishing at Henry’s Lake, horseback riding in Harriman State Park, or floating the river near Mack’s Inn. We’ve stayed at friends’ cabins in this area in the past, and a few years ago we rented multiple cabins for an extended family reunion. It’s a gorgeous area, and so fun to explore!

What to Do in Yellowstone National Park: Family Itinerary

Yellowstone is HUGE, and it’s not a park you can fully explore all in one day. The park centers around the “Grand Loop Road”, a figure-eight scenic drive that takes you past the main attractions the park has to offer.

There are two main loops you can drive and stop to see sights along the way. I recommend spending two full days in the park: one for the south loop, and one for the north. In between these long days, give yourself a more low-key day to enjoy some of the activities nearby (but outside) the national park.

Here’s what I would recommend for each of your days in Yellowstone. For any additional days you want to spend exploring nearby areas, see the list of additional ideas at the end.

Day 1 – Yellowstone National Park South Loop

When you enter the park in the morning (from the main West Yellowstone entrance), you’ll drive east for several miles. When you reach Madison Junction, you’ll choose either the south loop or the north loop. For your first day, I recommend turning right (south) toward Old Faithful. This route includes many of Yellowstone’s most iconic sights and is a great intro to the park.

Stop 1: Fountain Paint Pots
Time: 30–45 minutes

This short, half-mile hike is a great place to begin your day because it will give your family a quick introduction to all four of the primary hydrothermal features of Yellowstone: geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. It’s a quick win that will get kids excited to visit the larger geothermal areas later in the day. My kids loved it, even if it was stinky!

Note: The rotten-egg smell you’ll notice around the park comes from hydrogen sulfide gas escaping from the underground magma system. In some areas of the park it’s more noticeable than others, but it’s all part of the unique science of the area!

Stop 2: Grand Prismatic Spring
Time: 30–60 minutes

Grand Prismatic Spring is Yellowstone’s largest hot spring, and its rainbow-colored pool looks like something out of Willy Wonka’s imagination. The parking here can get really busy, but it’s a short, stroller-friendly walk, and it’s absolutely worth your time. Look at those colors!

Stop 3: Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook Trail
Time: 30–45 minutes

If you’re up for a little more walking and want to get off the boardwalk trails, stop at the overlook trailhead just past Grand Prismatic Spring and take the 1.2 mile trail to the top of the hill. From above, you’ll get an incredible view of the rainbow colors and the sheer size of the spring. Here’s the view from the top of the overlook:

If you have really young kids or don’t want an uphill hike, consider skipping this stop and continuing on to Old Faithful.

Stop 4: Old Faithful
Time: 1.5-2.5 hours

If you’re going to Yellowstone, watching Old Faithful erupt is surely already in your plans. This giant geyser erupts every 70-90 minutes, and each eruption lasts between 1-5 minutes. You can find out the predicted eruption schedule at the visitor center and on signs around the geyser (or check online here).

Old Faithful is by far the busiest are of the park, so you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to park and walk. The parking lot is huge, so you’ll probably find a spot, but it can be quite a hike from the car to the viewing spot. We like to bring a picnic lunch with us and eat it while we wait for Old Faithful to put on a show. There’s also a great visitor center, so if you have a LOT of time before the next eruption, you can explore the exhibits and pick up a Junior Ranger booklet.

Don’t know about the Junior Ranger program? Here’s everything you need to know about it + why we love it so much!

If you have time, you can also wander the Upper Geyser Basin boardwalks. There are dozens of geothermal features besides Old Faithful in this area that we haven’t explored personally, but it’s an option!

This area also has several dining options (if you didn’t pack your own lunch) and it has restrooms and gift shops as well.

Stop 5: West Thumb.
Time: 45–60 minutes

This is a really fun area right on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. There are more geothermal pools to see, and the last time we were there, a huge elk wandered right across the boardwalk, so we got to see it right up close!

Head Back to West Yellowstone

By this point you might be ready to head back to West Yellowstone (unless you’re staying in the park) where you can grab dinner and have a relaxing evening. The drive from West Thumb will take around an hour and a half.

If everyone is still feeling adventurous, however, you can continue around the remainder of the southern portion Grand Loop Road. If you go north and finish the loop (about 30 minutes longer), it’s a beautiful drive, and there’s a good chance you’ll see wildlife in Hayden Valley, especially if you’re there in the evening.

Grab dinner in West Yellowstone, let the kids stretch their legs, and get some rest before heading out for more adventure on day two!

Day 2 – Yellowstone National Park North Loop

The North loop involves a little more driving than the souther loop, but it also had better wildlife viewing (in our experience), and the kids didn’t mind the drive time as long as we kept them stocked with snacks and entertained with a good audio book. In one day, we saw a bear, a coyote, bison, elk, and more! Here are the stops we enjoyed along the north loop:

Stop 1: Artist’s Paint Pots.
Time: 45–60 minutes

If your kids enjoyed Fountain Paint Pot yesterday, they’ll probably love Artists’ Paintpots even more. The landscape here is more green than Fountain Paint Pots, and the one-mile loop trail is mostly flat (just one short uphill section) and very doable with young kids.

The bubbling mud pots here are some of the most active in Yellowstone, and it’s so fun to watch them bubble up and pop as the underground gases escape to the surface. My kids loved it!

Stop 2: Norris Geyser Basin
Time: 1–2 hours

Norris Geyser Basin feels completely different from anywhere else in Yellowstone. In fact, my kids kept commenting that it felt like we had crash-landed on another planet entirely. It’s hotter, steamier, and more barren than the other geothermal areas we visited, and we all had fun imagining that we were walking on the surface of Venus or Mars. We visited on a cool day, and so the steam rising from the vents was particularly visible…and ethereal.

There are two main boardwalk loops you can explore. If you’re traveling with younger children, I’d recommend sticking to the shorter Porcelain Basin loop. It offers incredible views without requiring quite as much walking. If you are feeling more adventurous, you can add on the second loop.

Remember to keep an eye on your little ones and ALWAYS stay on the boardwalks. The ground here is incredibly thin in places, and the steaming pools really are hot.

Stop 3: Mammoth Hot Springs
Time: 1-2 hours

Mammoth Hot Springs doesn’t look like anything else in Yellowstone. Mineral-rich water from the springs flows over the rocks, creating massive white limestone terraces that almost look like frozen waterfalls. There are quite a few stairs at this stop, so if you’ve got a stroller, you might want to leave it in the car for this one.

This is also a great place to stop for lunch because there is an area nearby that has restrooms, picnic areas, and lots of space for kids to get out their wiggles before getting back in the car.

Pro Tip: Keep an eye out for elk! Mammoth is famous for the herds that wander through the area.

Stop 4: Lamar Valley
Time: As long as you want!

If you’re hoping to spot some bonafide wildlife during your time in Yellowstone, this is the place. Lamar Valley is nicknamed “America’s Serengeti” for good reason. Depending on the time of day and a little luck, you may see:

Wolves
Bison
Pronghorn
Elk
Coyotes
Bighorn sheep
Bears

Bring binoculars if you have them. My kids loved taking turns looking through them to see what they could spot out the windows.

Pro Tip: Early morning and evening offer the best chances for wildlife, but even in the middle of the day there’s a good chance you’ll see bison and other creatures.

Stop 5: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Time: 15-60 minutes

Ending your day with the spectacular views of Yellowstone Falls is a great finale. Our kids were tired by this time, so we kept our visit short and just took a few minutes to go look at the Upper Falls viewpoint, but it is beautiful! Totally worth the short stop.

If you have more energy, you can go to Artist’s Point (known as the most postcard-worthy view of the canyon) and follow one of the trails along the rim of the canyon. I’d love to go back and do this in the future.

At this point, you’ll probably be exhausted, so it’s a good time to get dinner either in Canyon Village or to head back to wherever you’re staying.

Helpful Yellowstone Tips for Families

1. Start early.

As with most National Parks these days, getting an early start will cut down your wait times at the entrance gate and in parking lots. Plus, wildlife is most active early in the morning, so get going early if you can!

2. Pack your own food.

There are not a lot of food options inside the park, and it can be pretty expensive to feed a whole family. Instead, we like to pack a picnic lunch (and lots of snacks) to eat at one of our stops midday.

3. Download maps ahead of time.

Cell service is spotty in the park, which means phone calls, GPS, and other phone functions are unreliable. We always try to download the map of the area before we head into the park so that we can still use Google Maps throughout the day. It’s a little thing that makes a big difference!

4. Listen to Audiobooks

Audiobooks are the secret sauce of our family vacations. It’s the best thing for keeping my kids entertained during long car rides. Especially in a National Park where you want them to enjoy the scenery rather than staring at a screen, listening to an audiobook keeps their mind occupied while leaving their eyes free to look out the window. Need recommendations? Here are some of our favorite audiobooks for families.

5. Make Wildlife Spotting a Game

I knew that all the driving in Yellowstone would be a LOT for my kids, so in addition to audiobooks, I made up a game to keep them occupied. It’s super simple. I just assigned point values to the different types of animals I knew we might see in the park, and told the kids to see how many points they could earn each day. Common animals (like squirrels) were fewer points, and more rare animals (like bears and wolves) were more points. You can structure the game however you want! We worked together as a family team and said we would get a special treat once we reached a certain number of points (ice cream for dessert that I was planning anyway…shhhh).

6. Give wildlife plenty of space.

Speaking of wildlife, be smart. Never approach bison, elk, bears, or other animals, even if they seem calm. Keep your distance! Don’t be the dumb tourist that starts walking toward a mama bear to get a better selfie. Respect the wildlife, and be safe.

More Family-Friendly Activities Near Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is incredible, but it can involve a lot of driving around, so it’s nice to break up your park days with some more relaxing days. The good news is that the area surrounding Yellowstone has just as much to offer in the way of adventure as the park itself!

Depending on where you’re staying, the ages of your kids, and your family’s interests, consider one or more of the following activities for days when you’re not in Yellowstone.

My top recommendation…

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

When my sister first told me about the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, I have to admit, I was not enthusiastic. I didn’t see a need to pay to go to a museum about the wildlife of Yellowstone. I mean, if I’m looking for wildlife, I’d rather see it in the wild!

But, I am not too proud to admit: I was so WRONG. The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center became one of my favorite things we did on our most recent Yellowstone trip, and I highly recommend it!

What is it? the GWDC is a non-profit organization that is part museum, part wildlife park, and part conservation organization. They offer a safe home to animals that cannot safely live in the wild, and they educate people about how to be better neighbors to the wildlife in the area.

Indoors, there are some exhibits that teach about the local wildlife with a scavenger hunt for the kids to keep them entertained. But you’ll find the best stuff when you walk through the main building to the outdoor area. There you’ll see the enclosures for grizzlies, wolves, river otters, raptors, and more!

The programs they offer are really amazing, too. We went to the “Wolf Pack Chat” and got to observe a wolf go fishing for its lunch!

Make sure you sign your kids up for the Keeper Kids program. It costs an additional $5 and you have to sign up in person (just ask about it when you arrive), but it’s so worth it! My three boys joined with a group of kids who were taught about grizzlies by a keeper, told the stories of the bears that live at the center, and got to actually go into the enclosures (when the bears were safely of exhibit, of course) and hide food for the bears to find. That’s my son in the bright blue.

Once the kids all came back out, they released the bears into the exhibit to find the food! It’s an enrichment activity for the bears, and it was incredible to watch these huge creatures easily lift boulders and dig through rubble to find the treats that were hidden for them.

Plan to spend at least three hours here. We could have easily spent more time, but everyone was getting hungry, so we headed to a local restaurant for lunch. If I were to go again, I’d pack a picnic lunch so we wouldn’t have to cut our time short.

Explore West Yellowstone

Once you’ve had your fill of the Discovery Center, take a little time to explore the downtown area nearby. There are plenty of touristy shops to browse, ice cream parlors, and restaurants if you didn’t pack a lunch.

Horseback Riding at Harriman State Park

I love horses, so when we planned a family reunion in Island Park a few years ago, I started recruiting family members that wanted to go horseback riding with me. I researched lots of places, but we ended up booking with Dry Ridge Outfitters at Harriman State Park. They were the most affordable option, offered rides of varying length, and allowed kids 6+ to ride.

We took about a dozen family members on a one-hour ride, ranging in age from my 6-year-old son to my 75-year-old mom. It was wonderful! The workers were kind, the horses were calm, and the scenery was gorgeous. It was a standard, everybody-walk-in-a-line type of ride, but that was perfect for our beginner-level group.

Harriman State Park itself was a beautiful area, and I’d love to go back and spend more time there hiking, canoeing, and exploring.

Yellowstone Playhouse (Island Park)

This family-friendly dinner theater would be a great way to relax after a full day outdoors. For a long time, it was located in West Yellowstone (many years ago I saw a production of Oklahoma there), but it recently moved to Island Park and now presents western-themed musical parodies.

This new version looks like so much fun, and I know my boys would get a kick out of it. It’s a bit of a splurge and I personally wouldn’t take young kids, but I’d love to take my big kids to enjoy a show.

Fishing on Henry’s Lake

My husband and son had an amazing early morning fishing Henry’s Lake with some friends of ours who own a cabin in the area. I didn’t go (I stayed at the cabin with the younger kids), but they caught some good-sized trout, and they said the scenery was gorgeous.

Feed the Fish at Big Springs

Big Springs is a popular spot to visit in Island Park, especially with young kids. Why? Because they love feeding the seriously GIANT trout that live around the bridge across the road. Bring quarters to buy fish pellets from the machines, or bring your own snacks for the fishies. There is also an easy trail you can walk along the river, which we really enjoyed!

Truly, Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding areas have SO much to offer families. We’ve loved our trips there, and there’s so much more I’d still like to see and do.

What questions do you have about Yellowstone? Drop them in the comments, and I’ll answer!

Want more ideas of great family vacation destinations?

Or, check out my travel page to see all the trips I’ve written about.

Traveling with Kids: What to Do In and Around Yellowstone National Park

Why Yellowstone Is Great for Families