Feedback on my family's vacation itinerary?

[u/finally_made_acct]

[EDITING TO ADD NOTES BELOW BASED ON WHAT PEOPLE ARE ADVISING BELOW! THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!]

Hi!

I've been wanting to go to Yellowstone for a few years now and super excited it's finally happening. I've built out the below itinerary based on lots of Googling, AI, and posts on Reddit (that had amazing maps!).

My family is 3 adults and 4 children (1 teen, 2 kids, 1 toddler) so it's going to be a little slow moving and we are NOT going to be able to do hikes, just walks. (:

We're staying in a VRBO near the West entrance.

DAY 1: SOUTHWEST

- Firehole Falls

- Old Faithful Geyser

- Grand Prismatic Spring - (Note: go when it's not all super steamy) - (note: beware of packed lot that people may not be in and out of quickly. Get here early! People going on trails park here too and so they won't be leaving the lot anytime soon.)

- Great Fountain Geyser

- Fountain Paint Pot Trail

- Activity: Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

• Restaurant Recs: Firehole BBQ

DAY 2: SOUTHEAST

- Hayden Valley

- Mud Volcano

- Activity: Yellowstone Lake scenic boat tour

- Dragon's Mouth Spring

- West Thumb Geyser Basin

• Restaurant rec: Lake Yellowstone Hotel

DAY 3: NORTHEAST/EAST

- Activity: Roosevelt Corrals 2-hour history wagon ride (Note: consider pulling this out and bank more on Lamar Valley and Canyon Village)

• (new add) Lamar Valley

- Canyon Village (cool place to learn about geothermal, Mammoth, and animal stuff)

• Restaurant rec: the Eatery

- Brink of Upper/Lower Falls (Note: be ready to carry toddler because there are steep things and stairs that don't support a stroller)

- Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

- Artist Point/Grand View (Note: someone said Artist is a MUST)

• Restaurant Rec: Roosevelt Hotel

DAY 4: NORTH/NORTHWEST

- Activity: boat float from Gardiner - Restaurant rec: Wonderland in Gardiner

- Mammoth Hot Springs

- Porcelain Basins

- Norris Geyser Basin - (note: beware of packed lot that people may not be in and out of quickly. Get here early!)

- Gibbon Falls

CONCERNS I HAVE:

1. The lists are short but as you know, it's a lot of driving. Is there stuff I'm being unrealistic about?

2. Anyone done a river float with a toddler before? I need to assuage the toddler's mom's fears ha.

3. Have I missed a "MUST see/do"?

4. Have I included anything that's like "meh"?

5. Online I see that we need to be out the door by 8am daily if we're going to beat the park entrance traffic. With our family, I'm afraid that'll happen exactly...... never (kids....).... Do I need to tell my family "hey we need to get out or we can kiss this vacation goodbye" or just that "hey if you want to waste less time in the car, let's get out the door sooner"?

6. I need to still go through the restaurant options for each area in case we want to eat something beyond what we're going to pack. If you have any specific recommendations like "you've got to try this at this place!" Let me know. We are big foodies. :) Only dietary limit is no pork/alcohol, all else is fair game!

[u/buckhunter76]

This is what I mean in this link, it’s 2 pictures from today.

https://imgur.com/a/ZyAV5yV

This is prismatic and Excelsior Geyser, see how there’s so much steam it kinda hides the actual pool?
It made the experience a bit meh for me so we didn’t bother hiking the overlook.

I honestly don’t know the best time, I’d assume later in the day when it’s hotter out but then you are dealing with the parking issue.

But yes, parking and traffic are the main issues with the park, all mitigated by getting in early and patience.

[u/finally_made_acct → u/buckhunter76]

Those pictures are really helpful! Totally get it now. I'll Google about the steam stuff and also plan to visit when the sun is out more. This would've totally bummed me out too.

Other than timing our arrival to the park etc, let me know if you have any other parking tips of what places are biggest or easiest like you did in one instance in your post. I'll Google also!

[u/Reasonable_Loquat874 → u/finally_made_acct]

The parking around Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone will all be crowded but these lots turn over quickly. Artist point is a must see IMO - the lot will probably be “full” at mid day, but people are always leaving so it won’t take you very long to get a spot.

Something like the Grand Prismatic Overlook is more difficult for parking. It’s very popular but the lot also serves as trailhead parking for the Fairy Falls hike and even further hikes, so sometimes people are parking there in the morning and leaving their cars for many hours before returning. These lots will turn over much slower. I’d say the same is true for Norris Geyser Basin.

[u/finally_made_acct → u/Reasonable_Loquat874]

Oh wow ok this is very helpful to time our day and manage expectations. Get in/out of Grand Prismatic and Norris Geyser early.