Yellowstone National Park is an amazing expanse of outdoor natural beauty. It is most commonly associated with Montana, although it does touch Wyoming and Idaho at various points.
Nature lovers and outdoor types from the world over make the journey to Yellowstone National Park to experience its rugged vastness and impressive scenery which includes rivers, lakes, hot springs, mountain terrain, and pristine pine forests.
Any visitor to Yellowstone would be hard-pressed to cover all the main attractions in the space of time that a vacation or short trip often allows. So it pays to have some idea beforehand about how to make the most of a trip to this breathtaking area of terrain.
The Grand Loop is a well-known trail that allows visitors to take in some of the most popular attractions and landscapes in the park. Then there are other landmarks like the ‘Old Faithful’ geyser, one of the best-known among the many that are most-visited due to the size of and consistency of their eruptions.
So whether you are an active outdoor type, or simply a lover of scenic nature and wildlife, Yellowstone is one of those places that will definitely leave its mark on you, especially if you take a tour or trip that best fits your itinerary. So hopefully this list of some of the best Yellowstone National Park tours will give you some insights on how to do that.
Ten of the Best Tours in Yellowstone National Park
- Grand Canyon Rim Hike
- Day Trip from Cody
- West Yellowstone Lower Loop Tour
- Lower Loop Tour
- Upper and Lower Loop Tour
- Yellowstone Lake Kayak Tour
- Yellowstone Rafting Tour
- Yellowstone/Grand Teton 4-day, 3-Night Wildlife Adventure
- Lamar Valley Safari Hike
- Private Lewis Lake Fishing Trip
1. Grand Canyon Rim Hike
The Yellowstone Grand Canyon is considered one of the best hiking spots in the park. This guided day hike covers the canyon rim and its surrounding forests and meadows, taking in a few lakes and hydrothermal features of the terrain.
The hike covers six miles in total and includes various gradients of moderate difficulty. The guided hike begins on the Grand Canyon’s southern rim, allowing views of both Yellowstone’s upper and lower falls. You’ll pass other attractions like Artist Point and Ribbon Lake, and you’ll also get to take in mud pots and various thermal features as well as a variety of wildlife. Morning snacks and a picnic lunch are included, as well as various trekking accessories.
2. Day Trip from Cody
This is a tour that comes in from the Northwest Wyoming side of Yellowstone Park named after “Buffalo Bill” Cody. With the help of both a nature expert and a professional photographer, you’ll get some real insights into what Yellowstone National Park has to offer in a day.
The tour takes 12 hours in all, accommodates groups up to 7, and includes stops at prime wildlife viewing areas and a few other popular Yellowstone Park attractions like the Upper Geyser Basin, where you may get to witness the power of ‘Old Faithful’. Round-trip transportation from hotels in Cody is included along with breakfast and various other snacks and stop-offs.
3. Lower Loop Tour from West Yellowstone
Here is another one-day tour of the Lower Loop region of the fantastic national park that departs from the West Yellowstone and enters the park through the West Gate. The tour is a manageable 8 hours in all, occurring between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, with all transportation for the round trip included.
This is a great chance to get a glimpse of some of the main attractions and take in some impressive views of the park by way of its geology and wildlife while picking up interesting historical tips from your seasoned guide. The tour includes a picnic-style lunch and takes the Lower Loop route with stop-offs at various points of interest like the Geyser Basins and Old Faithful.
Many of the park’s popular and well-known focal points are included in this short tour such as the Grand Prismatic Spring, Artist Point, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and Hayden Valley.
4. Jackson, Wyoming: Full-Day Yellowstone Lower Loop Tour
This is another Lower Loop day trip, this time departing from Jackson, in the Teton County region of Wyoming. The road-based tour heads off through Grand Teton National Park in a northern direction on its route to Yellowstone.
The interpretive, fully guided tour follows the Lower Loop and makes various stop-offs at all the usual points of interest such as the ‘Old Faithful’ Upper Geyser Basin area, the Midway Geyser Basin, the Firehole Lake Loop, the Fountain Paint Pots, the Yellowstone Canyon region, and Hayden Valley, to name a few. This is a small-group tour that can accommodate up to 8 people. The professional and experienced guides conduct the tour from modern, clean, and safe vehicles.
There are various stop-offs that allow the opportunity for a short hike around the geyser basins and a few of the waterfalls, check out the impressive scenery, spot some of the wildlife, and enjoy an included picnic-style lunch. You’ll get to see the Gibbon Falls, the Virginia Cascades, the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, Lake Yellowstone, the Sulphur Cauldron, and the Mud Volcano area – all in a day!
5. 2-Day Guided Tour: Upper and Lower Loop Tour
