Best trails in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Its vast landscape spans three states: Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The park is home to various wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Yellowstone is most famous for its collection of hot springs and the world's most extraordinary geysers -- most notably, Old Faithful.
Top trails
Visitor info
Entry for one driver and one passenger for seven consecutive days, beginning on the day of purchase.
Non-commercial group (e.g. church groups, scouts) traveling in a vehicle with a capacity of 16 or more people. Cost is per person. Unlimited entry for one vehicle and all passengers for seven consecutive days, beginning on the day of purchase.
Entry for visitors on foot, bicycle, ski, etc., when 16 years of age or older.
Unlimited entry for one vehicle and all passengers for seven consecutive days, beginning on the day of purchase. Vehicles must be private, non-commercial, and with a seating capacity of 15 or less.
Entry for one driver and one passenger for seven consecutive days, beginning on the day of purchase.
Provides unlimited entry for one year (valid through the month of purchase) to the pass holder and passengers in the same vehicle, or pass holder and up to three persons where per person fees are charged. Purchase at any entrance station.
Join millions of people who enjoy our National Parks with the "America the Beautiful" National Park & Federal Recreational Lands Pass, otherwise known as the Interagency Annual Pass. The pass is valid for a year's worth of visits from the month of purchase at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the country.
No entrance pass required on these days:
Monday, January 20 — Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Saturday, April 19 — First day of National Park Week
Thursday, June 19 — Juneteenth National Independence Day
Monday, August 4 — Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
Saturday, September 27 — National Public Lands Day
Tuesday, November 11 — Veterans Day
The Interagency Access Pass is accepted here.
The Canyon Village, Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs (Albright), Grant, West Thumb, and West Yellowstone Visitor Centers and the park's medical clinics are accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers and have wheelchair accessible restrooms and drinking fountains. The Fishing Bridge, Norris, and Madison Visitor Centers are partially accessible, and visitors may require assistance. Orientation films include closed captioning at Canyon, Old Faithful, and Grant Visitor Centers, and the Albright Visitor Center has open captioning.
Loaner wheelchairs are available at Old Faithful, Canyon, Mammoth (Albright), Grant, Fishing Bridge, and Norris Visitor Centers, as well as at all medical clinics and lodges. A beach wheelchair is available at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center for use at Yellowstone Lake.
Assistive listening devices are available at Canyon and Old Faithful Visitor Centers. Induction loop technology is available at the Albright Visitor Center. Audio descriptions, tactile exhibits, Braille, and large print materials are available.
ASL interpreters are available for ranger-led programs. Please call 307-344-2386 at least 3 weeks in advance to make a reservation for interpretation services.
Additional information about accessibility at Yellowstone National Park can be found on their website: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm.
The Canyon Village, Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs (Albright), Grant, West Thumb, and West Yellowstone Visitor Centers and the park's medical clinics are all accessible to visitors using mobility equipment or strollers and have wheelchair accessible restrooms and drinking fountains. The Fishing Bridge, Norris, and Madison Visitor Centers are partially accessible, and visitors may require assistance. Orientation films include closed captioning at Canyon, Old Faithful, and Grant Visitor Centers, and the Albright Visitor Center has open captioning.
All lodges have wheelchair accessible rooms and facilities.
The Bay Bridge, Gibbon Falls, Madison, Tuff Cliff, Sode Butte Creek, and Warm Creek Picnic Areas are wheelchair accessible, with packed, level paths and surfaces and accessible restrooms or vault toilets. The East Lot and Whiskey Flat are wheelchair accessible, with packed, level paths and surfaces. Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located in every major area except for West Thumb. There are wheelchair accessible vault toilets inside the East and South entrances and before the West entrance gate on the right.
There is a wheelchair accessible fishing site on the Madison River. Wheelchair accessible boating facilities are available at Bridge Bay Marina and Grant Village.
All campgrounds have at least one wheelchair accessible camping site. 2 backcountry campgrounds are wheelchair accessible.
Service animals must be on-leash throughout the park.
Guides
Trail reviews for Yellowstone National Park
grebe lake, yellowstone national park. very easy, & flat. first mile a little boring with just a gravel path
Very easy trail so that allows you to have a different, very natural view of the Yellowstone National Park
Beautiful view from the Grand Prismatic overlook. Awesome waterfalls with very few people at it. Stunning Geyser. We had it completely to ourselves for at least 30 minutes. Best hike of our 2 weeks in Yellowstone. Would highly recommend it.
The third quarter of the trail was quite tough, especially given the altitude gain and the heat. Going down was also tricky - it’s very steep with loose rocks. Still worth it in my view - so cool to get up close to the geothermal flats, and the views of Yellowstone river were stunning at the end. We hiked this on a Thursday and only encountered 3 other groups. We started at 9am and were done at 2:10pm, with a short muesli bar break at the bottom.
Amazing views. In my opinion the best in Yellowstone. We started on chittenden trail and then came down the other side of the mountain. If you have someone that can move your car I highly recommend that route.
This was our first stop after entering Yellowstone, and it was so great! Lots of unique geothermal spots, right up against the grand Lake Yellowstone. Not terribly crowded, but definitely busy.
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Frequently asked questions
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Are there any trails with scenic mountain peak views in Yellowstone National Park?
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Points of interest
- Lower Yellowstone Falls
- Morning Glory Pool
- Dragon's Mouth Spring
- Emerald Spring
- Abyss Pool
- Mount Washburn
- Mystic Falls
- Avalanche Peak
- Lone Star Geyser
- Emerald Pool
- Upper Yellowstone Falls
- Moose Falls
- Artist Point
- Shoshone Lake
- Ojo Caliente Spring
- Yellowstone Lake
- Solitary Geyser
- Chinese Spring
- Terraced Falls
- Brink of the Upper Falls