Five Must See Sights in Yellowstone National Park

On our 2020 summer road trip one of our first stops was Yellowstone National Park. I was so excited because despite living in Idaho I had never visited Yellowstone before! And I’ve got to say, it did not disappoint. There is so much to do and see that you could spend a week or more just exploring.

That being said, we were only able to spend 2 1/2 days there so we had to. hit the best of the best! Thanks to some suggestions from friends and talking with a forest ranger, we think we hit the big Must Sees. I’m here to tell you what the 5 MUST SEE things are in Yellowstone if you only have a short amount of time.

Also, these are in order! If you can’t see all 5 start with #1.

1.Grand Prismatic Springs

This area is so gorgeous and has so much to offer! It is located in Midway Geyser Basin. The colors are seriously to die for. I could have spent forever just staring at the blue water surrounded by the bright red and oranger minerals on the rock. So neat!

2. West Thumb

This boardwalk area is right on Yellowstone Lake and right by the Grant Village Visitor Center. If you want to stop for lunch or grab some souvenirs, this is the place to go! And holy cow the basins, mud pots, and springs here are GORGEOUS! I absolutely loved exploring here.

3. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

Okay, maybe it is just me, but I could chase waterfalls all dang day. Along this path there are so many view points of the most magnificent waterfall. You can choose to walk the path or drive along it and stop at each lookout. The view of the canyon and river and waterfall are breathtaking.

4. Mammoth Hot Springs

This feature is the farthest North and slightly out of the way from much of the rest of the park. However, I truly thought it was worth the drive. It is probably the most volcanic looking part of the park and as someone who is fascinated by geology it was so neat! I highly recommend checking it out.

5. Old Faithful

Okay, I know, I know, Old Faithful is like THE thing to see in Yellowstone. And don’t get me wrong, it was super neat! That being said, it was super crowded. There were a ton of people there and you basically have to get there 45 minutes before the eruption to get a bench seat.

If you are okay standing behind the people then show up whenever but we wanted a seat to just enjoy the show. Obviously it is something you have to do at least once, but I was just as please with other geysers that didn’t have the insane amount of people!

Conclusion

If you don’t have enough time to explore all of Yellowstone, make sure to hit these locations! I promise you won’t be disappointed. And if you do have time to explore it all, tell me what your favorite parts were!