I was recently in West Yellowstone, Montana for a visit and as Yellowstone National Park is right next door I was fortunate enough to go for a visit. My first piece of advice is if you only have a day or two hire a guide! We hired Amy Beegel owner of Easy Tours Yellowstone, LLC. She was recommended by the folks at the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce and she was fabulous! VERY knowledgeable, extremely personable and she goes the absolute extra mile to show you all she can in the time you have.
Be prepared to take your time! We took lunches with us from Running Bear Pancake House. As we picked up the lunches we had ordered we were also able to get some fabulous coffee. We left at 7:00 a.m. and knowing what I know now I would suggest going earlier. There are much better wildlife siting’s in the early morning and there is less traffic. Since I was there is September there wasn’t extreme traffic but if someone sees an elk or a bison then it is a jam for sure.
Yellowstone was the first of America’s National Parks and just a few minutes inside shows you just why. I am a photographer and every turn on the road showed us places to play in nature and a photographer’s dream canvas. I could literally have had Amy stop the car every 2 minutes and jump out. I think I got enough fabulous shots this time but I really didn’t see all of the park. That would take days and maybe weeks. There are so many trails to places like Fairy Falls. And I hear the northern part of the park is more open and there are more wolf siting’s. I would love to see the wolves and bears so more time there is definitely needed.
It is easy to drive up to Old Faithful and find it has just erupted. If that is the case, as it was with us, just take some time to walk around. Old Faithful Lodge is an amazing architectural structure! An hour could easily be whiled away wandering there. Don’t miss the amazing etched glass photos in between the bar and Resturant. If you need a restroom break this is the best one in the park! Marble, CLEAN. Beautiful! There is a gift shop inside and a little café you can get ice cream! If you are really hungry you could eat in the restaurant but I would suggest the brown bag route and eating along a river.
Another option for your wait for Old Faithful to erupt is the Visitor Education Center. There are interpreters giving talks in very entertaining ways. No matter what you choose to do it is worth the wait for Old Faithful. This is certainly one of the great places to play in nature!
As our day continued we were able to go down by a stream to eat our lunch. We could have eaten in a public picnic area but Amy, our super guide, had a much better plan. We got off of the road and walked down an embankment and had the best lunch ever. I know the food was good but the location made it much better!!!
We only had a short time to find more places to play in nature after lunch. We only had our guide, Amy until 3:00 so we made a mad dash through some of the Hydrothermal features. Amy was great at telling us what they were but I am not that into this type of nature/science. I love the way they look. I just don’t know their names. Feel free to look them up here: Hydrothermal Features of Yellowstone.
There is great beauty here. In every spot you look there are great places to play in nature. I would highly recommend you have a base in West Yellowstone to explore. I would only explore the Lodges inside the park. West Yellowstone is home to so many other things to see and do. Look for more posts from there coming soon! Have clothes you can put on in layers or take off in layers as the weather changes fast. Have some rain gear. Have a great backpack! I used one from RedOxx and it was amazing. They have a lifetime warranty. They are made to last that lifetime! And as their website says: they are made for wandering!
Once the day was done…………… we got in the car and started back to West Yellowstone for dinner. Until……….. a BISON Jam stopped us in our car and we had to get out and go see the Bison!
Yellowstone National Park where you can lose yourself in the grandeur of nature! 
Yellowstone National Park 
This was written by Debbie. Another article you might like is about Quake Lake which is very close by. If you would like more information about us or the trip please email me at: Debbie@Placestoplayinnature.com
You may also contact Wendy or Trent at the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce as they were invaluable when it came to information about things to do in the area! Also, Kristy at the West Yellowstone Tourist Business Improvement District was a fabulous resource!