Bozeman to Yellowstone: The Complete Day Trip Planning Guide

Bozeman is the best base camp for Yellowstone in Montana, and it is not close. You are 90 miles from the park’s north entrance at Gardiner and about 90 miles from the west entrance at West Yellowstone. Both are doable as day trips, but they lead to completely different experiences inside the park, and choosing the wrong entrance for what you want to see is the most common mistake visitors make. This guide is designed to help you pick the right route, leave at the right time, and spend your hours inside the park on the things actually worth seeing.

North Entrance via Gardiner

Take I-90 east to Livingston, then head south on Highway 89 through Paradise Valley. This is one of the most beautiful drives in Montana — the Yellowstone River runs alongside the road, the Absaroka Range rises to the east, and on a clear morning the whole valley glows. The drive takes about 90 minutes to Gardiner, the small gateway town where the iconic Roosevelt Arch marks the park’s original entrance.

From Gardiner, you enter the park and immediately access the Mammoth Hot Springs area, the Lamar Valley (the best wildlife watching in Yellowstone, bar none), and Tower-Roosevelt. This is the route for people who want to see wolves, bison herds, elk, and the raw, less-developed northern section of the park. The north entrance is also the only entrance open year-round, which makes it the default for winter visits.

Along the way, you will pass through Emigrant (mile marker 31 on Highway 89), which has the last reliable cell service before Gardiner. About 20 minutes past Emigrant, the canyon narrows and the road cuts through some of the most dramatic river-and-cliff scenery in the state. Pull off at Corral Creek or Yankee Jim Canyon if the light is good — these are the shots that make people think you hired a photographer.

Fill your gas tank in Gardiner. There is a single gas station in town and prices are about 30 cents higher per gallon than Bozeman, but it is your last chance before entering the park. Inside Yellowstone, the nearest fuel on this route is at Tower Junction, roughly 18 miles from Mammoth, and it is not always open early in the season. Bathrooms are available at Mammoth (right after the entrance) and at Tower Junction. Between those two points and Lamar Valley, there is nothing.

West Entrance via West Yellowstone

Head south from Bozeman on Highway 191 through Gallatin Canyon — the same road you would take to Big Sky. If you have driven the canyon route to Big Sky from the airport, you already know this stretch: two lanes, winding, and absolutely worth paying attention to, especially in winter. Continue past the resort turnoff and the road opens up as you approach West Yellowstone. This route takes about 90 minutes and puts you closest to the park’s headline geothermal features: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, the Midway Geyser Basin, and the Fountain Paint Pots.

If your Yellowstone priority list starts with geysers and hot springs, this is your entrance. The west entrance is seasonal (typically mid-April through early November), and in July and August the line of cars waiting to enter at 9 AM can stretch for a mile. Leave Bozeman by 7 AM at the latest during peak summer. By 6:30 AM if you can manage it.

West Yellowstone the town has several gas stations, so fill up there. Once inside the park, the next fuel is at Old Faithful — about 30 miles from the entrance — and the lines at that pump can take 20 minutes in high season. Bathrooms are available at the Madison Information Station (about 14 miles inside the entrance) and at every major geyser basin. You will not need to plan as carefully for restroom stops on this route as on the north side.

Entrance fees and passes

Yellowstone charges $35 per vehicle for a seven-day pass. That covers everyone in the car. If you are hitting multiple national parks this year, buy the $80 America the Beautiful annual pass before you go — it covers entrance to every national park, national forest recreation area, and federal recreation site in the country. You can buy it online at recreation.gov or at the gate, but buying in advance saves you five minutes at the entrance booth. Keep the pass on your dashboard; rangers check it at multiple points inside the park.

As of 2026, Yellowstone does not require timed entry reservations for general visitors. That could change — the park tested a reservation system in 2024 — so check nps.gov/yell about two weeks before your trip. If reservations come back, north entrance slots tend to fill last because most tourists default to west.

Building your day trip itinerary

A single day in Yellowstone means choosing one section of the park, not trying to see everything. The Grand Loop is 142 miles and takes five hours to drive without stopping, which nobody does. For detailed, hour-by-hour routes, check out our three Yellowstone day trip itineraries from Bozeman — they are built around realistic timing and actual driving conditions.

For a north-entrance day trip focused on wildlife, drive from Mammoth to Lamar Valley in the early morning, stop at every pullout where you see people with spotting scopes (they have found something), eat lunch in the car, and loop back via Tower Fall. For a west-entrance day trip focused on geothermal, drive the Lower Loop from Madison to Old Faithful, walk the boardwalks at Midway Geyser Basin and the Upper Geyser Basin, and return via Firehole Drive.

Both itineraries take 8-10 hours including the drive from Bozeman. Pack food and water — in-park dining options are limited, overpriced, and often have long waits. Grab sandwiches in Bozeman the night before, or hit one of the best restaurants in town for a proper meal before you leave. You will not regret having good food in the car when the only alternative is a $14 cafeteria hamburger at Old Faithful.

Photography timing

The light in Yellowstone is at its best early and late. For the Lamar Valley, be in position by sunrise — first light hitting the valley floor with mist rising off the river is the kind of scene that makes the 4:30 AM alarm worth it. Bison and wolves are most active at dawn. By 10 AM, the herds are bedded down and the light goes flat.

Grand Prismatic Spring photographs best between 10 AM and 2 PM, which is the opposite of most landscape photography advice. The steam dissipates in midday warmth, letting the colors show through. In early morning, the spring is just a wall of steam and you cannot see much of anything. Walk the Fairy Falls trailhead overlook for the aerial view — the boardwalk-level view is impressive, but the colors only make sense from above.

Sunset at Hayden Valley or along the Madison River gives you the warm-toned bison-in-golden-light shots that end up on postcards. Plan your return drive timing around it. A 6 PM departure from Lamar or Madison still gets you back to Bozeman by 8 PM in summer.

The stops between Bozeman and the park

Do not treat the drive as dead time. On the north route, Livingston is worth a 20-minute stop on the way back — the Murray Hotel bar is one of the great old hotel bars in Montana, and Gil’s Goods makes excellent sandwiches. Chico Hot Springs, about 30 miles south of Livingston, is a legendary Montana resort with a natural hot springs pool that makes for a perfect post-Yellowstone soak (open to day visitors, $8.50 for adults). If a hot springs detour interests you, we have a full breakdown of hot springs near Bozeman with honest ratings on which ones are worth the stop.

On the west route, the Gallatin Canyon itself is worth slowing down for, and if you are a fly fisher, the stretch of the Gallatin River between Big Sky and West Yellowstone is some of the most productive water in the state. West Yellowstone the town is mostly tourist shops and fudge stores, but the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is a surprisingly well-done wildlife facility worth 45 minutes if you did not see wolves in the park.

Winter day trips (December through March)

The north entrance through Gardiner is the only way to drive into Yellowstone in winter. Every other entrance closes to wheeled vehicles. The road from Mammoth to Cooke City stays open and plowed, giving you access to Lamar Valley and the northern tier of the park. That is it. No Old Faithful by car. No Grand Prismatic. No west side.

That sounds limiting, but winter in the Lamar Valley might be the single best wildlife experience in the lower 48. Wolf packs are easier to spot against the snow. Bison herds cluster near the road where the pavement traps heat. The crowds vanish — in January, you might see 10 cars in the entire valley. Bring binoculars, a thermos of coffee, and warm layers. Temperatures at dawn regularly hit -15F.

The drive from Bozeman to Gardiner in winter takes longer — allow two hours instead of 90 minutes. Highway 89 through Paradise Valley can be icy, especially the stretch through Yankee Jim Canyon. Winter timing for a Bozeman trip affects everything from road conditions to what you can access, so plan accordingly. You will want a car with AWD or 4WD and proper tires — do not try this drive in a rear-wheel-drive sedan.

Snowcoach tours run from Mammoth to Old Faithful in winter ($150-$300 per person), and they are genuinely great. The geothermal features look otherworldly surrounded by snow, and the coaches are heated. Book at least two weeks ahead in December and January.

Shoulder season road closures

Yellowstone’s road system is complicated, and partial closures are the norm from October through May. The west entrance typically closes in early November and reopens in mid-April, but exact dates shift every year based on snow. The road from Mammoth to Tower Junction to Lamar Valley stays open year-round. The road from Tower Junction south to Canyon Village closes from late October through late May.

This means that in spring and fall, your loop options inside the park shrink. A day trip in late April might give you access from the west entrance to Old Faithful but not beyond, or from the north entrance to Lamar but not to Canyon. Check the Yellowstone road status page (nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/road-status.htm) the week of your trip. Do not rely on plans you made a month ago — a late snowstorm can close roads that were supposed to be open.

The best shoulder-season window is mid-September through early October. Crowds drop by half compared to August. Elk are in rut (the bugling echoes off canyon walls and is something everyone should hear at least once). Fall colors hit the aspens along the Lamar Valley. Most roads are still open. Temperatures are cool but manageable. This is my favorite time to do a Yellowstone day trip.

Practical checklist before you go

The day before: Fill your gas tank, pack food and at least a gallon of water per person, charge your phone (cell service is spotty to nonexistent in the park), and download offline maps of Yellowstone in Google Maps. Check the road status page.

What to bring: Binoculars (even cheap ones), layers (temperatures can swing 30 degrees between morning and afternoon), sunscreen, a hat, and a trash bag. The park is pack-in, pack-out in most areas. Bear spray if you plan to do any walking off boardwalks — you can rent it in Gardiner or West Yellowstone for $10-$12 a day.

What not to do: Do not approach wildlife. The 25-yard rule for most animals and 100-yard rule for bears and wolves is not a suggestion. People get gored by bison in Yellowstone every year, and it is always someone who thought they could get closer for a photo. Use your phone zoom or bring a real lens.

Your next step: pick your entrance based on what you want to see, then grab one of our Yellowstone day trip itineraries for the hour-by-hour plan.