Family-Friendly One-Day Itinerary | West Yellowstone Entrance

Best for: Families with kids
Starting point: West Yellowstone, Montana
Main areas: Lower Geyser Basin → Midway Geyser Basin → Old Faithful/Upper Geyser Basin
Approximate park time: 8–10 hours
Driving: Mostly short drives between stops, but allow extra time for summer traffic and parking.

Important: Yellowstone’s thermal areas are extremely dangerous. Stay on boardwalks and designated trails also keep children close at all times.

Check out maps and updates at the National Park Services website for Yellowstone.

7:30–8:00 AM | Leave West Yellowstone

Enter Yellowstone through the West Yellowstone Entrance and follow the road toward the Old Faithful area.

Morning strategy

The goal is to get to the thermal areas before the biggest crowds of the day. Parking can become particularly difficult around popular stops.

Pack before you leave:

Water bottles
Breakfast/snacks
Lunch/snacks for the kids
Sunscreen
Layers
Comfortable walking shoes
Kids’ backpacks
Camera
Binoculars, if you have them

8:30–9:15 AM | Fountain Paint Pot

📍 Lower Geyser Basin

Time needed: 30–45 minutes
Distance: 0.5-mile boardwalk loop

Start your day with one of Yellowstone’s most entertaining little walks.

The Fountain Paint Pot Trail is an easy boardwalk loop where you can see all four major types of hydrothermal features: geysers, hot springs, mudpots and fumaroles.

Kids will love:

Bubbling mudpots
Steaming fumaroles
Colorful hot springs
Geysers
The sounds of the bubbling and gurgling features

Fun fact: The mudpots can change in consistency throughout the year depending on precipitation.

Family tip

This is a great place to start because the walk is short but feels like you’re immediately exploring an alien landscape.

9:15–9:30 AM | Drive to Grand Prismatic

Head north toward Midway Geyser Basin.

Drive: Approximately 10–15 minutes, depending on traffic and parking.

9:30–10:30 AM | Grand Prismatic Spring

📍 Midway Geyser Basin

Time needed: About 45–60 minutes

This is one of those Yellowstone stops that feels completely different from Fountain Paint Pot.

The Grand Prismatic Spring is Yellowstone’s largest hot spring, measuring roughly 200–330 feet across and more than 121 feet deep.

What to do

Walk the boardwalk through the Midway Geyser Basin and take your time looking at:

Grand Prismatic Spring
Excelsior Geyser
Turquoise pools
Steaming thermal features
Colorful microbial mats

Don’t rush this one!

If kids feel up to it, also do Fairy Falls Trail. It’s an easy 0.6 miles from the parking lot with an incredible overlook of Grand Prismatic Spring. Go a little further to see Fairy Falls, the 200-foot waterfall.

10:30–11:00 AM | Drive to Old Faithful

Continue south toward the Old Faithful area.

This is where you’ll transition from short thermal walks into the biggest part of your day.

11:00 AM–12:00 PM | Old Faithful Visitor Center + Junior Ranger Books

📍 Old Faithful Historic District

Head to the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center.

First stop:

Pick up the kids’ Yellowstone Junior Ranger booklets.

This is a great time to let the kids work on their activities while you check the posted Old Faithful eruption prediction.

Old Faithful’s intervals aren’t exact: eruptions can occur roughly 50–127 minutes apart, and current predictions are posted by the Visitors’ Center.

While you’re waiting:

Work on Junior Ranger activities
Explore the visitor center
Use the restrooms
Grab water
Check the next eruption prediction

Tip: Don’t feel like you have to sit at Old Faithful for an hour. Use the prediction to plan your next move.

12:00–12:15 PM | Watch Old Faithful Erupt

Find a spot around the geyser and get ready! Old Faithful eruptions typically last 1½–5 minutes.

Old Faithful can shoot water 106–184 feet into the air (roughly the height of a 10-18 story building).

12:15–1:30 PM | Geyser Hill Loop

Now take a leisurely walk through the Geyser Hill/Upper Geyser Basin area.

This is one of my favorite parts of the day because you’re no longer just seeing one famous Yellowstone feature — you’re surrounded by them.

Look for:

Bubbling hot springs
Colorful pools
Steaming vents
Small geysers
Beautiful views over the Upper Geyser Basin

The Upper Geyser Basin contains about 150 geysers in just one square mile, along with hundreds of hot springs.

Family pace:

Don’t worry about rushing.

Let the kids stop and look at the bubbling pools, read the signs and choose their favorite thermal feature.

Plan on: 30-60 minutes (you can do as much or as little of these trails as you have time/energy for)

1:30–2:30 PM | Late Lunch at Old Faithful Lodge

Head over to Old Faithful Lodge for lunch.

Why we liked this stop:

The cafeteria-style setup makes it easy for families because you can get food relatively quickly rather than waiting for a traditional sit-down meal.

We did a late lunch/early dinner here and relied on snacks we’d packed to get us through the morning.

2:30–3:00 PM | One More Old Faithful Eruption

Before leaving the Old Faithful area, check the next predicted eruption. If the timing works, watch Old Faithful one more time.

It’s actually fun to see it twice because the second viewing feels less rushed—you’ve already explored the area and eaten.

Have the kids compare the two eruptions:

Which one looked higher? Which one lasted longer? Did it look different from where you watched it?

3:00–3:30 PM | Ice Cream + Huckleberry Treat

Head across the parking lot to the Old Faithful General Store & Grill for the perfect Yellowstone-day reward:

🍦 ICE CREAM!

And if you see huckleberry, try it! Huckleberry is a classic regional flavor and makes for a fun Yellowstone food experience.

3:30–4:00 PM | Final Old Faithful Area Walk

Take a few final photos around the Old Faithful Historic District before heading back toward West Yellowstone.

This is also a good time to:

Use the restrooms
Refill water
Finish Junior Ranger activities
Let the kids browse the general store
Grab anything you forgot earlier

4:00–5:00 PM | Drive Back to West Yellowstone

Head back toward the West Yellowstone Entrance.

And keep your eyes open—you never know what wildlife you might spot along the way!

You get a little bit of everything Yellowstone is famous for without spending the entire day on strenuous hikes:

Mudpots → fumaroles → geysers → colorful hot springs → Grand Prismatic → Old Faithful → bubbling thermal features → ice cream.

Here’s a short, printable version of the itinerary.

Yellowstone Itinerary Download

I hope you and your family get the chance to visit Yellowstone and experience the incredibly unique and special place that it is.

Sincerely,