First-Day Yellowstone Itinerary: Billings to Gardiner via Beartooth Pass & Lamar Valley
- Eric Beuning
- Mar 18
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 12
If you’ve never been to Yellowstone National Park before, planning an itinerary can feel daunting. When you also try to coordinate where you’re staying with what you want to see in Yellowstone, it can give you a serious case of paralysis by analysis.
I honestly believe that if you only have one day, or you’re trying to plan your first day at Yellowstone, it’s best to experience the Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone Canyon. These places give you a sense of the geological majesty of Yellowstone and also tend to be less packed with tourists. I think Yellowstone Canyon carries the kind of “Wow Factor” that starts the trip off on the right foot.
Yet if you’re already planning to stay in Gardiner or something else on the North or West side of Yellowstone, you might be wondering if this is the sort of itinerary you can fit into one day.
So, I thought I would this one-day itinerary down starting from Billings, Montana. From there you’ll traverse the stunning Beartooth Pass, witness wildlife in Lamar Valley, explore the dramatic Yellowstone Canyon, and end your adventure in Gardiner.
I’ve done my best to estimate drive times, and suggested stops. However, tourist crowds, animal jams and random acts of mountain weather could all factor into the equation.
Morning: Depart from Billings to Beartooth Pass
Departure Time: 7:30 AM
Drive Time over Beartooth Pass Summit: ~2.5 hours
Leaving Billings early ensures that you have some nice morning light to work with, and the sun will be at your back most of the drive instead of in your eyes. Drive west on I-90, then take U.S. Highway 212 toward Red Lodge, a charming mountain town that serves as the gateway to Beartooth Pass.
While you can pick up breakfast at a place like Café Regis in Red Lodge, I prefer to fill a thermos with coffee, grab a bunch of doughnuts, and head into the pass on an empty stomach.
Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful mountain drives in America, Beartooth Highway ascends into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, offering sweeping mountain views.
Stop at Rock Creek Vista
This is one of the best scenic vistas of the Beartooth Pass. It has good pit toilets and an
impressive view. It’s only 20 or so miles into the pass, and it’s my top choice for having that coffee and doughnut breakfast I recommended waiting on.
Optional Stop at Clay Butte Overlook
The drive up to Clay Butte Overlook is long and bumpy enough to dislodge your pelvis, but when it comes to mountain scenery, it’s on par with Rock Creek Vista. Up and back will add at least a half-hour or more to your day. You might feel like you’re alone on the mountain, but there’s usually a grizzly or two living in the forest nearby. So, don’t let your guard down!
Morning: Drive to Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance
Descend from Beartooth Pass into Cooke City, Montana, and the Lamar Valley.
Enter Yellowstone through the Northeast Entrance around 10:00-10:30 AM.
Time in the Lamar Valley ~1.5+ hours
What to See: Bison herds, wolves, pronghorns, and bald eagles
Known as America’s Serengeti, Lamar Valley is home to Yellowstone’s most famous wildlife. Early morning is the best time to spot wolves and grizzly bears. Bring binoculars and pull over at designated viewing areas to scan the rolling grasslands for animals.
There are a lot of places to stop along the way. However, I find the most expeditious thing is to let an animal jam happen to you. I’ve never passed through the Lamar without being stopped at least once by a line of cars. Sometimes they’re squinting at a lone elk 500 yards away, other times there’s a bison staring at you with a giant eyeball in your passenger window.
NOTE: for the purposes of this itinerary, you’re just getting a taste of the Lamar Valley. You could spend an entire day, if not an entire week exploring it and still not feel like you’ve seen it all. However, budgeting 1.5 to 2 hours for a single-day itinerary is usually enough to get you a memorable wildlife viewing experience or two.
Midday: Drive to Yellowstone Canyon & Explore
Drive Time to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: ~30 minutes.
Time to spend at the Canyon: ~1.5 to 2 hours.
Continue on Grand Loop Road towards the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. If you packed your own picnic, I would recommend stopping at Tower Falls, Cascade Lake Picnic Area or the Mount Washburn Trailhead at Dunraven Pass. All of them have pit toilets for a nice rest stop, but the Cascade Lake Picnic areas are the least used and cleanest in my experience.
I always advocate seeing Yellowstone Canyon on your first day in the park. The grandiosity of it really sets the tone for what Yellowstone has to offer. Whereas other popular stops like Old Faithful tend to remind you of all the tourists and animal jams you're going to experience.
I understand that anytime you attach the word "Itinerary" to anything. You feel like you have to be rushed to see it all. Yet this is one of those times when it really is best to stop and soak in the immensity of the place.
The Canyon is to Yellowstone what Angel's landing is to Zion or what Badwater Basin is to Death Valley. So, give yourself permission to take your time.
There are a bunch of must-see stops on the north rim of Yellowstone Canyon. I recommend
seeing the Brink of the Lower Falls and Red Rock Point. This will give you the close-up and distant perspectives of the Canyon. Yet these areas are a little touristy and sometimes it's hard to say "Wow" without feeling like you're breathing on someone else's neck.
So, don't feel obligated to linger too long. If you feel a little hemmed in, simply make the short drive to the south rim of Yellowstone Canyon. It usually has half as many people, and you can still get some pretty impressive views of the Canyon at spots like Uncle Tom’s Trail and Artist’s Point.
When you feel like you've taken in your visual fill, you can make a quick stop at Canyon Village time resupply whatever you need. It's probably the last good bathroom you're going to see for a while.
Drive the Norris Canyon Road
Drive Time: ~ 45 mins to 1 hour
Rather than backtracking on the Grand Loop Road north to Mammoth, I recommend taking the Norris Cayon Road to pick up the western leg of the Grand Loop Road. This is sort of the middle of the 8 connecting Yellowstone's upper and lower loops.
Picking up the Western side of the Grand Loop like this is also a bit of a reconnaissance mission for our next itinerary of the geyser’s region.
If you somehow have time, you can stop at Norris Geyser Basin and the Museum of the Park Ranger. Yet for the purposes of this article, I’m assuming that you have a second day, and our next itinerary will focus on it.
Take Highway 89 North Toward Mammoth
Drive time: ~ 1 Hour
Our second itinerary will focus on this stretch and the geysers to the south like Old Faithful. For now, I would just note things about various stops, pullouts, picnic areas, or potential bathroom stops that catch your eye, as we’ll be back this way tomorrow.
If you need to stop to stretch your legs, your best options are: Frying Pan Spring, Semi-Centennial Geyser, Obsidian Cliff, and Roaring Mountain. Glen Creek Tailhead is also a nice spot to stretch your legs and tells you that you’re about 5-10 minutes from Mammoth.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Time Needed: ~1 to 1.5 hours
What to See: Lower and Upper Terraces
Mammoth Hot Springs is a massive geothermal feature of cascading travertine terraces
created by hot springs depositing calcium carbonate. It’s constantly changing but is generally broken up into an upper and lower terrace.
Like Yellowstone Canyon, I recommend at least a short stop at Mammoth Hot Springs to get an authentic feel for the grandiosity of this National Park.
For the purposes of this itinerary, I’m assuming that you’re staying in Mammoth, Gardiner, or the nearby Paradise Valley. So, Mammoth Hot Springs will be close by when you wake up in the morning, and you’ll probably be getting there on day one tired, road weary, and probably close to sundown.
If you have time and energy, the touristy thing to do is wander the boardwalks of the lower terrace. If it’s close to golden hour, I would skip the lower terrace to take your time with them tomorrow and head to the upper terraces.
If you want a great sunset photo, park by Orange Spring Mound, and you can then snap a great sunset pic by New Highland Terrace or Aphrodite Terrace.
Drive to Your Accommodations
After touring Mammoth Hot Springs, you can drive to your accommodation nearby. The town of Mammoth is right there. Gardiner is 10 to 15 minutes away, and Paradise Valley is just
beyond that.
Final Thoughts
This one-day Yellowstone National Park itinerary is admittedly ambitious, it balances drive time with sightseeing and operates from the assumption that you have multiple days in Yellowstone ahead of you. I like to use this as a first-day itinerary coming in from the East through Billings and over the Beartooth Pass.
Prioritizing the Lamar Valley, Yellowstone Canyon, and Mammoth Hot Springs set a strong tone for the grandiose majesty of nature that Yellowstone National Park offers. You can then plan your next daily itinerary to focus on the geysers and other geological features of the park.
To learn more about Yellowstone follow Eric Beuning's Author Page.