Yellowstone National Park | Trip Recap (Where to Stay, Eat, & Explore)

Hi lovely reader! Over the summer I visited Yellowstone National Park for the first time. As a typical beach vacationer a trip of this type was completely new to me and there was a certain level of going in blind that came with it. I relied a lot on watching people's vlogs and reading their blog posts so I wanted to share a quick recap of my own learnings to hopefully help anyone else in the same boat. (this post and the links included are not in any way sponsored or affiliated with Yellowstone National Park) 

Where to Stay: Canyon Lodge - As you'll see on this map, it's centrally located between the two main loops within the park, the rooms are quaint, clean, and the beds were comfortable which is all you want after being out all day. 

Where to Eat: I say this with all respect to the park and the people who work at the food spots (who were all SO nice), Yellowstone is somewhere you go for the nature/views and not for the food. The food situation was honestly the only shock or negative experience of the trip. Canyon Lodge has a couple of food options that I would equate to college dining halls, plastic trays, go down the line and pick what you want. There are a few spots with restaurant, waiter to table service including Old Faithful Inn, Roosevelt Lodge (it was giving Camp Walden vibes from the Parent Trap) and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The saving grace and real winner of the food situation though was the huckleberry ice cream. Canyon Lodge has an ice cream shop and their huckleberry ice cream is swirled with huckleberry jam, absolutely delicious. 10/10 would recommend.

What to Explore: We did the North loop one day and the Southern Loop in two parts for two days. A few of my favorite spots that we saw were the Grand Canyon Yellowstone and Inspiration Point, Artists Cove (this was my favorite view of the trip), Gibbons Falls, Grand Prismatic Springs and Lamar Valley.

What to Pack: All the climate options, while this really depends on what time of year you go, having options and layers is key. We were wearing winter coats in the morning some days and t-shirts by the afternoon. I also would highly recommend a pair of binoculars, I rolled my eyes at this one initially thinking my camera would be enough (also would highly recommend a camera and not just using your phone for photos) but there were some animals we saw so far in the distance, they wouldn't have shown up otherwise.

All in all it was a great trip and I would highly recommend anyone check it out! Everywhere you look is like a painting, unreal colors and natural wonders!