Visiting Yellowstone National Park with dogs

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We have always dreamed of visiting Yellowstone National Park, and our cross-country trip gave us the perfect opportunity to finally do it!

Having our dogs with us did limit what we could do, however, as they are not allowed on any trails, boardwalks or in the backcountry. After reading those rules on the website, we figured we would be restricted to the car the entire time, which was still okay with us. Scenic drives can be just as fun!

Yellowstone has very strict regulations regarding dogs in the park. You can click here to read about it on their website. There are rules for a reason, so please be courteous to others and help keep this park as wild as possible.

The good news, though, is that there is so much to see driving the Grand Loop, with stops right along the way! The Grand Loop is the main road in Yellowstone, consisting of 142 miles laid out like a Figure 8. We broke up driving the upper and lower loops over two days.

We were surprised to find how accessible everything was. Parking was literally right next to all of these famous landmarks, allowing us to get out and experience it for ourselves. Otherwise, just driving through the park, you will find turnouts everywhere. You can pull over and just hop out for a better view or to take photos!

At some stops like the Grand Prismatic Spring and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we took turns staying with the dogs since these had longer walks to the overlook areas. However, a majority of places, we only had to walk a couple feet from the car to take in the scenery.

It would also be good to note that we had very little to no cell service the entire time in Yellowstone, so make sure to get a map at the gate!

Day 1

Our first day in Yellowstone was jam packed!

We stayed in Cody, Wyoming, which was about an hour drive into the park. We didn’t mind it one bit, though, since we were able to stop at Buffalo Bill Dam, nestled right in-between the beautiful mountains.

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After a stunning scenic drive, you will eventually see the Yellowstone entrance sign! There is a spot to pull over and take pictures before heading through the gates.

It only took about five minutes in the park before we saw bison and deer along the road. Just make sure to pull all of the way off the road so you don’t block any traffic.

Coming from the east entrance, Yellowstone Lake was our first stop to get out and stretch our legs. The lake was massive and seemed to go on forever! There were some bathrooms and plenty of picnic tables to stop for a break.

Next, we hit Grant Village visitor center for lunch. Here, they had a gift shop, small grocery store, indoor bathrooms and a cafe.

Old Faithful was our longest stop of the day and the best part since the dogs could come with us! This was also the busiest place of everywhere we visited in the park. There is a huge parking lot, visitor center, general store, gift shop and hotel.

The geyser erupts in intervals between 51 and 120 minutes, according to the park website. As we were parking, we could see the eruption happening. It ended up being closer to the two-hour mark before we saw the next one. It was an absolutely beautiful day, though, so we loved just hanging out in the large grassy area in front of Old Faithful. The pups enjoyed the time out of the car and got plenty of attention from other visitors.

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After Old Faithful, we headed up the road to the Midway Geyser Basin. It did take a while for us to park, with this being a popular spot and having a small lot. We took turns walking the boardwalk to see the Grand Prismatic Spring. As I was crossing Firehole River back to the car, I watched a bald eagle soar in the sky and dive into the water. It was the most American thing ever 🙂

One thing you will not be able to miss are the bison, they are everywhere! If you see cars pulled over, you are most likely going to be seeing some kind of animal!

A quick stop off of the road past Madison Junction, you will find Gibbon Falls. We didn’t spend much time here, just enough to view the waterfall and river.

As the sun was starting to set, we made it to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This was another stop that we had to take turns going to check out. A very short walk from the parking lot are several overlooks to the breathtaking canyon.

Our final stop in Yellowstone for the day definitely made an impact…a very stinky one. We stopped at the mud volcano area, which we could smell from down the road…ew. I braved the stink and went first around the boardwalk that hits the different mud pots and acidic pools. It was a lot of bubbling mud, but the Dragon’s Mouth Spring was pretty cool, the water sloshing and steam rising really did make it seem like there was a dragon inside.

Day 2

During our second day in Yellowstone, we drove the upper loop and also went out towards the northeast entrance so we could drive through Lamar Valley. Our main hope for the day — since we would also be passing Hayden Valley — was to see wolves or bears. A girl can dream right?

These areas were so open and refreshing! They are known for being frequented by wildlife, so a lot of people were sitting out in lawn chairs hoping for a sighting. I would definitely recommend bringing binoculars to see farther out…because we did not, and now I’ll never know what those little dark blobs in the tree line really were.

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Alas, we did not see any bears or wolves as we had hoped. We did see a lot of bison though. Like a lot. The bison were, in fact, roaming 😉

We headed out of Lamar Valley and enjoyed the drive for a while. As we drove into the Mammoth Hot Springs area, we saw an elk hanging out in the towns center. We took a short walk through town with the dogs and checked out the visitors center. There are also numerous historic buildings, a general store, hotel and of course Mammoth Hot Springs.

We made a couple more small stops, but we mostly just enjoyed the rest of the drive through Yellowstone. We drove right along Yellowstone Lake during golden hour, and it was amazing.

Shortly after leaving the park, we saw a ton of cars pulled off the side of the highway and everyone out of their cars. I knew it had to be something good because who pulls over on a highway otherwise? So we pull over and get out because that’s the smart thing to do, right? Haha. And to both of our delights…it was bears! A momma grizzly and her two cubs were snacking on some berry bushes. It was the most amazing experience.

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Leaving Cody, we had to drive back through Yellowstone and down through Grand Teton National Park. There are strict regulations on dogs in this park, as well, so we stuck to the many turnouts and little parking lots. We really just wanted to take in the views and look at the mountains as we headed out for Utah.

It is very possible to visit Yellowstone with your dogs! Plan on spending more time in the car for a scenic drive or switch off to view the sights. For us, this trip was absolutely perfect. It was an amazing experience and we cannot wait to go back and be able to explore even more!

We’d love to hear how your trip to Yellowstone with dogs went, or if you have any questions we’d love to answer them! Leave a comment or you can connect with us at @ruffandrenew on instagram!

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