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(USA) 406 646 1118 x 12 • Email •
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Tour doesn't run this month.
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Overnight Yellowstone Tour From Idaho Falls
Itinerary
Day 1 - Idaho Falls to Rexburg - About 30 minutes
Map | Sorry, there's an early start this morning! Pickups take place at Idaho Falls hotels in the northwest part of the city. Please see the notes section below for more detailed information. You will be transported to Rexburg, where there may be a short wait and a change of vehicles. |
Day 1 - Rexburg to West Yellowstone - About 1 hours, 40 minutes
Map | Departing Rexburg, you will travel through rural Idaho, before ascending into the Targhee National Forest. After climbing up over the Continental Divide and into Montana, you will make the short drive to West Yellowstone. |
| | On some days when you get to West Yellowstone, you will now be free to explore the town for a few hours, before taking the upper loop tour at about midday. Amongst other things, we suggest visiting the well known Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (a must see). On other days, you may go straight out on a tour of one of the loops, as soon as you reach West Yellowstone. Whichever way you do it, you will tour the entire park over the next two days. |
| | A sack lunch is provided today, and you can select lunch options when you order the tour. At the end of the day, you will be dropped off at a Yellowstone Motel called Yellowstone Motel. If Yellowstone Motel is sold out, you will stay at a similar class motel. |
Day 1 - Yellowstone upper loop tour - About 8 hours
Map | The route that the tour takes will depend on possible road closures in the park, as well as the time of year, but it will be something like the following. |
Map | There is going to be a lot to see and do. We'll head out of West Yellowstone towards Madison Junction, where the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers meet to form the Madison River. Turning left (north) we'll make for Norris Geyser Basin. Along the way we'll stop briefly at Gibbon Falls.
Although not as well known as the other geyser basins, Norris is the most thermally active part of Yellowstone. It is divided into two separate areas: Porcelain Basin and Back Basin. |
Map | The next stop is Mammoth Hot Springs, headquarters of the park, and home to a fascinating array of weird rock shapes, bright colors and sizzling hot springs. Elk are generally plentiful in this area, wandering around the old park buildings, and, if you're lucky, you might even see a whole herd.
You can stroll through the ever changing terraces at Mammoth, admiring the travertine creations and hot springs. |
Map | Leaving Mammoth we will travel towards Tower Roosevelt, which is where the road to the park's north east entrance, through the Lamar Valley, is. There is almost always wildlife to be seen in this area, even bears! |
| | At Tower Junction we will branch off the main upper loop road, and head through the Lamar Valley, towards the north east entrance to Yellowstone. This is a particularly beautiful part of the park, and where the keen wolf watchers are generally to be found. |
| | Everyone wants to see a bear in the wild at Yellowstone, and the trip from Tower Junction to Tower Falls is one of the best places to do so. The spring can be a great time to go looking for bears, as you have the opportunity of seeing mothers with their new born cubs. Tower Falls is an impressive water fall. |
Map | Assuming that it is open, the road from Tower Falls to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone towers up into the sky as it crosses the Dunraven Pass at almost 9000 feet. We then drop down to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is normally visited on our Lower Yellowstone Loop tour, and not this tour. Depending on the number of people on this tour who have not seen it, and how late it is, we may take the opportunity of checking out the area. The Yellowstone River has carved an impressive canyon through the rocks, over which two falls drop. The Lower Falls is over twice the size of Niagara Falls! It is in this area that you can catch a glimpse of the yellowish tinge to the rocks, from which the Yellowstone River got its name, but at a different location. We'll check out the canyon and falls from a number of different locations. You get so close to the Upper Falls that you almost feel like you can reach out and touch the thundering water. Don't!
If there is time, other areas along the route that we may visit include Obsidian Cliff, Virginia Cascade and Undine Falls.
After a long, fun-filled day, it is time to return to West Yellowstone. |
| | You are on your own for dinner, and to explore the town. |
Day 2
| | A sack lunch is included today, which you can enjoy on the road. |
Day 2 - Yellowstone lower loop tour - About 8 hours
Map | The roads running through Yellowstone make up a massive figure of eight. The lower loop of the figure of eight comprises most of the thermal features that are to be seen in Yellowstone, including, of course, Old Faithful!
From West Yellowstone we'll follow the Madison River to Madison Junction. At Madison Junction we will turn right, or south, and travel along the Firehole River which runs through Yellowstone's thermal areas. The Firehole is famous amongst anglers for its pristine beauty and selection of brown, brook and rainbow trout. Depending on the time of the year, this area is often teeming with wildlife. With any luck you will see bison, elk, Trumpeter Swans and other animals and birds. A special treat in the spring is the baby bison calves. |
Map | The first main thermal area we will be visiting is the Lower Geyser Basin, and Fountain Paint Pots. There is a boardwalk system running around and through the Fountain Paint Pots area, and it is a great place to go for a stroll, if the bison haven't got there first! Apart from the paint pots, there is also a selection of other thermal features in the area, including a number of geysers, one or other of which almost always seems to be erupting. |
| | The next stop is the Midway Geyser Basin, home to Grand Prismatic Spring - one of the largest anywhere in the world - as well as Excelsior Geyser, now dormant, but discharging thousands of gallons of water every minute. |
Map | It is a short drive to the Upper Geyser Basin, home of Old Faithful, the world's best known and most reliable gusher. There is also so much more to the area than just Old Faithful. Old Faithful Inn, a wonderful old building - recently renovated - is located there - and a system of boardwalks will take you around the various other geysers in the area. Old Faithful erupting! |
Map | The road from Old Faithful passes over the Continental Divide twice, on its way to West Thumb, a geyser basin right on the shores of the incredibly blue Yellowstone Lake. |
Map | Yellowstone Lake is off to the east as we make the trip up to Fishing Bridge. From there we head through the Hayden Valley, following the Yellowstone River, up to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. On the way we will pass Mud Volcano.
The Hayden Valley is known for its wildlife, particularly large herds of bison at certain times of the year. It is also an excellent location to look for grizzly bears, especially in the spring and early summer when they may be preying on newborn bison and elk cubs. |
| | The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is an unexpected treat amongst the thermal wonders. The Yellowstone River has carved an impressive canyon through the rocks, over which two falls drop. The Lower Falls is over twice the size of Niagara Falls! It is in this area that you can catch a glimpse of the yellowish tinge to the rocks, from which the Yellowstone River got its name, but at a different location. We'll check out the canyon and falls from a number of different locations. You get so close to the Upper Falls that you almost feel like you can reach out and touch the thundering water. Don't! |
| | It is now time to go back to West Yellowstone. |
Day 2 - West Yellowstone to Rexburg - About 1 hours, 40 minutes
Map | Leaving West Yellowstone you will cross over the Continental Divide into Idaho, before traveling through Island Park and other small east Idaho towns, to Rexburg |
Day 2 - Rexburg to Idaho Falls - About 30 minutes
Map | On some days you may change vehicles after a short wait in Rexburg, and on other occasions the same vehicle will take you to Idaho Falls. Thanks for joining us! |
 Tour ID | 1423 |
Please note the following...- This tour is subject to a 3.00% per person fuel surcharge.
- The days and dates this tour runs can be seen in the calendar at the top right of this page.
- The entry fee to Yellowstone is included.
- One night's accommodation is included at a Yellowstone motel called Yellowstone Motel. If lodging there is sold out, you will stay at a moderate category motel in West Yellowstone.
- The price includes the services of a guide/driver and transportation.
- Two sack lunches are the only meals included.
- The upper loop tour may be an afternoon tour.
- This tour picks up and drops off at hotels in northwest Idaho Falls. Google the Walmart on Utah Avenue, and you can get picked up at any hotel that is within a two mile radius of that Walmart.
- All times are approximate. We are not responsible for the consequences of any delays, and this itinerary may change without notice.
- Portions of this tour are subcontracted to other reputable vendors.
- After ordering this tour please wait to receive a confirmation email from us before making any plans that are dependent on this tour.
- Payment And Cancellation Details: CANCELLATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS TOUR. Changes will also not be accepted, and refunds will not be given. Please consider purchasing trip insurance as our cancellation policy is strictly enforced. The payment schedule is as follows: Half of the total will be charged anytime from when you make the booking. The other half will be charged 30 or fewer days from the tour date, at our discretion.
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This tour can be ordered online here. Please call us at (USA) 406 646 1118 x 12, or mail us for additional information.
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