Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Norris Geyser Basin

Grand Loop Road, Yellowstone: A Stagecoach Road, a Basin That Blew Up and the Head of the Missouri

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Last Updated: October 11, 2026

The Grand Loop Road was not built for cars. Army engineers laid it out for stagecoaches, and for its first decade nobody was allowed to drive an automobile on it at all.

Sandy Huntley at the overlook above Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

It is the figure eight of roughly 140 miles that ties together every major feature in Yellowstone, and driving all of it in one day can take four to seven hours depending on wildlife and traffic. We spent the first part of June 2022 working through it from West Yellowstone, Montana, about an hour and a half from Fishing Bridge. We were last here in the fall of 2020.

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Lamar Valley, Mammoth, and Norris Geyser Basin

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Last Updated: July 18, 2026

Lamar Valley from West Yellowstone is over a two-hour drive one way — but every mile of it rewards you with geothermal wonders, wildlife encounters, and sweeping fall scenery. In the past we’ve stayed in Gardiner at the north entrance, which puts Lamar Valley much closer. Along the way, Norris Geyser Basin, Terrace Spring, Beryl Spring, Gibbon Falls, and Mammoth Hot Springs all make excellent stops. Yellowstone National Park — established in 1872 as America’s first national park — never fails to astonish us, and autumn is one of the most magical times to visit.

Golden cottonwood trees reflecting fall foliage along the road to Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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North Yellowstone & Gardiner, Montana

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Last Updated: May 25, 2026

We spent a full week in Gardiner, Montana, at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It was the perfect base — a short drive to the entrance gate, and each morning we were greeted by elk and pronghorn antelope right along the road. We explored the park on multiple days, covering the Lamar Valley, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, the Madison River corridor, and more thermal features than we could fit into one visit.

The Lamar River flowing through a wide, green valley with snow-capped mountains in the distance, northern Yellowstone National Park
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