Yellowstone National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

Yellowstone is the world's first national park, with more than half the planet's geysers and some of the best wildlife watching in the lower 48 states. This guide helps you plan one, two, or three days there: which region to base yourself in, how long the drives really take, when the roads are open, and where to look for bison, elk, wolves, and bears.

What's inside

• Nine ready-made itineraries: one, two, and three days, each at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, from the boardwalks of the Upper Geyser Basin to the Grand Prismatic Overlook and Fairy Falls, the canyon rims, Mount Washburn, Yellowstone Lake, and the Lamar Valley, each with a weather backup
• The park's history, from the homelands of many Tribal Nations to the 1872 act that created the first national park, the Army years, the 1988 fires, and the return of the wolves
• Sightseeing highlights: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Norris, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Yellowstone Lake, Mammoth Hot Springs, and the Lamar Valley
• A wildlife chapter profiling 15 animals, from bison and elk to grizzly bears, wolves, and bald eagles, each with a photograph and notes on where and when to look
• Trip planning for seasons, roads, entrances, fees, lodging and camping, accessibility, pets, and thermal and wildlife safety
• 37 photographs and 7 orientation maps

What you'll receive

• EPUB ebook (Yellowstone_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.epub, about 14 MB) for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and most e-reader apps. Kindle readers can send it to their library with Amazon's Send to Kindle.
• PDF (Yellowstone_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.pdf, 113 pages including the cover, about 30 MB) for any device, and for printing pages. It opens on the illustrated cover.

Your download link arrives by email right after purchase.

Edition

First illustrated edition, October 2026, with research completed October 2026. Road openings, closures, and construction delays change every year, so check the park's current alerts before you travel.

Stay on the boardwalks, give the bison room, and let Yellowstone surprise you.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.