Yellowstone Private Tour: Old Faithful, Wildlife & Prismatic

See Yellowstone's geysers, hot springs and wildlife in one day with a guide who knows where to find them

A private, customizable full-day tour of Yellowstone National Park with a local naturalist guide, hotel pickup, and stops at Old Faithful Geyser, Grand Prismatic Spring, Fountain Paint Pot, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, and Yellowstone Lake. The tour is tailored to your group's pace and interests, whether you're photographing wildlife, chasing golden light, or exploring geothermal features. Lunch, snacks, binoculars, spotting scope and field guides are included. The National Park Pass is an optional add-on.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Old Faithful Geyser45m
2. Grand Prismatic Spring30m
3. Fountain Paint Pot30m
4. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone30m
5. Hayden Valley30m

Explore Yellowstone's Lower Loop highlights

• Start full-day Lower Loop adventure
• Visit Old Faithful Geyser eruption
• See Grand Prismatic Spring colors
• Walk Fountain Paint Pot trail
• View Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
• Enjoy Yellowstone Lake scenery
• Wildlife viewing in Hayden Valley

The experience

Your guide picks you up from your hotel and drives you through Yellowstone's Lower Loop, a route that strings together most of the park's signature stops in a single day. The route is flexible: your guide adjusts it based on wildlife activity, light, and what your group wants to linger on. Old Faithful erupts roughly every 60 to 90 minutes and shoots water up to 180 feet. You'll time your arrival to catch it. Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the US at over 370 feet wide, displays intense bands of blue, green, yellow, orange and red created by heat-loving microorganisms. Fountain Paint Pot is a short loop trail where you walk past bubbling mud pots, steaming fumaroles and small geysers all in one compact area.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone stretches over 20 miles long and drops up to 1,200 feet, with walls colored in yellow, orange and red. The Lower Falls plunge 308 feet (nearly twice the height of Niagara Falls), and viewpoints like Artist Point and Inspiration Point are built for photographs. Hayden Valley, a former glacial lake bed now open meadow, is where you're most likely to spot bison, elk, grizzly bears and wolves, especially at dawn and dusk. Yellowstone Lake sits at 7,733 feet above sea level and covers over 130 square miles. Beneath its calm surface lies a geothermal system with underwater geysers.

Your guide is a long-time local and naturalist who knows the land, the wildlife patterns, and stops beyond the main tourist areas. You'll get real stories, ecology and cultural history woven through the day. The operator provides snacks, a picnic lunch, binoculars and a spotting scope so you're not hunting for gear or stopping to buy food. The tour runs 10 to 12 hours depending on what you see and where you want to spend time.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off.
• local naturalist guide speaking English.
• bottled water.
• snacks and picnic lunch.
• use of binoculars, spotting scope and field guides.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:00Last departure this season: 31 Dec

Book up to4h before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 26 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendly

Operated by Grizzly Country Wildlife Adventures

Is this one for you?Your guide speaks English and is a local naturalist, so the commentary is in-depth ecology and real stories rather than a scripted script: families with kids, couples and photographers all follow comfortably. The tour is private and customizable, so the pace and stops adjust to what your group wants to see and photograph.

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Top questions

What time does the tour start and end?

Pickup happens from your hotel in the morning. The full tour runs 10 to 12 hours, so you'll return to your hotel in the late afternoon or early evening. The exact start time is arranged when you book.

Can I bring my own camera and spend time photographing?

Yes. The guides are photographers themselves and understand golden light and animal behavior. Photography-friendly stops are built into the route, and the pace is yours. You're not rushed through any site.

What is Old Faithful and how often does it erupt?

Old Faithful is Yellowstone's most famous geyser and erupts approximately every 60 to 90 minutes, shooting steaming water up to 180 feet in the air. It's the park's most iconic geothermal feature and a highlight of the Lower Loop.

Will I see wildlife like bears and wolves?

Hayden Valley is a prime wildlife viewing area, especially at dawn and dusk, where herds of bison, elk, grizzly bears, wolves and bald eagles are often spotted. Your guide knows where to look and when, but wildlife sightings are never guaranteed.

Is the National Park Pass included?

The National Park Pass is optional and costs $20–40 per person. You can add it at checkout. Hotel pickup, lunch, snacks, binoculars, spotting scope and field guides are all included.

What's the difference between Grand Prismatic Spring and the other hot springs?

Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the US at over 370 feet wide and displays striking bands of blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Fountain Paint Pot is a different geothermal area where you walk past mud pots, fumaroles and small geysers in a compact loop.