Yellowstone National Park welcomes millions of visitors from around the world every single year. In 2021 alone, nearly five million visitors explored this remarkable park that is found in three states and encompasses 3,472 square miles (making this national park larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined!). While many visitors head to popular natural features like Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin during their visit, I like to venture on the road less traveled. I have made yearly trips to Yellowstone for nearly 20 years and recently took my family on a two-day road trip through the park. We stopped at many of the least-visited areas of Yellowstone National Park and even spent the night in one of our favorite locations inside the park.

If you want to avoid the crowds, yet see many hidden gems tucked away inside the first national park in the world, here’s your ultimate itinerary.

As you drive up to Yellowstone National Park, you’ll immediately fall in love. This national park is home to one of the world's most active volcanoes and more than half of the world's hydrothermal features are found in this area. There are five entrances you can take into this park, and on this particular trip, we entered from West Yellowstone, Montana.

Since the park is limited on places to eat, we stopped in West Yellowstone for sandwiches and drove just a short distance into the park for a picnic lunch. One of my favorite picnic areas is a quiet pullout along the Madison River.

While tucked away, this particular pullout is easy to find as there are signs on the West Entrance Road directing you. Here, you will find picnic tables, dumpsters, and a small restroom. There are also a small set of stairs that take you right next to the beautiful Madison River.

As we continued our drive into the park, we came to Madison Junction. Rather than turn right toward Old Faithful and the geysers, we turned left. It’s time to get away from the crowds and explore!

You'll want to make sure your camera is ready for the next stop on our drive. Artist Paint Pots is one single area where you will find nearly 50 hot pools, mudpots, and small geysers. However, to see them all, you do have to hop out of the car and go for a little hike.

My entire family could complete the Artist Paint Pots Loop Trail, which is approximately one mile long. However, there are some steep areas and stairs, making it a little more challenging for some hikers. Once you reach the top, you can look out and see quite the palette of colors. Along this trail, you’ll also pass by Blood Geyser and Flash Spring — both hidden gems in Yellowstone. Blood Geyser is quite unique as it features the most interesting bright red-orange sulfur deposits. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you may see this small geyser erupt.

We then continued north, past Norris and toward Mammoth Hot Springs. While there are many incredible attractions you will pass by (like the very popular Norris Geyser Basin), we continued on to avoid the crowds. However, we couldn't pass by without stopping at the remarkable Roaring Mountain.

This stop is one you can see right from the road, but I always love to stop and admire it. Typically, we are one of the few who do as well. One reason I love to stop is that this mountain roars and hisses — literally. Roaring Mountain is actually a large, acidic thermal area that contains fumaroles, also known as steam vents. Fumaroles are the hottest hydrothermal features in the park and the water turns into steam before it ever reaches the surface, creating roaring and hissing noises.

Bunsen Peak is the next stop on our Yellowstone road trip and it is one area that will certainly leave you inspired. This peak sits at 8,564 feet, and if you are up for a hike, this is a must-explore trail in Yellowstone.

This is a 4.6-mile out-and-back trail where you will climb to the summit of Bunsen Peak. Once you summit, you will capture the most breathtaking views of the Yellowstone River Valley, Gallatin Mountain Range, Blacktail Deer Plateau, Swan Lake Flat, and more. During this particular trip, we did not complete the hike due to the weather and my young children, but it is certainly worth every step. However, a word of caution: do not explore this trail without proper hiking gear, particularly bear spray. Grizzly bears are common in this area.

Not much farther down the Grand Loop Road is Mammoth Hot Springs. This is certainly a popular place for visitors due to the majestic hot spring terraces and is where my family loves to spend the night. Mammoth Hot Springs is home to the beautiful and historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins.

We booked a small frontier cabin in Mammoth Hot Springs, which featured two queen-size beds, a bathroom with a shower, heating system, and fan. There is also a delightful front porch where you can enjoy the views, possibly see some elk, and observe the squirrels who live underneath the cabins.

These cabins are the best place to rest as they are in the park, near dining options, and offer a handful of amenities. However, these cabins book up quickly so you will not want to delay in making a reservation.

One of my favorite parts about spending the night inside Yellowstone National Park is that we can wake up early and get a head start. The early morning is one of the best times to view wildlife as there is significantly less traffic and animal sightings are more likely. I definitely suggest you don't sleep in on this road trip in Yellowstone.

While some of my favorite routes in the park consist of driving from Mammoth to the Towers and down to Canyon Village, due to road construction and road closures during my visit, this was not possible. Instead, we followed the road from Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris and then over to Canyon Village.

Along this stretch of road, I love to hop off the main road for a scenic drive to Virginia Cascade.

This is a short one-way scenic drive that takes you to the impressive 60-foot Virginia Cascade on the Gibbon River. This area is typically very quiet and you never know what wildlife may be walking down the road.

One of the last stops is my forever favorite — Mud Volcano.

Mud Volcano was once a large mud dome that erupted. Today, as you walk by, you’ll not only see bubbling mud that is quite fascinating, but the smell of sulfur in the area is enough to make you flinch. There is a short 0.6-mile boardwalk trail that takes you around Mud Volcano and to other remarkable natural features like Sulphur Cauldron and Dragon’s Mount Spring.

Just a short drive from Mud Volcano is Hayden Valley. This area is one of the best for spotting wildlife including all types of waterfowl, bears, and wolves.

There are many pullouts throughout Hayden Valley and I enjoy occasionally stopping, pulling out the binoculars, and searching for wildlife. You’d be surprised at what you can see in this area of the park, particularly if you are patient.

After leaving Hayden Valley, we began making the drive to Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, and numerous geysers. This area is typically the busiest with tourists and so we just continued on our journey, pulling over when we saw a few animals and at random picnic areas when we were in the mood for a snack.

Most park roads are seasonal and while weather can delay your exact route, most roads throughout the park are open by mid May. You can learn more about current road closures on the National Park Service website.

While the popular tourist attractions are certainly remarkable in Yellowstone National Park, some of the best treasures are tucked away — far away from the crowds.

To discover more incredible boots-on-the-ground adventures across America from our team of local travel experts, check out all of the articles in OnlyInYourState’s Everyday Explorers series. What destinations would you like to see featured next? Tell us where we should go on our nominations page.

Before you head on a Yellowstone National Park scenic drive, make sure you are prepared! Check out our ultimate road trip packing list and favorite car-friendly snacks for your journey!