We visited Yellowstone in late July 2009 and had a great time. The crowds and traffic were not nearly as bad as I would have expected, despite record, or near record visitors. We came to see wildlife and geothermal features and were not disappointed. We enter through the East entrance and within 15 minutes of entering we saw a grizzly bear of the side of the road. It was a pretty big bear, definitely not a cub. After we left the bear, less than a quarter of a mile later we rounded a bend in the road by Yellowstone Lake and a mountain lion crossed the road in front of us. If you've seen the one at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, this one was as big or bigger. According to the ranger at the Old Faithful ranger center there are only 14-17 mountain lions in all of Yellowstone. We got to fill out a rare animal sighting report. Just after that we saw our first of hundreds of bison. During the few days we were there we saw elk, moose, bison, black bears, more grizzly bears, pronghorn antelope, a wolf, coyote, and more.
We camped at Norris campground, right across the road from the river and meadow. Norris is a beautiful and quite campground, centrally located for exploring Yellowstone. We spent one day driving the Southern loop and one day doing the Northern loop and Lamar Valley. Be sure to visit all sections of Yellowstone as the different areas of the park are surprisingly different. Also, when you go to Old Faithful be sure to visit the inn, the lobby is amazing.
If you want to see Yellowstone Falls there is a North rim drive and a South rim drive. On the south side you get a great view of the falls, but you need to walk down a LOT od stairs to get to the viewing platform. On the north side there is a switchback trail that takes you down to the rivers edge and a viewing platform that literally is right at the edge where the river falls over the edge. My son said that it was one of the coolest things ever. After you walk back up, drive down the road a bit farther to the overlook for the classic falls view.It is easy to spot the people that have just arrived at Yellowstone as they stop to look at the bison. After your first day you've seen and photographed so many your like, oh, another bison.From the NPSHave you visited Yellowstone National Park?