“To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.”

Marie Davis

We’ve done quite a few hikes in the park over our various visits. We’ve by no means done them all, and there are many that we want to do but haven’t had the opportunity yet. These are five of our favorite hikes to do with our kids, and these are just our opinions. These are great day hike options, not just for kids, but for all ages!

When we brought the kids in 2019, Levi was five years old and the girls were only two and a half. That didn’t slow us down too much. Dan and I carried each of them in our Osprey hiking carriers and Levi powered through on his own. This year, everyone was able to hike on their own AND carry their own water! Woohoo!

Before listing our top hikes, I want to emphasize some important tips. Please consider these tips as you hike into Yellowstone’s backcountry, even if it’s a shorter hike.

• Carry Bear Spray: Yellowstone is prime bear country. The greater Yellowstone ecosystem houses the largest population of grizzlies in the lower 48. There are also a great number of black bears. We saw a black bear on one of our hikes in Sprough Creek. While he ran the other way when we encountered him, we still had our hands on our bear spray. When hiking with the kids, Dan and I both carry bear spray on our hip. Don’t keep it in your backpack – you want it easily accessible. We keep the kids between us, with one of  us in the front and one of us in the back. Bear spray can be purchased in the park or even at WalMarts and Costcos (cheapest!) if you are close to a town with one of those stores. If you are flying in, either buy it at a park store or you can rent it at one of the bear spray rental counters. Rentals can be found in Jackson Hole, south of Teton, or in Yellowstone at Canyon Village.
• Stay on the Trail: Yellowstone is a fragile ecosystem and many parts of the park lay on a thin crust with dangerous thermal features just beneath the surface. For your safety, stay on the designated trails.
• Make Noise: When you hike into the backcountry, especially on a less traveled trail, make some noise. Talk, sing… wear a bear bell if that’s your style. Bears most often charge when they are startled. It oftentimes works to just let them know you’re coming.
• Pack it Out: The saying you often hear is “a fed bear is a dead bear.” Once a bear gets a taste of human food, they’ll come looking for it. Make sure you pack out all of your trash. This also means to take care of your personal belongings, especially on boardwalks near geothermal features.  Hold on to your hats, camera lens caps, and other personal items – especially when it’s windy!

I have lots of other tips and tricks for hiking with kids. From wearing appropriate footwear, to bringing all the snacks, and giving them ownership of the hike… there are things that we’ve found that have worked to encourage our kids to go the extra mile, literally. Kids are capable of extraordinary things and as I tell mine all the time, “you can do anything you put your mind to.” Our kids have impressed the heck out of me with their mileage and elevation gains… this past trip doing some of their longest distances. It means the world to be able to experience some of these new places with the kids. Their wonder and their sense of accomplishment makes every hike worth it.

#5: Upper Geyser Basin to Morning Glory Pool

• Mileage: 3.5 mile loop
• Elevation Gain: 114 feet
• AllTrails Rating: Easy
• AllTrails Link
• Trailhead Location: Old Faithful Visitor Center

While most people wouldn’t think of the boardwalks as a typical “hike,” the distance you have to walk to get from the Old Faithful parking lot all the way to Morning Glory Pool is a lot for little legs! If you add in all of the stops you can make along the way, and the various connecting boardwalks, you can easily walk well over three miles. As you hike, make sure to stop at some of the best recognized geothermal features and try to catch a geyser eruption or two; we loved seeing Morning Glory Pool, Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser, and Old Faithful!

This will be a heavily trafficked area most of the time, so don’t expect to enjoy solitude. We did find that going in the evening, when most people are heading out of the park to dinner, there were less people on the boardwalks.

#4: Speciman Ridge

• Mileage: 16.9 miles point to point
• Elevation Gain: 3,861 feet
• AllTrails Rating: Hard
• AllTrails Link
• Trailhead Location: Northeast Entrance Road out to Lamar Valley – access at Yellowstone River Picnic Area (just over the bridge from Tower-Roosevelt)

We hiked Speciman Ridge back in 2019 and wish we had opted to do this hike once again this year. We hiked part of the Sprough Creek trail this past year, and definitely were more in love with Speciman Ridge when we hiked it a few years ago.

This is a very long hike. When we hiked it with the kids, we only did about 2.5 miles before turning around and coming back to the car. This is the best way to experience longer hikes with kids if you don’t think they can handle the entire loop. You can always turn around and come back!

When we started this hike, we had to hike to the top of a ridge and then it leveled out. The remainder of the miles that we did were relatively level, and you skirted the ridge along which the Yellowstone River winds down below. We saw prairie falcons diving off the cliff walls, and marmots scurried along our path, unphased by our presence.

This is a less popular hike, so definitely carry the bear spray. We only saw two other people along the trail the entire time we hiked and we were on high alert for bear activity. Never saw any though! There’s something very special about being able to get away from the populous of Yellowstone and experience parts of the park by yourself. It was a wonderful experience.

#3: Brink of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River

• Mileage: 0.8 miles out and back
• Elevation Gain: 248 feet
• AllTrails Rating: Moderate
• AllTrails Link
• Trailhead Location: Canyon Village – access the trailhead from the North Rim Drive

The brink of the Lower Falls is definitely worth taking the kids on. There aren’t many places in the US where you can stand right at the brink of a major waterfall. You can literally walk right out to the corner of the overhang and look straight down over the waterfall.

This is a heavily trafficked trail, and in the summer months you can expect a heavy stream of people. The trail, while short, does switchback down into the canyon. This means that you will have to do the switchback climb all the way back up. I was honestly quite surprised with my kiddos, they managed to walk the entire trail up without stopping once. Insert a fist bump emoji here.

#2: Fairy Falls

• Mileage: 4.8 miles out and back (round up to 5 if you do the Grand Prismatic Overlook)
• Elevation Gain: 170 feet
• AllTrails Rating: Easy
• AllTrails Link
• Trailhead Location: Grand Loop Road near Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin

We have done the Fairy Falls hike both times that we visited Yellowstone with the kids. Even though the hike is five miles long, the majority of the trail is flat and wide and is perfect for kids. On this hike, you can also veer off slightly and hike up to the Grand Prismatic Overlook before heading back down to the trail. In my opinon, this view of Grand Prismatic is the best in the park.

If you are planning on combining the overlook with your hike, plan on getting on the trail later in the day. We made the mistake of hiking early in the morning to try and beat the crowds back in 2019 and we couldn’t see any of the hot spring due to the intense steam rising from the hot spring.

After stopping at the overlook, continue on to Fairy Falls. When you arrive, you’ll find yourself standing at the base of a 200 foot tall waterfall. It cascades whimsically over the cliff edge, probably giving the waterfall it’s name. After viewing the falls, you can continue on to Imperial Geyser. We’ve never gone the extra steps, but I’ve heard it’s a great hike.

Fairy Falls is a heavily trafficked trail, especially on the portion of the hike that leads to the Grand Prismatic Overlook. It literally can look like a people mover with the amount of people travelling the trail. There is an overflow parking lot for the trailhead, and that even gets full. I’ve driven by during times when the parking lot and overflow parking were completely full and many cars were then parked out on the main road, lining both sides of the road. We went later in the evening, after dinner, and managed to get a spot pretty easily.

#1: Mt. Washburn via Dunraven Pass

• Mileage: 6.8 miles out and back
• Elevation Gain: 1,394 feet
• AllTrails Rating: Moderate
• AllTrails Link
• Trailhead Location: Dunraven Pass along the Yellowstone Grand Loop Road, between Canyon Village and Tower

Dan and I first hiked Mt. Washburn on our first trip to Yellowstone back in 2013 (I was pregnant with Levi!). We wanted to carry the girls and complete the hike with Levi back in 2019, but the road was under construction and the trailhead was closed. We knew that this visit, Mt. Washburn was going to be a definite.

Now, we knew that this was going to be a tough hike for little legs. My inexperienced hiker vibes had a tough time with the switchbacks the first time that we did the hike. I remember having to stop multiple times to huff and puff and catch my breath. We psyched the kids up for it. Prior to going on the hike, we took multiple hikes earlier in the week to get their feet and legs conditioned. We hiked 6 miles in Sprough Creek and challenged them to hike Mt. Washburn.

The morning of the hike, all three were determined. And they shocked me. They really did shock me. Not one ounce of complaining, not one negative word as they climbed the nearly 1,400 feet in 3.4 miles.

This can be a busy hike, as many day hikers like to partake. We chose to start early in the day. We were worried on the day of the hike because there was dense fog everywhere we drove. I prayed that it was just settled in the valleys, and we lucked out. By the time we reached the trailhead at Dunraven Pass, we had gotten above the clouds and were able to start our hike with clear views. We arrived at the trailhead around 8:30AM. Make sure you layer, as you can get chilly as you hike up the elevation.

The hike starts out going uphill almost immediately. After an initial climb, it levels out for a bit before starting switchbacks. We encouraged the kids by telling them we would stop at the end of each switchback and it worked wonders. We caught our breath, took a drink, looked at the beautiful views, and kept on going. Eventually you’ll find yourself hiking above the trees. The summit of Mt. Washburn sits at 10,219 feet.

We lucked out by going early in the morning. We were able to spot four bighorn sheep at the top of the mountain. They stood in our view for a few minutes before cresting the mountaintop and heading down lower into the valleys, off the trail, to feed!

At the summit, you will find a fire station, complete with bathrooms! The ranger at the top was in disbelief that our kids hiked all the way up to the top. He said not many kids make the trek. He gave them a Junior Ranger sticker for their hard work! We camped out at the top for a half hour or so before heading back down the mountain. Snacks, snacks, snacks… can’t emphasize the importance of snacks enough when hiking with kids.

Funny story – on our first road trip, when we completed this hike, Dan and I had to ride out a storm in that fire station. A massive thunderstorm blew up and we rushed to the summit. Something about being totally exposed during a thunderstorm is chilling to the bones.

The hike down goes much faster than going up! I believe we only stopped once on the way down, and that was only to take off our long sleeve shirts! Going down in elevation is so much easier than going up!