Weather forecast
Tue, Jun 23Start
Moran, WY
77°
40°
💧 1%
En route
Old Faithful
73°
39°
💧 0%
Overnight
Cooke City, MT
68°
36°
💧 9%
Forecast via Open-Meteo
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Yellowstone National Park
Jr. Ranger Badge
Junior Ranger badge — Old Faithful VC closes 8:00 PM
Game Plan
The most relaxed badge deadline of the trip. Yellowstone's badge has a small fee (~$3) — bring cash. Pick up books early, turn in before leaving the basin.
- Upper Geyser Basin boardwalk (1–2 mi · flat) — Old Faithful, Castle Geyser, Morning Glory Pool — the densest geyser field on Earth.
- Grand Prismatic Overlook (1.2 mi RT) — Gentle climb to the only spot you can actually see the colors.
- Artist Point / Brink of the Lower Falls (0.2–0.7 mi) — Artist Point is the easy classic; Brink trail is steep — skip with tired kids.
- West Thumb Geyser Basin — geysers on the lakeshore (on your morning route)
- Hayden Valley pullouts — bison, sometimes grizzly at distance
- Lamar Valley at golden hour — time your day so this lands after 5 PM
Sunrise, Sunset & Golden Hour ★
Sunrise
5:39 AM MDT
Sunset
9:12 PM MDT
Be set up by (sunrise)
5:09 AM
Be set up by (sunset)
8:52 PM
Sunrise spot — Lamar Valley — this is the BEST sunrise of the entire trip. Pull over at the Soda Butte Creek bridge or any Lamar pullout. Bison silhouettes in the mist against the Absaroka Range. Do not miss this.
Your 6:15 AM Cooke City departure puts you in Lamar Valley at exactly golden hour. Leave 30 min earlier (5:45 AM) to catch the actual sunrise moment from the valley floor.
Sunset spot — Old Faithful Inn terrace (sky behind the geyser turns orange) or Firehole River along Fountain Flat Drive. You arrive Cooke City by 7 PM; no great open western view there.
Focus all your energy on the Lamar sunrise — that's the payoff of the early start today.
Heads Up
Fuel up at Canyon or Tower — Cooke City gas is pricey and tomorrow starts with 95 park miles.
Wildlife jams are real: a single bison herd can add 30–45 min. The schedule has slack built in.
Cooke City dining closes early; aim to eat by 7:30 PM.
Trip Journal — Day 4
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