The wide open, sensory-friendly space in Yellowstone National Park is a perfect setting for both educational and emotional growth.
Spontaneous adventures, like taking an unplanned hike, investigating a hot springs at the side of the road, or stopping to watch wildlife, are great motivators for a child with autism to be a little bit less rigid and try something new.
On the other hand, small problems can quickly become big problems when you’re in the middle of the wilderness and you don’t have something you need. Keep the anxiety low with a solid plan for a successful day in Yellowstone.
Everything You Need to Prepare for a Day in Yellowstone
Get Your Tech in Gear Before You Leave Home!
Yellowstone is a great place to go when you need to unplug from the daily grind. And you will be unplugged, because cell service is spotty at best in most of the park. Some, but not all hotels, restaurants, and visitor centers have wifi, but there’s not a lot of bandwidth. For those of us who’ve become dependent on technology, we need to be ready for off-line life!
Download the free NPS App from either the Apple Play Store or Google Play, and save the maps on your phone for off-line use. You’ll get accurate, up to date information on geyser eruptions, road closures, weather, audio tours of the most popular areas, as well as restaurant and restroom locations.
Get your free National Parks Access Pass. Save it in the wallet on your phone so that it’s available off-line.
If you’re counting on a tablet or phone to keep your child entertained in the car, download some of his/her favorite movies, shows, or songs before you enter Yellowstone National Park.
If your phone is also your camera, make sure you have plenty of memory. You’ll be taking LOTS of pictures and video. You probably won’t get enough bandwidth to upload pictures to the cloud while you’re in Yellowstone, so if you travel with a laptop, play it safe and transfer your pictures each night.
Bring USB cables to plug into the car while you’re driving to keep your devices fully charged.
Bring a lightweight portable charger in case you need to charge your camera or phone away from the car. Your phone camera and GPS based apps drain the battery very quickly.
What to Bring in the Car
One great thing about a Yellowstone vacation is that you always have your car, so you can bring as much stuff with you as you want. Just load up the trunk with anything and everything you may need to enjoy your day! Remember to bring:
A cooler with lots of water and lots of snacks — keep it in the car while driving and in the trunk, safe from bears, when you park
Sunscreen, insect repellent, sunglasses, hats
Extra layers of clothes just in case
Lightweight day packs to hold water bottles, snacks, and more on hikes.
Toilet paper, wet wipes, and hand sanitizer. Hopefully you won’t need them, but don’t get caught empty handed if you do!
A couple of plastic garbage bags, a few ziploc bags, and a roll of paper towels
A basic first aid kit for cuts or bruises
Any fidget toys or comfort items your child would normally want during the course of a day
Bear spray and a full tank of gas!
Restaurants and Dining in Yellowstone
One of the best things about being in Yellowstone is that your family has a chance to relax and spend the day at whatever pace is dictated by nature (and traffic). It doesn’t matter exactly when you arrive anywhere, since nature is always open.
For a child who thrives on routines, or a kid who has a meltdown when he/she gets too hungry, keep an eye on the clock and be ready to stop on time for lunch at your next picnic area.
If you’re not able to pack your own lunch, stop at one of the quick serve restaurants in the morning to pick up some take out, or buy grab and go sandwiches at the general store. If you prefer a hot meal, pick up a disposable charcoal grill pan to cook up a few burgers, hot dogs, or chicken, and toast marshmallows for dessert.
Picnic Areas. You won’t get a view like this in a restaurant! Picnic areas are located roughly every 10-15 miles throughout the grand loop. Your NPS app will tell you which picnic areas have restrooms and allow grills.
Sensory: Wooden picnic tables often have scratchy surfaces on the benches.
Bridge Bay Picnic Area
Quick Service Restaurants
Noon to 2 PM and 5 to 7 PM is extremely busy at all of the Yellowstone restaurants.
The Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria and the Canyon Lodge Eatery are cafeteria style, so they move the crowds through fairly efficiently. The other quick service restaurants get backed up quickly, with wait times as long as an hour at the peak.
The Canyon Soda Fountain serves burgers, sandwiches, and ice cream
Fine dining is available at the Lake Hotel, Grant Village Dining Room, and Old Faithful Snow Lodge (Obsidian Dining Room). Breakfast and lunch are first come, first serve, but reservations are required for dinner. We had an outstanding meal at the Lake Hotel when we visited!
Old Faithful Inn Dining Room
Shopping in Yellowstone National Park
A peek inside the Tower Falls General Store shows a good supply of smore’s ingredients!
The General Stores sell souvenirs, camping supplies, toiletries, and a very small selection of basic groceries, mostly pre-packaged. If you have a picky eater, or need a special diet, load up on anything you really need at a supermarket or Walmart in Jackson Hole or Bozeman. We always place a big on-line pick-up order for our arrival day to save time shopping and ensure that we don’t forget anything on your list!
When you’re up in the North Loop, head over to the gateway town of Gardiner. Only 15 minutes from the Mammoth Springs area, and immediately outside the famous Roosevelt Arch, it’s a cute Old West style town with lots of shops and interesting restaurants. The Gardiner Market has an excellent selection of groceries, fresh produce, and other supplies.
The Good, the Bad, and the Stinky - Bathrooms in Yellowstone
When you’re at any of the visitor centers, hotels, restaurants or general stores, you’ll find clean, modern bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks with running water. All of them have accessible handicap stalls if your child needs assistance or a change of clothes.
Your Yellowstone map or NPS App will show you dozens of additional restroom facilities at every landmark and most picnic areas throughout the park. These are vault toilets, also known as outhouses, port-a-potties or latrines. No matter what you call it, this is an amenity that you hope you’ll never need! The vault toilets are periodically stocked with TP and hand sanitizer, but don’t count on finding any when you need it. Sensory: The smells start out bad in the early morning, and keep getting worse as the temperature rises throughout the day.
Bottom line, never pass up the chance to use a flush-toilet restroom before leaving a central area.
Other Posts in this Series
Coming Soon: Easy Itineraries for Yellowstone National Park