Visiting Yellowstone can be quite a puzzle for those who would like to include the park in a larger Southwest tour. Due to the vast distances, this plan often remains more of a distant dream, to be postponed to a second trip, perhaps entirely dedicated to the “Great American West” or focused on the Utah Migty Five and the famous Wyoming park.
I often find myself answering your questions on this topic: how to include Yellowstone in a 15-20 day itinerary starting from the airports where most travelers typically land in the West, namely San Francisco and Los Angeles? Indeed, the choice of the airport to land at for visiting Yellowstone is quite a puzzle. As you can read here, the most strategic international airport is undoubtedly Salt Lake City. However, for the sake of advantageous flight offers or itinerary needs, other options can also be considered: among the main ones, together with Denver (Colorado), Las Vegas airport in Nevada is one of the “less bad” choices.
So, if Las Vegas is the city you’ve chosen as the starting point for your trip to Yellowstone, you’ll need to plan your transportation carefully. My intention is to provide you with an overview of possible itineraries from Las Vegas to Yellowstone so that you can get a more precise idea of the distances, travel times, and intermediate stops you can make along the way. Of course, these recommendations will also be valid if Las Vegas is just a stopover for you on your journey north.
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Las Vegas to Yellowstone Distance
A distance of 750-790 miles separates Las Vegas from the two closest entrances to Yellowstone, namely the West Entrance and the South Entrance. In any case, it’s a very long journey that requires 1, 2, or more overnight stays depending on the type of itinerary you decide to follow. If we want to calculate the driving time, you should allow for approximately 11 to 12.30 hours of travel time without stops. During this long journey, you’ll pass through 6 states: Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
The Shortest Itinerary
If you absolutely need to optimize your available time, I recommend following the following itinerary, which is the shortest possible:
Ecco le indicazioni nel dettaglio:
- Drive north on I-15 N from Las Vegas to Idaho Falls for approximately 630 miles (please plan for an overnight stay along the way, see the next paragraph).
- Once you arrive in the city, stay on the highway until you see signs for Yellowstone at exit 119.
- Take Highway 20 E, which will take you to Montana, specifically West Yellowstone, the western entrance to the park, in about 1.45 hours (approximately 108 miles).
If, on the other hand, you want to enter the park from Salt Lake City via Jackson and Grand Teton, passing through the south entrance, you will need to follow the itinerary provided in the map you can find here.
How to Plan your Stops and Where to Stay
Along this route, it is necessary to make at least one overnight stop, and we could say that Salt Lake City is in a good position to break up the journey. However, it should be noted that it takes approximately 6 hours to drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, a long stretch that should definitely be divided into two parts, perhaps with an intermediate stop of natural interest. If 6 hours of driving per day are too much for you, or if you have decided to explore one of the mentioned stops more thoroughly, you can also choose to stop earlier to sleep in Provo, knowing that the distance to cover will be postponed to the next day.
Here are some tips to make the journey from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City more interesting:
- Around St. George: St. George is the first significant city on I-15 north of Las Vegas, and there are plenty of natural attractions in the area. In our article dedicated to St. George, we provided some suggestions for excursions in the surroundings. You can choose one that won’t take up too much time before continuing your journey to Salt Lake City.
- Kolob Canyons Road: Exit 40 on I-15 leads to Kolob Canyons, a lesser-known section of Zion National Park. The distance from Las Vegas is approximately 150 miles, for a total of about 2.10 hours. At the Visitor Center, you’ll find the Kolob Canyons Scenic Drive, a short panoramic route (10 miles round trip) that takes you to an overlook of crimson rock canyons framed by green forests. When you reach the top, you’ll need to backtrack to get back onto I-15. Allow about 30-45 minutes for this detour (excluding any hiking trails).
- Cedar Breaks National Monument: This detour is a bit more practical than the previous one because it’s in the right direction and can make your journey significantly more captivating. Exit I-15 at exit 57 towards Cedar City and take UT-14 E. After 25 minutes, you’ll come to a junction with UT-148, the road that leads to Cedar Breaks National Monument, a natural amphitheater of red rock that closely resembles Bryce Canyon. The road offers several nice viewpoints along the National Monument, and as you continue north, you’ll reach the town of Parowan, from which you can rejoin I-15 and continue towards Salt Lake City.
Whether you choose to stay in Salt Lake City or Provo, the next day you’ll need to hit the road again to reach West Yellowstone (west entrance) or Jackson (south entrance) as quickly as possible. In this case, if you’re in a bit of a hurry, you won’t have much time for many intermediate stops. However, if you don’t like a non-stop journey, you can get inspired by the tips we provided in our itinerary from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone, choosing a stop that won’t take up too much time or take you too far off course. Keep in mind that from Salt Lake City to the two entrances, there are over 300 miles to cover in about 4.5 to 5 hours of driving.
Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Itinerary
With a bit more time at your disposal, there are indeed numerous available itineraries. You will need 1 to 3 additional overnight stops, but this way, the journey from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City will become much more than just a simple transfer!
1)Leaving Las Vegas behind, you can dedicate a day to Valley of Fire and Zion National Park (the latter via UT-9), visiting the former on the way to Utah and exploring the latter more thoroughly for the remainder of the day. You will need to stay overnight in the Zion area before continuing your journey north, following the final stretch of UT-12, US-89 N, and I-15 N.
My recommendations for staying near Zion
2) After reaching Mt. Carmel Junction, you will continue your journey north toward Salt Lake City. Along this stretch of the road, you can decide to add another classic Utah stop by deviating a few miles from US-89 N to reach Bryce Canyon. The park deserves at least 3 hours of exploration and may require an overnight stay in the area or on your way to Salt Lake City (for example, Panguitch). From Panguitch to Salt Lake City, it takes about 3.30 hours to drive straight through, as there are no must-visit attractions in my opinion. From Salt Lake to Yellowstone, you can then follow the usual itinerary, adding one or more intermediate stops from those mentioned in the previously linked article.
3) If time is not a concern, you can make an additional addition to your itinerary after Bryce Canyon. Instead of staying overnight in Panguitch, continue east on UT-12, finding accommodations for the third night in one of the towns along this stunning scenic route (Boulder, Escalante , or Torrey). The next day, you can explore another gem of Utah’s Mighty Five: the underrated Capitol Reef National Park. In the linked article, you will find information and tips on how to plan your visit, but keep in mind that by no later than early afternoon, you should hit the road to reach Salt Lake City via UT-24 W, US-50 W, and, starting from Scipio, the usual I-15 N (approximately 3.30 hours).
- Accommodations available in Boulder
- Accommodations available in Escalante
- Accommodations available in Torrey
4) There is another option to enrich your journey, but this deviation is significant! After Capitol Reef, instead of heading north, you could reach Moab along UT-24 (about 2 hours of travel), stay there overnight, and spend 1-2 days exploring its beauty before returning and hitting the road back to Salt Lake City along US-191 N/US-6 W and finally I-15 N (approximately 3.45 hours of travel).
My recommendations for staying in Moab
