Quick Details
If you are only going to tour one day in Yellowstone, this is the “Best-Of” tour and the one to do! Experience this flagship Yellowstone loop tour that takes you to all the iconic sights in Yellowstone National Park including Old Faithful, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, Grand Prismatic Spring, Fountain Paint Pots, Mud Volcano and more (stops subject to change on availability).
*By Booking this tour you agree to our Visitor Acknowledgement of Risk*
This group tour from Cody, Wyoming covers 256 miles of ground taking approximately 11-12 hours to complete. Lunch is provided and we always aim to eat at one of our favorite picnic locations in the park by the river. This is the ‘Lower Loop’ tour and focuses on the southern half of Yellowstone showcasing the Yellowstone caldera, lodgepole pine forests, the largest alpine lake in North America and over 10,000 hydrothermal features including the largest hot spring in the hemisphere and the largest geysers in the world. Not to mention the plethora of wildlife, too.
Starting at 7am, this tour picks up at all hotels, most RV parks and campgrounds and many Airbnb’s in Cody, WY. If you are staying outside our pickup area we will coordinate a meeting point such as Walmart or our bus barn where we park our vans. We also pickup anywhere along the Northfork Hwy at dude ranches or campgrounds. Please call for your specific pickup time. **IN-PARK PICKUP AVAILABLE. INQUIRE FOR DETAILS**
From Cody we drive the stunning 50 mile to the Yellowstone’s east side entrance where we enter which is by far the WILD SIDE! Many times in the spring when animals are still at lower elevations we see more grizzly bears and large predators outside the entrance before we even get to Yellowstone, so keep your eyes peeled in our big window vans! This tour begins the “lower loop” of Yellowstone at around 9am, where we keep your day action packed with all the Best, Iconic sites of Yellowstone. Once there, we stop about every 15-25 mintutes, getting out and breathing the Yellowstone fresh air and having a blast of a day until about 4:30 where we start our return to Cody.
We always see bison on this tour, and often see elk, grizzly bear and black bear. Other potential wildlife sightings include wolves, golden eagles, moose, coyote and bighorn sheep. Truthfully, we see the most wildlife on this tour throughout the course of the summer.
Yellowstone is hard to do on your own, and often takes multiple days to see all the sights. It is difficult to just drive in with a map and leave with a rewarding experience in one day, especially for the driver. Most will end up turning around!
What we do as guides is far more than drive you around from stop to stop. We study the park thoroughly and share a great deal of information about Yellowstone Park: the history, wildlife, hot springs, geysers, the waterways, supervolcanos and much more. We also know how much time to spend at each feature to keep on our schedule to fit everything in, as well as which stops to skip and all the best viewpoints so you know you didn’t miss anything. We work around geyser eruption schedules as well as the best way to get you home for dinner. Our goal is to guide you through the national park in a timely, enjoyable fashion that’s exciting for all. We also know all the best bathrooms and gift shops!
Lastly, we are an active tour company, so we get out and walk the features with you. If someone wants to stay behind or sit out a stop we know exactly where to relax and will ensure you know where to join back up with the group. We tend to walk over 10,000 steps (~ 3 miles) every tour (and willing to do more). You will never get a lazy guide from us. Take a CoveredGround tour, you will not regret it! We are the PROS!
“In my honest opinion, this may be the best tour in the world” – Colter Jones, Owner of CoveredGround Tours.
Our cancellation policy is very generous with a full refund if cancelled before 48 hours of booking date for group tours, and 7 days for private tours. There is no refund if cancelled within 24 hours.
Our family of 10 had an AMAZING tour of Yellowstone’s Southern Loop with Maddy! She educated us on the park, we stopped at ALL the key sights, and she kept all our attention from our 7 year old to our 70 year old. We 100% would recommend Covered Ground Tours to anyone looking for a good time while seeing all the key sights & learning important information about Yellowstone! Thank you Covered Ground Tours for making our Yellowstone Family Adventure AWESOME!!
– Kerri A., TripAdvisorExcellent Yellowstone Park day tour! Our tour guide Mattie knows the best spots for us to see. Yellowstone Canyon was absolutely a beautiful spot. The van was very comfortable. We got to see some exciting bison herds coming through a rest stop. Enjoyed the day!
– Diane L., GoogleWe had an amazing day with Coulter on the Lower Loop Tour. He was very informative about the geographical history of the region as well as the animals. Coulter went out of his way to make sure all of the people on the tour were having a great time. We were very excited to see elk, bison, and a couple of grizzlies! Don't miss this experience.
– Beth H., GoogleLetting Kody with Covered Ground Tours do the driving was absolutely the Best decision. Not only did it give my husband the opportunity to relax and watch the wonderful scenery; but Kody was kind enough to drop us off at points of interest and then parked the vehicle. Having a bad knee I really appreciated that. Kody was professional and extremely informative about the history and geological formation of the park. It was a wonderful experience and educational.
– Toni S., GoogleWe had a wonderful experience with Covered Ground Tours. Cody was our guide and he was informative, polite, patient, protective of nature and us. From Woodchucks (not pictured), Buffalo, mule deer, to bears, we felt blessed to enjoy God’s creations! And the beauty of Old Faithful and the vastness of Yellowstone! ❤️
– Renea T., GoogleColter exceeded my expectations with his tour of Yellowstone. He accommodated my large group of women and curated our trip based on our needs. He was easy to get along with and we had a blast with him. He knew all the great views and we even got lucky and saw buffalo. Great communication leading up to the trip.
– Alli H., GoogleColter went out of his way to make our day perfect. He was on time picking us up, accommodating with any and all of our requests, and had incredible facts about Yellowstone. He was personable and professional. The van was clean and comfortable. We had an amazing experience and will cherish our memories forever!
– Sara F., GoogleA great tour of an amazing American landmark. My family and I had never been to Yellowstone and our tour allowed us to see all the sights that the park had to offer. Our tour guide Cody was friendly and very knowledgeable, enhancing an already amazing experience. If you have one day to spend in Yellowstone, using this tour guide would be a great way to go!
– Jr D., TripAdvisorAWESOME TOUR! Our guide, Madison, was fun, knowledgeable, and a great conversationalist! She made sure we were able to take our time at each stop. The ride in the van was comfortable and spacious. I would recommend and book it again!
– Sean M., TripAdvisor
