Denver to Yellowstone Road Trip: 6 Amazing Stops Along the Way
From wild horse sanctuaries to distilleries, there’s no lack of intriguing places to make a quick (or extended) pit stop on your Denver to Yellowstone road trip
Discover spectacular mountain views, unexpected eats and more along your Denver to Yellowstone road trip.
There’s a lot more between Denver and Yellowstone National Park than just 500 miles of roadway. Alongside all the national parks and cowboy boots, there are unrivaled mountain vistas and unexpected eats to discover in northern Colorado and Wyoming.
Here are a few places worth including on your Denver to Yellowstone road trip.
Stretch Your Legs at the Gateway Natural Area Near Fort Collins
The Gateway Natural Area is a great place to stretch your legs along the road from Denver to Yellowstone.
Northern Colorado rarely gets mentioned in conversations of must-see terrain in the Rocky Mountains, but it stands alone as one of the more stunning regions this side of the Mississippi. The Gateway Natural Area northwest of Fort Collins is just one of the many scenic hidden gems in NoCo’s crown. At a little over three miles, the trek around the nearby Seaman Reservoir provides an apt appetizer for the views offered in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. If nothing else, this spot located just 10 minutes off of U.S. 287 is a worthy place to stretch your legs while enjoying your Denver to Yellowstone road trip.
Savor Unexpected Eats at Sweet Melissa Cafe in Laramie
You wouldn’t expect to find a place like Sweet Melissa’s Cafe in Wyoming — but you won’t be sorry you tried it.
There’s vegetarian food in Wyoming? Yes, there is vegetarian food in Wyoming—and it’s sensational! The cowboy state may have a reputation for slinging hearty plates of well-grazed beef, but Sweet Melissa’s Cafe is the delicious exception to that meaty standard. This homey spot offers modestly priced vegetarian delicacies ranging from seitan gyros to cauliflower chickpea tikka masala. Located just a mile off the highway, Sweet Melissa’s offers an ideal respite from the endless galaxy of gas station burritos and burnt coffee you would normally experience on a Yellowstone road trip.
Meander through Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests
Discover a natural hidden gem along the route to Yellowstone in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests.
Named after the gatherings once held by Native Americans in the area, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests should be a required stop for any Denver to Yellowstone road trip. At nearly 3 million acres, this swath of land is littered with lodgepole pine and Sherman granite outcroppings, resulting in one of the more under-appreciated areas in the national forest system. Options for quick visits or days-long stops are many, with ample opportunities for day hikes scattered across the region. If you have a little extra time to stretch out your Denver to Yellowstone road trip, also check out Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-duh-voo) to meander through that zone’s moderately rated hiking trails and watch rock climbers squirm up seemingly impossible granite cracks.
Discover Wild Horses on the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop in Rock Springs
If you have four-wheel-drive, consider traversing the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop
For every six people in the tiny Wyoming town of Green River, there’s one wild horse roaming the prairie. And on the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop, travelers have a chance to catch a glimpse of around 1,500 wild horses that roam this corner of the countryside. A worthwhile detour for your Yellowstone road trip itinerary, it takes about 90 minutes to traverse all 24 miles of this rugged, four-wheel-drive-required road. But, even if you don’t have four-wheel drive, nearly 800 horses can be seen almost from the parking lot at the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility.
Caffeinate at Crux Coffee in Lander
Recharge at Crux Coffee so you can fully enjoy the last leg of your road trip.
It’s not every day you can grab a cup of java, a grapefruit-sized cinnamon bun and rock climb at the same time. But you can find all that and more on your Yellowstone road trip at Crux Coffee. Staffed entirely by students from nearby Wyoming Catholic College, the shop serves up bright mugs of CommonWealth Coffee, roasted just down the interstate in Denver. More adventurous joe sippers can even chalk up and test their strength on the on-site bouldering wall in the back of the shop.
Nosh and Sip in Jackson Hole
Jackson is the perfect place to unwind, on a Denver to Yellowstone road trip, whether on the way there or back.
Whatever Wyoming may lack in refinement in some of the more far-flung corners of the state, it more than makes up for in Jackson Hole, which rounds up our Yellowstone road trip itinerary. Joints like Cafe Genevieve, which has quickly become a local favorite for high-end bites like duck confit, ensure this ski town’s residents and vacationers alike get a taste of the finer things. Nearby watering holes like Snake River Brewing Company and the recently opened Jackson Hole Still Works also provide spaces to unwind before (or after) days of adventuring in Yellowstone National Park.