Most people know Yellowstone for its roadside geysers and herds of bison roaming the open valleys. However, the area has miles and miles of remote backcountry hiking.

I applied via the Yellowstone lottery for permits in March of 2024. I was rewarded with a pretty good number. So I decided on the Heart Lake Loop, a popular backpacking trip around an expansive mountain lake with a variety of backcountry treats—lakes, thermal areas, wildlife viewing, and summiting a mountain—all in one trip. I included in our itinerary an extra day for hiking to the top of Mt. Sheridan, which towers 3000 feet above Heart Lake and offers 360° views of Yellowstone and the Tetons. Early fall seemed a good time of year (still warm but no bugs and wet feet), so I chose the last weekend of September for our backpack.

We originally had planned to do the trip in four days (three nights), but we ended up doing it in three days (two nights) by doing a longer last day, in interest of making the 9-hour drive and being able to get back home for my bootcamp class the following day. We had glorious weather, sunny with highs in the low 70's.

Below is a map and lots of photos from our Yellowstone backpacking trip. Unfortunately, we did not see a grizzly.