Much of the 140-mile (230 km) system was originally planned by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the US Army Corps of Engineers in the early days of the park, when it was under military administration.

The Grand Loop Road provides access to the major features of the park, including the Upper, Midway and Lower geyser basins, Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Fall, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake.

The road was named by Harry W. Frantz in 1923, who served as the park's publicist before beginning a long career as a journalist.

at Yellowstone National Park headquarters at Fort Yellowstone near Mammoth Hot Springs 44°58′34″N 110°42′2″W / 44.97611°N 110.70056°W / 44.97611; -110.70056 (Grand Loop Road-Mammoth Hot Springs), the road travels south, passing through Golden Gate Canyon on a viaduct and ascending the Gallatin Range, crossing Kingman Pass near Bunsen Peak.

Turning east from Old Faithful the road crosses the Continental Divide over Craig Pass, and descends to the West Thumb Geyser Basin on the shore of Yellowstone Lake.

From Tower Junction, the road travels north and then west through the Gallatin Range to complete the loop at Mammoth Hot Springs.