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| Pat & Wayne Loved Their Visit to Yellowstone National Park |
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming,
USA (6/9-11/2018)
Yellowstone is a national treasure set aside as
the first National Park in the world! IT’S AWESOME!
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| Beautiful Yellowstone! |
Sitting on
top of one of the largest active volcanoes in the world, Yellowstone National Park
is home to more than 10,000 hydrothermal features and two-thirds of all the geysers in the world (more than 300 geysers).
Don’t worry... this volcano isn’t expect to erupt for another 400,000 years –
plenty of time for you to enjoy Yellowstone.
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| Lower Falls & Grand Canyon of Yellowstone |
Impressive
as the geysers and hot springs are belching and bubbling from the ground, Yellowstone National Park is so much more.
The stunning unspoiled landscape is also home to miles of very scenic drives of
pine trees along beautiful rivers and mountains. Yellowstone is home to many
other amazing features such as the impressive Grand Canyon of Yellowstone &
large Yellowstone Lake, breathtaking waterfalls, tranquil mountain meadows, beautiful
hikes, historic Inns, campgrounds, quaint towns, and impressive wildlife
viewing. Winter in Yellowstone offers skiing, snowmobiling, and sleigh rides.
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| Map - Yellowstone National Park |
Yellowstone
National Park has so many wonderful
features to enjoy than numerous books have been written about it. The
following is a brief review of some impressive features you can enjoy close to
the road. Yellowstone’s roads have two loops - Upper and Lower (see map).
Some features on
Yellowstone’s Lower Loop Road...
Old Faithful Geyser
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| Old Faithful Geyser Proved Faithful for Us! |
A visit to
Yellowstone National Park must include the world’s most famous geyser. Although
not the largest geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful blows plenty high (up to 180 feet) every 90 minutes and
is predictable within in few minutes (see photo). The average eruption lasts around four
minutes and a seating area is available.
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| Log Rafters Lobby - Old Faithful Inn |
The Old Faithful Visitor Center is very
interesting to learn about geysers and offers an informative film 30 minutes prior
and 15 minutes after each eruption. The historic Old Faithful Inn, built in 1904, is worth a visit to see
its seven-story lobby made of log rafters (see photo). The Observation Deck on the second
floor is a nice place to view Old Faithful. Several dining rooms and cafes are
located in this area.
Geyser Hill
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| Geyser Hill - Yellowstone National Park |
There are scores of active geysers directly north
of Old Faithful. Several can be visited on the inner boardwalk loop while many
more can be accessed along a tarmac trail starting in front of Old Faithful Inn. Witnessing one of
these erupting is harder because they do not erupt as often (Daisy, Grand, Castle, and Riverside erupt about twice a day - Daisy every 2-4 hours) and
the times are predicted daily at the main visitor center.
Park rangers lead 1 ½-hour walks of the Upper Geyser Basin daily at 5:30PM.
Grand Prismatic Spring
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| Grand Prismatic Spring - Yellowstone National Park |
Yellowstone’s
most beautiful thermal feature is the Grand
Prismatic Spring (see photo) located 10 miles north of Old Faithful. The surrounding
very colorful rings of algae and thermophiles change as the temperature of the
water cools creating a rainbow of yellows, oranges, and greens. The parking lot
here is often full but don’t despair because you can only see all of it from above looking down. So, go on to...
Fountain Paint Pot
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| Fountain Pot Thermal Features - Yellowstone National Park |
If the
parking lot is full at the Grand Prismatic Spring, a nice stop to see
interesting hot springs is nearby Fountain
Paint Pot, also located north of Old Faithful on Yellowstone’s lower loop
road. In fact, because this area offers more interesting thermal features, we
recommend including it during your visit. From the parking lot, follow the half-mile
boardwalk loop to see these interesting thermal features up close. The colorful
pools are from thermophile (heat-loving microorganisms) that thrive in the very
hot water.
West Thumb
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| Bluebell Pool in West Thumb - Yellowstone National Park |
West Thumb is located east of Old Faithful.
There is a very interesting ¼-mile easy boardwalk trail starting behind the Visitor
Center that takes you to some pretty hot spring pools (including Bluebell (see photo), Seismograph,
Black, and Abyss) - the colors of the pools are amazing! You will also walk
along the deep-cobalt blue Yellowstone
Lake, the largest high-altitude lake in North America (132 square miles).
Waterfalls & Yellowstone Grand
Canyon
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| Spectacular Grand Canyon of Yellowstone |
Two
beautiful waterfalls are located just off Yellowstone’s lower loop road. Our
favorite easily accessed from the road is the picturesque Lower Falls (see photo above) on the northeast. From Artist Point you can get a
wonderful view of Lower Falls as well as the spectacular Yellowstone Grand Canyon (see photo). This is the scene of the famous
painting by Thomas Moran brought back to Congress and President Roosevelt that
help inspire the founding of Yellowstone National Park.
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| Gibbon Falls - Yellowstone National Park |
Waterfall
lovers will also enjoy Gibbon Falls
located north of Fountain Paint Pot. Gibbon Falls is beautiful dropping 84
feet (see photo). There are many other waterfalls (approximately 290) in Yellowstone
National Park that can be accessed from Yellowstone’s 1,000 miles of back country
hiking trails.
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| Tower Fall |
Some features on
Yellowstone’s Upper Loop Road...
Tower Fall
Tower Fall is an impressive waterfall dropping
132 feet (see photo). The Yellowstone
General Store located here is nice to explore and possibly try some ice
cream.
Mammoth Hot Springs
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| Mammoth Hot Springs |
Mammoth Hot Springs is one of our favorites in the
park. This graceful collection of travertine geothermal terraces can be
accessed by a boardwalk trail. The famous lower terrace travertine formation of
Minerva Spring created over
thousands of years can also be accessed from the lower parking lot. Travel Tip: if you can, start at the top
at the North Entrance Station and walk downhill to view the Upper and Lower
Terraces – much easier on the knees.
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| Elk at Mammoth Hot Springs |
The Albright Visitor Center and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel are fun to
visit. There is a nice restaurant (Mammoth
Hot Springs Dining Room) as well as a café (Mammoth Terrace Grill) located at Mammoth Hot Springs. We saw a
number of elk hanging out in this area.
Lamar Valley
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| Bison (Buffalo) - Lamar Valley |
Located in
the northeast of Yellowstone National Park and home to the densest collection
of big animals in Yellowstone, the Lamar
Valley is sometimes called the Serengeti
of North America because of the wonderful wildlife viewing. Elk and actual
herds of bison (buffalo) can easily be sighted from the road. Searching the
tree lines, you may also see a grizzly bear, coyote, and wolves. A good pair of
binoculars or telephoto camera lens will help you better view these animals.
Grand Teton National Park
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| Beautiful Grand Teton National Park |
The
magnificent Grand Teton National Park
is located south of Yellowstone National Park. If you plan to visit Yellowstone
from the South Entrance coming up from Jackson Hole, stop at the Chapel of the Transfiguration for a
beautiful panoramic view of the Tetons (see photo). The view from inside of
this small church is also impressive.
About Yellowstone National Park
Located
mostly in the northwest corner of the state of Wyoming, Yellowstone National
Park was founded in 1872 by President Theodore Roosevelt as the first U.S.
national park and is also a designed World Heritage Site & Biosphere
Reserve.
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| Spring Wildflowers - Yellowstone National Park |
Travel Tip: Best time to visit Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone
receives over 3.5 million visitors a year with large crowds during the summer
high season. Visiting during the shoulder seasons during May/early June and
September/early October is nice when school is out and after and before the
colder winter season. June is a good time to witness fields of beautiful
wildflowers (see photo).
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| Elk - Yellowstone National Park |
Roads and viewing of geysers are busiest between 11AM and 3PM. You
can avoid most the crowds by getting up early and staying out late as well as
walking a mile from the road. Roadside pullout lots are located all throughout
Yellowstone National Park – stop and take in the amazing views. Legendary hiking is available
as well as horseback riding, kayaking, rafting, and fishing.
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| Canyon Lodge - Canyon Village, Yellowstone National Park |
Travel Tip: Where to stay in Yellowstone National Park – The centrally located large
complex Canyon Lodge in Canyon Village offers very nice more affordable
lodging with a restaurant, grocery store, and shopping. Historic inns, hotels,
and campgrounds throughout the park are also available.
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