Hello everybody! Hope you’re having productive end of the year. Have you started on making list of places to visit next year?
Here’s short snippet from my recent road trip that may give you inspiration for the next big trip!
In this final chapter of 9 days road trip diary, I will take you straight to the heart of Yellowstone National Park a.k.a. America’s very first national park! Yellowstone is full of amazing nature with endless photographic moments. 2 days were merely enough to see the full extent of this beautiful park…but we tried our best!
Here’s highlights from my recent visit that is absolutely recommendable for all the first timers to Yellowstone National Park:
Chasing Geysers and Hot Springs
Yellowstone National Park is known for glorious splashes of hot springs called geysers. Geyser is created by the effect of underground volcanic activity that boils and shoots out the column of heated water. Each geyser has different timing for eruption and it can be (kind of) predicted using this prediction chart.
Old Faithful is one of the most popular geysers and also the easiest one to predict the eruption as it is quite consistent (thus it was christened “Old Faithful”). Go to Old Faithful Visitors Center and you can find out the next predicted eruption time. You can also follow Twitter @GeyserNPS for up to date information about geyser activity.
For the other geysers around the park, Geyser Times is also a good database to track the geyser activities.
Here are some of notable geysers and hot springs around the park:
Castle Geyser
Castle Geyser is located in ample distance from Old Faithful Visitors Center. Just like its famed neighbor, Castle Geyser shoots out the column of hot water quite gloriously that lasts for good fifteen to thirty minutes. Luckily, we rolled into the parking lot just in time for the geyser’s activity.
The weather cleared out from early morning’s gloom and blue sky made the perfect backdrop for iridescent arc. Castle Geyser was undoubtedly one of the most impressive geysers I’ve seen in Yellowstone and definitely one of the most picturesque.
Use Geyser Times to coordinate your visit!
Midway Geyser Basin
One of the absolutely unmissable sites in Yellowstone is Midway Geyser Basin that captures everything about this park: gigantic, beautiful, and steamy! In Midway Geyser Basin, you can see various hot springs and geysers in close distance to each other. Get ready for powerful views of Yellowstone geothermal in action!
Grand Prismatic Spring is a massive rainbow colored pool that is overwhelmingly photogenic especially during the twilight hours. If you look at the surface of hot spring you can see delicate texture of groundwork that extends across the spring floor like fragments of broken glasses pieced back together. It looks as though the force of nature has decided to use this place as canvas for their original art.
Excelsior Geyser that sits right next to Grand Prismatic Spring is another incredible work of nature that looks like gigantic meteor crater. The pit of Excelsior Geyser is filled with turquoise-colored water and is obscured consistently by thick steam. When it’s cold outside the hot steam rise and wraps around the visitors with blessing of warmth.
Firehole Lake Drive
There are several notable geyser viewing spots along the short Firehole Lake Drive loop on Route-191 south of Madison Junction. Great Fountain Geyser was quite impressive one where I saw a local fisherman chilling on his lawn chair with can of beer in his hand. True American spirit he was. This drive is a good little detour on your way to Old Faithful from West entrance.
Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail
Across the street from entrance to Firehole Lake Drive opens up another beautiful short trail to various geysers and pools of different colors. Fountain Paint Pot is collection of hot springs that invites you with colorful palettes of nature.
Are you a fan of clear blue lakes for photos? This is the place for you!
Fountain Paint Pot trail is short and well maintained with boardwalks so it is quite accessible for all visitors.
Mammoth Hot Springs
In the northern region of Yellowstone National Park, there lies dramatic terraces of hot springs with striking view of the park from above. The location is quite detached from the rest of hot springs which are concentrated in the western central region of the park. Because of this, serenity of this abstractly shaped hot springs makes it unique from the other fountains in the park.
Mammoth Hot Springs Visitors Center is also nearby in a cute little town and perfect place to shop for souvenirs.
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Hiking to Morning Glory Pool
Morning Glory Pool was the bluest pool in the park until its signature blue color got tarnished by hundreds of tossed coins which reacted vigorously with sulfur inside the hot spring. Today, Morning Glory is better known for its vivid saturation of rainbow colors.
Getting to Morning Glory isn’t that difficult but involves some walking from Old Faithful. Park your car at Old Faithful Visitors Center and take an easy 1.4 mi. stroll (2.8 mi. round trip) on the paved trail passing through Upper Geyser Basin. The trail ends at mystic Morning Glory Pool gazing at you in silence.
Wildlife of Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park is home for vast array of wildlife. Buffaloes and elks roam around the park as freely as you would with your underwear in your living room. It is not uncommon to get stuck in miles of traffic due to buffalo crossing and unexpected encounter with long time residents of Yellowstone (such as Smokey the Bear).
Just be respectful of wildlife and do not approach and threaten the animals. If you are serious photographer, bring long lens for up-close shots of these celebrities.
If you are so curious, Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone is also a good place to see and learn about Yellowstone’s wildlife.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Another essential place to visit in Yellowstone is definitely Grand Canyon located on the east side of the park. A key point of interest in this area is beautiful waterfalls that flow through the canyon like watercolor painting. Artist Point is easily accessible by car and offers iconic view of Lower Falls from perfect vantage point.
During the summer there are few hiking trails that can take you close to the waterfalls of Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, my last visit was during the verge of fall/winter season so trails were not open at the time. Nevertheless, visit to Artist Point was awesome alternative to enjoy the view.
2 days in Yellowstone was not enough to explore the greatness of this park, but I think we had pretty good amount of activities packed in such limited time. West Yellowstone is nice small town to stay near the park with various restaurants and shops in the area (beware most shops won’t open until 9am and close early in the evening). I’d recommend Morning Glory Coffee & Tea (129 Dunraven Street, West Yellowstone, MT 59758) for fresh morning brew to start up the day and definitely go to Madison Crossing Lounge (121 Madison Ave, West Yellowstone, MT 59758) for exquisite buffalo burgers and elk steak salad!
This concludes the series of USA Road Trip diaries.
I hope you picked up some useful information for your next travel! Please leave a comment and share this article with your friends and family who may benefit from this information 🙂
Thank you for reading, and have a Happy New Years!
Here’s shortcut to other posts in this series↓
★JUMP TO PART 1 :: ARCHES & CANYONLANDS NPS!★
★JUMP TO PART 2 :: ROAD TO MONUMENT VALLEY!★
★JUMP TO PART 3 :: LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON AND ZION NATIONAL PARK!★
★JUMP TO PART 4 :: BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK!★
★JUMP TO PART 5 :: CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK AND BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS!★
Useful Links:
Yellowstone National Park Geyser Prediction Chart.
Hourly Prediction Chart: Geyser Times.