Yellowstone
3,500 square miles of geysers, rivers, and occasional grizzlies. Yellowstone is one of our favorite parks and has something for hikers of any skill level. There are plenty of viewing points right off the road for major sites like the Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful and plenty of more involved hikes as well.
Old Faithful and the Geyser Boardwalk
The boardwalk that circles Old Faithful connects to over 150 other geothermal features including other geysers that run on fairly regular schedules. This hike is perfect for families and people of all ages and hiking experience as the boardwalk is easy to walk along and doesn’t have any steep climbs. You’ll see a lot of famous sites along this walk as well including:
- Old Faithful
- The Morning Glory Pool
- Grand Geyser
- Grotto Geyser
These are of course many more geysers and small hot springs than what’s listed here, but these were a few of our favorites. We were lucky enough to get to see Grand Geyser go off which is the tallest known predictable geyser and goes off every 7 to 15 hours. If you’re on the boardwalk and it’s anywhere near the prediction window we recommend hanging around. Getting to see it go off was definitely worth the wait.
Artist’s Point and The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Artist’s point is in the Canyon Village area of the park and provides incredible views of the lower falls and of Yellowstone river snaking through the canyon. There is a parking lot and only a short walk down to the viewpoint which makes this one another great, quick family stop. There are trails leading out from artist point as well that will take you to some interesting geothermal areas and hot pots pretty quickly.
The Boiling River
After a long day of hiking, nothing feels better than a hot soak, but that is hard to come by unless you’re staying in a luxury lodge. Enter the Boiling River. Located a few miles from the north entrance to the park in the Mammoth Hot Springs area, a small hot spring dumps scalding water into the Gardner River and as the two water sources mix, you’re left with water warm enough to soak in. There are a few small rock walls built up under the water which mix the water better and create perfect miniature hot tubs throughout the river. The walk to these spots can be shocking though as the water temperature will frequently change from moderate to scalding to freezing all within a few steps. The water in the natural tubs is much more consistent, though and don’t be surprised if you end up spending most of the afternoon lounging there. We were surprised to find how much of the day was gone when we finally got out and checked the time.
Lamar Valley
Dedicate one morning to waking up before the sun and driving out to Lamar Valley. Bison, pronghorns, wolves, and grizzly bears all frequent this area. Most mornings there are wildlife enthusiast groups in the area all equipped with powerful sight scopes to catch a better glimpse of wildlife roaming in the fields. On the morning we went they let us look through their scopes that they had focused on a mother grizzly and her cub and two wolf pups play fighting in the grass near their mother. Be prepared for “bison jams” as you drive along the road, though. The bison frequently wander into the road and block traffic.