Date of trip: June 2009
Most summers, Will and I plan a National Park trip and this year we decided to visit the very first park, Yellowstone. Yellowstone was declared a National Park in 1872 when early explorers convinced President Ulysses Grant that it was a special place that should be protected. The park is massive, with the main roads dividing it into an upper and lower loop that form a figure eight. Ideally, a visitor should spend at least 2-3 days in each part.
Lower Loop Highlights:
-There are several lodging options in the Old Faithful area, but the most popular is the Old Faithful Inn, the largest log hotel in the world. The lobby of the inn is magnificent with a towering clock fireplace, a large array of places to sit and live music most nights. We stayed in one of the old house rooms with a private bathroom and although it was very charming, the plumbing wasn’t the best. Still, I can’t imagine visiting the park and not spending at least one night here. The hotel also has an excellent dining room and dinner reservations are recommended.
-The Old Faithful Inn is so named because it sits next to the world famous Old Faithful Geyser which erupts about every 45 minutes. The inn posts when it is expected to blow but they can be off by up to 30 minutes on either side of their projection. The geyser may not be the most impressive feature in the park but it is spectacular and, because it’s synonymous with Yellowstone, it should not be missed. Old Faithful Geyser is part of the Upper Geyser Basin which includes additional geysers and mineral pools and can be toured by following trails of pavement and wooden platforms. My favorite site in the area was the two-toned Morning Glory Pool, one of the prettiest in Yellowstone.
-At the Midway Geyser Basin hot water pours from Excelsior Geyser into the cold Firehole River creating rows of steam. Grand Prismatic Spring, which is the park’s largest is also here. If you’ve ever seen pictures of Yellowstone, you’ve no doubt seen one of this massive pool glistening in bright shades of blue and orange. It is so large that it’s impossible to get a photograph of the whole thing unless you take the Fairy Falls hike up to a hill overlooking it. The colors in the pool are actually reflections of the sun and sky so they do not show up as strongly on a cloudy day. If it is very cold or snowing, as it was when we visited, it may be almost completely obscured by steam. This is also a good area to spot bison. We watched a herd with babies cross the Firehole River early one morning during a storm;an image I will never forget.
-There is nothing quite like the sound of a bubbling mud pot and you can see the best example of one by visiting the Fountain Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin. There are also some nice pools here, Celestine Pool and Silex Spring, and several geysers, some of which erupt almost constantly.
-Canyon Village is one of the busiest areas in the park. It has many places to shop and eat (don’t miss the grizzly berry ice cream) and a beautiful, state of the art Visitor’s Center where you can learn all about Yellowstone’s history. Nearby is the majestic Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which you can get amazing views of at various lookouts including the most popular near the colorful Artist’s Point. If you can handle the challenging hikes to the summits of the Upper and Lower Falls, they are both worth the effort.
-Although bison travel all over Yellowstone, the best place to see them in the lower loop is Hayden Valley. It’s very common to have a close encounter with them here because they graze around the roads. As long as you keep a safe distance and remain in your car, it’s a great experience. Mud Volcano and Sulphur Cauldron are also located in the valley and shouldn’t be missed. Will and I could have stood in front of the smoking Dragon’s Mouth Spring for hours.
-Just north of Yellowstone Lake is Fishing Bridge, a major spawning area for cutthroat trout. Although fishing is not allowed, you can observe the fish in their active months and get a great view of the lake from the wooden bridge during the rest of the year. Yellowstone Lake is the largest in the park and it’s interesting because, although it looks calm, it sits on top of geysers and other geothermal features. There is some limited boating allowed but swimming is not safe. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is the oldest in the park and the most upscale. It has a 1920s feel complete with a gorgeous sun room where guests can have a drink while they enjoy looking out on the lake. It also has a fabulous restaurant considered the best in Yellowstone. Dinner reservations are a must, but you can probably stop in for breakfast or lunch unannounced.
-The Grant Village/West Thumb area is the closest to the southern entrance. Grant Village is a great place to spot elk and the West Thumb Geyser Basin is probably the most underrated basin area in Yellowstone. Its stunning pools and hot springs are just a quick walk from the parking lot.
The Lower Loop of Yellowstone is the caldera or crater area caused by massive volcanic eruptions that occurred hundreds of thousands, even millions of years ago. It is the more popular section of the park because it contains the best examples of the geothermal features that Yellowstone is known for: geysers and colorful mineral pools. Although there are a few other places in the world where such phenomena exist like Iceland and New Zealand, Yellowstone is the only place left completely in its natural state and not exploited as a power source. It is truly unlike any place on Earth and perhaps the greatest example of nature’s extreme power and strength to both create and destroy.
For more pictures, please visit my Photo Gallery or click on any of the photos posted above.
You can read more about my trip to Yellowstone by visiting my Upper Loop post.
Yellowstone Links:
Yellowstone National Park Official Site
Yellowstone Hotel and Tour Reservations
