I am so excited to start a new travel series with you! Warning: This trip was EPIC so this will be a long travel series. I will cover all of the highlights of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, plus some of the cute surrounding towns like Cody and Jackson Hole, and all the fun stops on the road trip!
For my very first post, I will share one of the spots Yellowstone is most famous for: Old Faithful, plus the scenic drive on the way to the park.
Ten Sleeps/Big Horn National Forest
This route takes you through the Big Horn National Forest where there are multiple stops to get out and hike.
We enjoyed this area so much, we thought we might just have to come back here someday and do some hiking!
If you enlarge the photo below you might be able to read all about Tensleep Canyon.
Here is a short video of us driving through this amazing canyon.
Yellowstone: East Entrance
There are five entrances to Yellowstone park. Since we were coming from the east, we entered through the East Entrance. The beautiful Yellowstone Lake is located on the east side of the park, and that is where we spotted our first signs of wildlife: Tundra Swans.
We did stop at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center & Museum to use the bathroom. It is a small, unimpressive Visitor Center so I didn't take photos, although there is a gorgeous view of the lake from behind the museum.
Yellowstone National Park is a large park encompassing nearly a 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. It is mostly in Wyoming, but the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. It is so huge that it is impossible to see it all on one trip, BUT with careful planning and moving from sun up to sun set, you can see most of the highlights on the 142 mile loop in three days; we sure did!
Photo Credit |
Looking at the map above you can see the figure 8 in the middle of the map; that is where mostly all the main attractions are located in the park . The entire figure 8 loop is 142 miles long. As stated earlier, we came from Cody, Wyoming and entered through the east entrance (lower right in above photo). Then we drove past Yellowstone Lake heading to the Upper Geyser Basin. On the way to the basin however we made a quick pit stop when we saw a little sign that read "Kepler Cascades".
Kepler Cascades
I was so happy we spotted this little sign and took the time to stop and check it out because it was so worth it!
Just a short walk from the parking lot is a large viewing deck over the Firehole River. The three-tiered cascades drop fifty feet into the river.
The Kepler Cascades look so beautiful with the evergreens on either side of them. They are located about two miles south of Old Faithful! Don't miss it!
Upper Geyser Basin
We knew Old Faithful was the most popular spot in Yellowstone and we wanted to see it before the crowds arrived. Our timing was perfect! We got there just in time to see it erupt with no crowds. In fact, we actually saw it erupt twice: once when we first got there, and then again later (with crowds) after our hike around the basin.
Old Faithful
Here is a video of Old Faithful erupting. I can't even begin to express my feelings as I watched this geyser. There seemed to be a holy hush in the crowd; like everyone knew they were experiencing something special. I heard about Old Faithful my entire life. I couldn't believe I was finally here witnessing this!
The funniest part of watching Old Faithful was that there was a buffalo sitting right in front of the geyser just a few feet from the crowd. It amazes me how of all the places in the park this guy could take a nap, he chooses one of the most populated places. It makes me think maybe animals like to have people around after all.
That is the Old Faithful Inn in the distance.
Here is what the Old Faithful area looks like before the crowds arrive. Get there early, if you want an unobstructed view like this, because by the second eruption of the day, this area was packed!
We were surprised to see all the hiking and other hydrothermal spots surrounding Old Faithful. We walked around for a little while, and would have loved to have walked the entire boardwalk, but do to lack of time, we stayed always within view of the Old Faithful Inn
We were amazed to find this pretty river and green area so close to the hydrothermal features. This is the Firehole River and you can find it just by walking a little past Old Faithful and over this cute bridge.
There were great views of Old Faithful Inn and the hydrothermal features from here.
The thing that surprised me the most about Yellowstone was the number of hydrothermal features there are in the park. There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features, 500 of which are geysers. It seemed they were everywhere in the park and it felt to us that the entire park was just about ready to explode!
The entire area around Old Faithful is boardwalks leading to more of these hydrothermal features and geysers. The boardwalk seemed endless. Because we wanted to do the entire figure 8 loop in three days we only had time to see a small portion of it. But listed below are all the trails that you can take from this area if you had the time:
- Upper Geyser Basin Loop: A 3-mile loop with an elevation change of about 50 ft
- Observation Point Trail: A 0.5-mile trail that takes 1–3 hours to complete and offers a commanding view of the Upper Geyser Basin
- Old Faithful to Biscuit Basin: A 5-mile hike with an elevation change of about 100 ft
- Upper Geyser Basin Tour: A 3.8-mile hike from Old Faithful to Morning Glory that takes about 180 minutes
- Full loop: A hike that takes more than half a day to complete and allows you to see all of the over 150 thermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin
While planning for our trip to Yellowstone we watched videos of this area and saw some scenes where buffalo charged at people on the boardwalk. I was a little nervous about this happening when we were there, especially after seeing the buffalo at Old Faithful, so I kept my eyes out for any buffalo in the distance. There's just no place to go if a buffalo charges. You certainly can't step off the boardwalks and into the hydrothermal features!
It is interesting to see that wherever there is a hydrothermal feature the vegetation is all dead, even the trees! But then in the distance you can still see the beautiful forests.
The first hydrothermal we came across was "Crested Pool".
See all the dead trees in the background? The earth must be getting to hot for the trees roots.
We both thought 'Castle Geyser' was very interesting; aptly named for its castle like shape.
After finishing the small loop around Old Faithful, we decided to walk in to the Old Faithful Inn. We would have loved to have eaten here, but reservations fill up fast. You are however, allowed to walk in and check out the place.
Old Faithful Inn
The inn is absolutely gorgeous. The fireplace is enormous and the lumber in this place is incredible.
This is a stairwell leading to the upstairs rooms. Just look at all those logs and that interesting staircase!
If I could take this vacation all over again, I would spend one night in Old Faithful Inn, one night in the Roosevelt Lodge, and one night in Canyon Village. That way, you don't have to drive so much and you can easily see the entire park in three days. We spent all our nights in one place: Yellowstone Cabins. It was very nice, but we were constantly driving miles back to our lodging which wasted a lot of time. I knew this would be the issue when I booked our lodging, but all the hotels in the park were full except for the cabins. You need to book one year in advance at least if you want to stay in any of the other hotels in the park, and I can't seem to ever plan that far ahead. Heck, I don't even know when my husband can take a vacation that far in advance.
Old Faithful Visitor Education Center
After touring the Old Faithful Inn we headed over to the Old Faithful Visitor Educational Center. The park has ten visitor centers and information stations. That is incredible. We only visited a couple: Fishing Bridge Museum and this one. Regrettably, we didn't have the time to spend as much time as we would have liked at the Old Faithful Visitor Center. It seemed incredible! There was so much information to digest.
We thought it was pretty cool that you could see Old Faithful erupt from inside the Visitor Center!
And now be sure to enjoy a short video or two of some of the hydrothermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin. You really need to see at least one video to hear the gurgling, bubbling sounds and see the features in action. Pictures alone do not do them justice.
Videos of More Hydrothermal Features in the Upper Geyser Basin
Ear Spring
Small Hydrothermal Feature
Another Small Hydrothermal Feature
Dump Geyser
Next week, I will cover another spot Yellowstone is famous for: The Grand Prismatic Spring! What a special place that is.
Have A Great Day! Amy
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