America’s first national park, designated in 1872, started the preservation of land for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. Yellowstone National Park has been high on our bucket list, so it was exciting to finally head there after our Grand Teton visit. It is much larger in area than its southern neighbor and we found it took a lot longer to get around inside this stunning park.
Most of the things we wanted to see were on the Lower Loop, but that area alone covers 96 miles! We spent three very full, 9+ hour days inside Yellowstone learning about its history, enjoying the diverse terrain, and observing beautiful scenery. If you want to see dramatic canyons, rushing rivers, lush forests, steamy hot springs, and gushing geysers, this is the park for you.
Yellowstone National Park is located in a 30 x 45 mile basin that was created by huge volcanic eruptions many years ago. This supervolcano feeds the world’s largest collection of hydrothermal features, which involve heated water in the earth’s crust. We saw examples of all five types of these features in the park:
1. Hot Springs:
Hot springs are the most common of the hydrothermal features in the park. Water underground is heated by a deep source of magma and rises unobstructed to the surface as superheated water. It was especially easy to spot these hot springs in the cool morning hours by looking for the steam flowing off the surface as the water cools.
Many of the hot springs are very beautiful due to bacteria and heat-loving algae that contain colorful pigments. Each color of algae is specific to a particular temperature range radiating from the center of the hot spring, with the water gradually cooling as it flows outward from the source. I loved the clear, beautiful water and all of the vivid colors!
2. Geysers:
Geysers are a type of hot spring with narrow channel constrictions that prevent water from rising to the surface as easily. When the superheated underground water produces enough steam, it expands and explodes out the small opening to release the pressure. Of more than 500 geysers in Yellowstone, Old Faithful is the most famous in the park.
The Upper Geyser Basin has the largest concentration of geysers in the world. Old Faithful erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers, although it is not the largest or most regular geyser in the park. It usually erupts about every 90 minutes and expels between 4,000-8,000 gallons of boiling water to a height of up to 180 feet. We spent several hours on the trails in this area viewing so many different sizes and types of geysers.
3. Travertine Terraces:
Travertine Terraces can be found in the north part of the park at Mammoth Hot Springs. Here hot water rises through limestone to the surface where carbon dioxide is released and the chalky white travertine is deposited. Colorful stripes are formed by heat-loving organisms called thermophiles. The whole effect looks like a frozen waterfall.
4. Fumaroles:
Fumaroles are really just steam vents. The hydrothermal feature has so little water that it boils away before reaching the surface, often giving off a hissing or whistling sound. The hottest features in the park, their steam can have temperatures as high as 280 F.
5. Mudpots
Mudpots are places where surface water collects in a shallow depression. Steam from underground heats the water along with hydrogen sufide gas, which gives off a rotten egg smell. These basically look like gooey, muddy holes that gurgle and bubble, oftentimes tinted with minerals that can give them a variety of colors. We saw the mudpots and fumaroles in the Mud Volcano area of the park.
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a canyon over 20 miles long and more than 1000 feet deep. The Upper Falls drop 109 feet over the lip of volcanic rock. Water plunges 308 feet over Lower Falls, which can be seen from Artist Point (one of the most photographed views in Yellowstone). We did several of the hikes along the North Rim and South Rim trails where overlooks give you an up-close look at the powerful rush of water at the falls.
Between the Grand Canyon and Old Faithful in the southern part of the Lower Loop is Yellowstone Lake. It is the largest high-elevation lake (above 7000 ft) in North America. Yellowstone Lake is 400 feet deep and has 141 miles of shoreline with beautiful views of the mountain ranges in the distance.
After spending time in the more crowded areas of the park, we opted to hike the Purple Mountain trail one day for a change of scenery. We climbed 1500 feet over 3 miles to the top where we were rewarded with a panoramic view of the Gibbon and Madison rivers. Much of the trail is wooded and there is even a register to sign at the top to prove you made it. We only saw a few other people the whole time on the trail.
Our campground was near the Parade Rest Guest Ranch, so we decided to check it out. We really enjoyed our two hour trail ride through the hills surrounding the Hebgen Lake area northwest of Yellowstone. We had such a good time that we returned the next day for a 1-hour ride and chuckwagon dinner with entertainment. It was also fun to try our hand at something called team penning, where two people work at getting numbered calves out of a pen (one at a time…in order!) using their horse skills. It only took us a few tries.😊
Mike also completed his 2nd Vacation Races half-marathon at Yellowstone. This race was mostly trail running and moderate difficulty. Oh, and it was 41 degrees that morning! (Luckily we had great weather for the rest of our visit). His race time was 2:07 and got 7th in his age group.
On our quest to see more animals in the wild (see Grand Teton post), we added a few close encounters with bison, an elk, and a some deer.
We did get to see other animals at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, a nonprofit wildlife park and educational facility in the town of West Yellowstone. They have river otter, raptors, eagles, wolves, and the star attraction….grizzly bears. All of the animals at the center are unable to survive in the wild and now serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts.
Bears there do not hibernate and at least a few are on display all the time. The bears participate in testing “bear-resistant” food and garbage containers as part of their play time. Keeping bears out of human food and garbage is the best way to ensure their survival in the wild. It was so interesting to see the bears try to retrieve the reward inside the containers. If they are unable to open it or get the reward in 60 minutes the container passes as “bear-resistant”.
Thank you two for sharing your adventures.
Another great write up.
Thanks for being loyal followers!
I am absolutely loving this post! What an action packed adventure it was. Old Faithful sounds like and looks like it lived up to it’s name. The hot springs are breathtaking too. I think the trail ride and wildlife park are my favorites. Oh and I love your long hair Robin 🙂 I definitely noticed it. Thanks again for sharing !
Yellowstone has definitely been one of our favorites. The colors of all the hot springs just took my breath away and the geysers amazed us with their heat and powerful eruptions. The bears were so fun to watch…especially from the safety of the facility. Don’t want to meet one too close in the wild!. Ha, guess I have reverted to my younger years with the long hair😄
Wow, what a wonderful time you had. I loved reading this and seeing the pictures. I am so glad you two are having such fun!!
Thanks Cindy. This has been an awesome trip to see many national parks. Our country has so much beauty!
Awesome article Robin. Loved the part about bear testing. Congratulations Mike on your race. Y’all remember to stay safe.
Thanks Sherri. The national parks are so beautiful and we are enjoying all the different ones we are seeing out west. Doing our best to stay safe too😊
Love reading about all the beautiful places and springs, love all the colors. I know y’all were good at the team penning too, I bet it was fun.
The parks have all been so beautiful out west. I especially loved all the colorful hot springs at Yellowstone. The horseback riding was fun–it’s been a long time since I rode but we did pretty good. 😊
My son, Thomas and his wife, Kasey went to Yellowstone at about the same time you were there. Thomas remarked how stinky the sulfur fumes were. Ha! He’d never make it as a chemistry teacher! Best Wishes!
I’m so glad Thomas and Kasey got to visit Yellowstone. It has been one of our favorite parks so far and definitely worth a visit. Yes the sulfur fumes were stinky but the science is so cool– I especially loved learning about the colorful heat-loving organisms in the hot springs.