Yellowstone National Park
From Glacier to Yellowstone
8 days in Montana
Part 5 of a 5 part series
Our last stop on the 8-day Montana road trip took us to Yellowstone National Park, a 3500 square mile wilderness. In Yellowstone you will see the beauty of dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, and lush forests, but exploring the hot springs and gushing geysers over this active volcanic hot spot is really fascinating. There are over 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone, which makes up more than half of all the geysers in the world!
Two very important things you need to know
- You must have a park pass to get intoYellowstone National Park.
- Stay aware of flood recovery updates
Over 93% of the park has reopened after the flooding in early June. There are some areas still closed to the public including the north entrance, so before visiting check latest updates
Lower loop Tour
A month before our trip, Yellowstone flooded, leaving the park temporarily closed. Even after the lower loop reopened, there were systems in place allowing only cars in on every other day depending on your license plate number. Plan B would have to be to sign up for a tour, just to confirm we could get in on our one full day. We ended up signing up through Get Your Guide for the lower loop active van tour. It all ended up working in our favor to see everything from an air-conditioned van with an entertaining guide. He knew where to park, where to find wildlife, and even dropped us off right in front of Old Faithful instead of having to face the crowds in the parking lot. He also kept us on schedule, supplied us with binoculars, and even furnished a picnic lunch.
Driving through the park felt surreal. One minute you see a beautiful river surrounded by lush fields, and the next minute you see boiling lakes letting off smoke. It was almost like being on another planet at times. On the other hand, the wildlife exists happily in the middle of it all, even though people stop in droves on the side of the road to take pictures and video. The bison just walking down the street or the huge elk just eating grass ten feet from the road seemed oblivious to the attention.
Grand Prismatic Springs
Our first get out and hike spot was at the Grand Prismatic Spring. We took the Fairy Falls trail .5 miles to the look out which gave us an aerial type of view. I have seen a million pictures but being there in real life is something different. Here’s a little information for you thanks to our guide. It is the 3rd largest spring in the world and is bigger than a football field at 370 feet in diameter. Blistering hot water travels 121 feet from a crack in the Earth to this spring. The temperature of the water is 160 degrees Fahrenheit! The changing colors come from different bacteria that live around the edge.
Fun facts about Old Faithful:
- It expels anywhere from 3700 to 8400 gallons of water
- The water expelled is 204 degrees Fahrenheit!
- It erupts about 20 times a day
Old Faithful Geyser
You can’t go to Yellowstone National Park and not see Old Faithful. This was the one area in the park where you realized how many people were visiting Surprisingly they have benches set up in such a way that everyone can get a good view. As we waited patiently for the geyser to erupt, little gurgles and spews of water tease you. The actual eruption was about 90 seconds and probably went close to 160 feet in the air.
Old Faithful Inn
Killing time before the eruption, we explored old Faithful Inn. Built in 1903-1904 with logs and stone, it is known as the largest log structure in the world. It is a functioning hotel, but as beautiful as it is, it seemed to be the busiest place in the park. The lobby is impressive with an enormous copper clock and massive stone fireplace. We needed a snack, and I would be doing you a disservice if I did not tell you about the sweet garlic pickles we found. They might be the best pickles I’ve ever had!
Hayden Valley
Can you ever get tired of seeing bison in the wild, especially if they have little baby bison with them? The guess is that around 4700 bison roam Yellowstone. Male bison can weigh up to 2000 pounds and live 12-15 years. The guide showed us trees along one of our hikes where bison rub themselves to remove excess hair. We also watched several roll around in white dust to stay cool. There were recently several bison attacks in Yellowstone, so we kept our distance, but if you ask me, they looked very docile.
Artist Point
Another stop on our tour was the most photographed view in Yellowstone, called Artist Point. It’s a short walk from South Rim Drive and is completely paved. The guide told us to try to walk the entire distance to the overlook without peaking to your left. When you arrive up the set of stairs, you turn and take it all in. It’s breathtaking! It overlooks Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Park, something we had not seen yet. Beyond the orange and pink steep walls of the canyon is the 308-foot lower falls. I probably could have stayed here all day.
Grand Canyon Lower Falls
Our final stop was to see those same falls up close. Known as Lower Falls this is the biggest waterfall in Yellowstone. It’s not only beautiful but extremely powerful! You hear the intense roar as it drops into the rainbow of mist beneath. It’s amazing how many perspectives you can see the falls from and if we had more time, I would have loved to hike some of the trails surrounding it.
Day 2- hiking Dunraven Pass to Mt Washburn
Day 2 in Yellowstone was dedicated to what is known as one of the best hikes. You follow the old stagecoach route to the fire tower on top of 10,223-foot Mount Washburn. It claimed to have some of the best views in Yellowstone, including Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, and Yellowstone Lake. On a clear day you can even see the Grand Tetons. I’m here to say it did not disappoint! Make sure you take the Dunraven Pass to Mount Washburn trail and start at the Dunraven Pass trailhead.
We ascended 1400 feet over 3.5 miles and had views the entire way! The best part, besides the incredible views, was our mountain goat sighting. They let us get close and just like all wildlife we spotted in Yellowstone, seemed completely oblivious to us. After climbing several long switchbacks, you reach the summit and that is about as panoramic as it gets! This was an entirely different way to see Yellowstone and helped you realize how incredibly vast it is! I mentioned this in my Glacier blog, but just wanted to say again how helpful I found the day hikes map guide from hike734. Check out the website below.
Bar N Ranch
Finding a place to stay inside the park with 2 bedrooms was almost impossible. I googled areas outside of Yellowstone and came across another cabin scenario 6 miles outside of the Yellowstone entrance. It’s called Bar N Ranch and has hotel type rooms in the main house and several cabins in addition to that. It looks online like a rustic Montana ranch complete with a river that meanders through the property. The cabin was rustic as promised with a fireplace, 2 bedrooms, small living area, and mini fridge/ microwave. The surrounding views were beautiful and the front desk employees could not have been nicer. Every night several fire pits around the property were lit and smore kits were free to pick up. It was very peaceful and a fun place to unwind after a long day exploring.
Finally Fly fishing
Caden has become interested in fly fishing the last couple of years and debated trying to go out one day with a guide. Instead he and Cullen wandered in the evening around where we stayed and found a great place to try it out. After all Montana is one of the best places in the world to fly fish!
Where to eat around Yellowstone National Park
Honestly, we didn’t need to venture out much to find places to eat. The first night we ate at the restaurant at the Bar N Ranch (where we were staying) and the 2nd night we ventured into West Yellowstone. That area is touristy and offers a tone of choices as well as lots of fun shops! Caden’s favorite fly fishing store, Big Sky Anglers, is located there! We tried out The Buffalo Bar and had a great time! As you can Imagine there are a bunch of stuffed buffalo standing around and a great choice of buffalo burgers, buffalo meatloaf, and buffalo steak on the menu!
Our 8 day Montana trip had come to an end and I don’t think any of us were ready to leave! One thing I do know is that we will be back! If you are interested in seeing the other segments of this trip, click on the links below!