Yellowstone’s main roads are laid out in a figure eight loop. Our first day in the park, I wanted to see the upper loop including Mammoth Hot Springs, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Yellowstone Falls, and the Artists’ Paintpots.
Knowing we were ending a long 13-day trip in Yellowstone National Park, I chose to pick a hotel closer to the park and pay more. It was well worth it!
Yellowstone National Park
2019 Price: Free due to my Annual Pass (Fee would have been $35 for a 7-day pass)
The hotel was minutes from the west entrance. This was much better than the 45+ minute drive to Glacier National Park when we were there earlier in the month.
Kelly Inn West Yellowstone
2019 Price: $1,236 for four nights
Near the west entrance, we saw a herd of elk including one bull with impressive antlers.
It is helpful to photograph the sign before the attraction so you remember what each place is when you review them later.
Gibbon Falls
Our first sight was Gibbon Falls. Gibbon Falls gradually drops 84 feet on the Gibbon River. This was just an appetizer for what was to come later.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs was the first big sight on my list. I’m glad we decided to get here early because they were doing road work and had a lane closed. We were stopped for at least 20 minutes but thankfully since there were so few cars in line, we were able to get through quickly enough.
There are upper and lower terrace boardwalks. We started with the upper boardwalk which includes the Main Terrace, Jupiter Terrace, Mound Terrace, Mound Spring, Minerva Terrace, and Cleopatra Terrace.
White surfaces on the travertine terraces are caused by hot water dissolving limestone as it rises through the rock layers. These colorful formations come from thermophiles – heat-eating bacteria and algae.
The lower boardwalk displays the Liberty Cap, Palette Spring, and Devils Thumb.
Upper Grand Loop Road
From Mammoth Hot Springs we drove back down and stopped at pull-offs along the way.
Clearwater Springs
Roaring Mountain
Roaring Mountain is full of fumaroles (steam vents). In the early 1900s, the fumaroles were loud enough to be heard for miles hence its name.
Nymph Lake
Frying Pan Spring
You never know when you’ll find a sudden bison. According to the National Park Service, Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was the other main attraction on my list for the day.
First, we took the one-way North Rim Drive. The North Rim has several overlooks of Yellowstone Falls and the canyon:
Brink of the Lower Falls
Lookout Point
Grand View
Inspiration Point
Artist’s Point
To get to the South Rim you have to get back on Grand Loop Road and pass the North Rim Drive to turn on the South Rim Drive. The South Rim offers one of the most popular views of the falls – Artist’s Point. Brink of Upper Falls was closed while we visited.
Hayden Valley
On the loop road we often pulled over to peek at anything that caught our eye – including winding rivers and bison herds. For one herd of bison, we got out of the car and walked partway down a narrow path in Hayden Valley. The bull closest to the camera was keeping an eye on all the tourists so we made sure to stay far enough back.
As a general rule, you should be at least the length of 2 school busses away from bison and up to 8 busses away from bears and wolves.
Sulphur Caldron
Sulphur Caldron is nearly as acidic as battery acid and has an overwhelming sulphur odor you can smell from the road. Even so, we found a lone bison resting in the caldron.
Yellowstone Lake
We continued the middle section of the loop to Yellowstone Lake. The lake is the largest high elevation lake in North America. After getting a quick glimpse of the water, we turned to head back to the west entrance.
On the way back, we also saw a pair of trumpeter swans in the river. Yellowstone works to preserve cygnets in the wild. In 1919, the swans in the park were considered the last population in the lower 48 states.
Artists’ Paintpots
Our last hike was the Artists’ Paintpots which includes colorful hot springs and two large mudpots.
Artists’ Paintpots has a 1-mile trail on a boardwalk up and around the hot springs including Blood Geyser. The lower portion of the trail is universally accessible, but the upper trail is steep and rough.
Blood Geyser gets its name from the concentration of iron in the surrounding rocks.
As the sun started setting in the park, there was a little bit of a traffic backup in the Madison Junction. When we finally reached the spot, we realized it was elk relaxing by the river.
We once again dined at Bullwinkle’s. This time I had the Idaho Rainbow Trout which was spectacular!