Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Greater Yellowstone, WY
The park that started it all, a high volcanic plateau where the ground steams and erupts, a river carves a golden canyon, and bison drift across the valleys just as they have for thousands of years.
In 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park anywhere in the world, set aside for a landscape so strange that early reports of it were dismissed as tall tales. The stories were true. Yellowstone sits on top of a supervolcano, and the heat below the surface breaks through in more than half the world's geysers, along with hot springs colored like jewels, bubbling mud pots, and steaming ground. At its most famous spot, Old Faithful sends a column of water high into the air on a schedule reliable enough to draw crowds several times a day.
But the park is far more than its geysers. The Yellowstone River carves a deep canyon of golden rock and thunders over great waterfalls; broad valleys shelter some of the largest wild herds in the country; and wolves, reintroduced in the 1990s, once again range the high country. It is a park of superlatives and surprises, so large and varied that a visit feels less like sightseeing than like traveling through a wilder version of the world.
What Guests Love
- Watching Old Faithful and the other geysers erupt
- The vivid colors of the hot springs and thermal basins
- The golden cliffs and waterfalls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
- Herds of bison, elk, and the chance to spot wolves and bears
Worth Knowing
- Stay on the boardwalks in thermal areas; the ground is thin and the water is scalding
- This is prime bear country, so carry bear spray and never approach or feed wildlife
- Distances between sights are large, so plan for long drives and frequent wildlife stops
- It is very busy in summer; early mornings mean thinner crowds and better wildlife viewing
Details
Greater Yellowstone, WY
Learn about Yellowstone National Park
A landscape of fire and steam
Yellowstone's hydrothermal features are its signature: geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles, more than 10,000 of them, fed by the heat of the volcano beneath. Old Faithful is the most famous, erupting roughly every hour or so, but the geyser basins hold hundreds more, alongside hot springs ringed in brilliant bands of orange, blue, and green from the heat-loving microbes that live in them.
Elsewhere the ground itself steams and hisses. At Mammoth Hot Springs, mineral-laden water builds terraces of pale travertine; in other basins, mud bubbles and the air smells of sulfur. Boardwalks let visitors walk safely out among these features, a reminder that the whole park is alive with the restless energy of the earth just below.
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
The Yellowstone River has cut a canyon roughly 20 miles long and up to 1,000 feet deep through soft volcanic rock, and the walls glow in shades of yellow, pink, and orange, the very colors that gave the river and the park their name. Two great waterfalls pour into it: the Upper Falls and, most spectacularly, the 308-foot Lower Falls, nearly twice the height of Niagara.
Overlooks along both rims frame the falls against the golden cliffs, and short trails drop toward the brink for a closer, thundering view. It is one of the most beautiful spots in the park, and a striking contrast to the flat geyser basins: here Yellowstone shows its power not in steam but in stone and falling water.
The great herds
Yellowstone is one of the last places in America where wildlife still moves in something like its original abundance. Bison, the largest wild herd on public land, graze the Lamar and Hayden Valleys and sometimes bring traffic to a halt as they cross the roads. Elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and moose share the range, and the park is a stronghold for grizzly and black bears.
Perhaps most famously, wolves were returned to Yellowstone in the mid-1990s and now hunt the valleys once more, drawing wildlife watchers from around the world with spotting scopes at dawn. To drive the Lamar Valley in the early morning, scanning the sage for bison, bears, and wolves, is to see a piece of the American wilderness much as it once was.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Greater Yellowstone
Old Faithful and the geyser basins
In the park
The park's most famous geyser and the surrounding basins of hot springs, erupting geysers, and steaming, jewel-colored pools.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
In the park
A deep canyon of golden volcanic rock with the thundering Lower and Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River.
Lamar Valley
In the park
A broad northern valley famous for wildlife, with bison herds and some of the best wolf-watching anywhere.
Grand Teton National Park
About 30 miles south
The dramatic Teton Range and its glacial lakes, connected to Yellowstone by a scenic parkway.