Things to Do in Yellowstone National Park

Here in Yellowstone’s Norris Geyser Basin, there’s a notable stench of fresh sulphur that wafts on the crisp mountain air. That’s because the geysers here are some of the hottest within Yellowstone National Park, as well as the oldest, tallest, most acidic, and prone to frequent change. This section of the park is believed to have hot springs that are 115,000 years old, and is also home to Steamboat Geyser—which is the tallest geyser in the world. Unlike the famous Old Faithful, however, Steamboat Geyser has an eruption schedule that’s variable and tough to predict, though when it explodes it can send water upwards of 380 feet in the air. The Echinus Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin is the largest acidic geyser in the world, and the core temperature of the earth surrounding it is some of the hottest in the park. Given the elevated levels of heat, this geyser basin is also one of the park’s most likely to change, where hot springs can suddenly turn into fumaroles and geysers can spout without warning. For the best way to experience the basin, enjoy the two miles of boardwalk trails that weave past the geysers and hot springs, stopping to take photos, marvel at the view, and sniff the sulphur on the air.

In 1870, when members of the Washburn Expedition happened upon this Yellowstone geyser, they noted that the shape and structure of the crater resembled a castle’s tower. Since then, much of that stoic tower has gradually dissolved and eroded, although a 90‐foot-high (27-meter-high) column of boiling water still erupts with regular frequency.

On average, Castle Geyser has an eruption cycle in the vicinity of 10 to 12 hours, and eruptions will last for 20 minutes before the water changes to steam. Compared to nearby Old Faithful, however, predicting the timing of Castle Geyser can be more difficult. As one of the highlights of Upper Geyser Basin, Castle Geyser often features in guided tours of Yellowstone National Park, including day trips from Jackson Hole and Cody.

Castle Geyser is located in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The drive from the west entrance—the closest entrance to the basin—takes about 45 minutes. On foot, the geyser is easily accessed by following the trail that leads from Old Faithful.

You’ll want to time your visit to Castle Geyser for when it’s predicted to erupt. Rangers at any of Yellowstone’s visitor centers should be able to offer an estimate; plan to arrive around 45 minutes early in case it goes off before the predicted time.

Unlike Old Faithful, when Castle Geyser erupts, it does so in two phases. For the first 20 minutes, the geyser spews out a column of water that can be seen over the trees from Old Faithful. Once the water phase finishes, the geyser belches out thick white steam for another 30 to 40 minutes. The thunderous sound of the steam eruption has been compared to the roar of an oncoming train.

Like many other places in Yellowstone, the Firehole River is a scenic spot that lives up to its dramatic name. As it meanders north for 21 miles (34 kilometers) to join with the Madison River, the Firehole acts as a drainage basin for many of the park’s geothermal features and is the ideal spot for a summertime dip. 

In collecting all of the mineral rich water, which has been naturally heated by the earth, the Firehole River can run 15 degrees warmer than surrounding rivers and lakes—with the steam that’s often emitted from the surface being one of the reasons for its name. That’s why park visitors come to swim in the Firehole River swimming hole, where water temperatures hover at a moderate 75°F (23.8°C). Tourists can also drive through Firehole Canyon to the 40-foot (12-meter) Firehole Falls, the site of another popular summer swimming hole. Many guided tours of Yellowstone National Park include a visit to the Firehole River area and its colorful Fountain Paint Pot situated nearby.

The Firehole River begins just south of Old Faithful and runs through the park’s thermal areas to join the Gibbon River. A segment of Firehole Canyon is accessible via Firehole Canyon Drive, a side road of the Grand Loop Road.

If you want to swim in the Firehole River, visit on a warm summer day. The rest of the year offers opportunity to observe the steamy waters of the river, but it’s too cold to swim. The Firehole River swimming area sometimes closes due to high water levels from snowmelt or summer rainstorms. 

The Firehole River is located in the Madison area of Yellowstone National Park. Visitors to this portion of the park can also visit the small and colorful Artists Paintpots, 84-foot (26-meter) Gibbon Falls, Monument Geyser Basin, and Terrace Spring, a hot springs area with a short boardwalk.

There was once a time in the 19th century when you could hear Yellowstone’s mud volcano from over a half mile away. Today, however, the volcano has calmed to a crater of bubbling mud—which in itself is a fascinating sight that serves as a Yellowstone highlight. It’s said that when these mud‐filled pools first erupted up from the Earth, that they covered the surrounding trees in mud with their violent, explosive fury. When walking the area’s boardwalks today, it’s mostly steam that rises to the treetops as opposed to blankets of mud, but there’s no denying the creepy nature of literally watching the ground boil. At Dragon’s Mouth Spring, watch as puffs of thick white steam emerge from the mouth of a cave—which legitimately creates a vision of dragons lurking somewhere within. Add in shimmering turquoise pools and the smell of sulphur on the air, and the mud volcano area is an easy stop for experiencing Yellowstone’s fury.

While it’s hard to believe from looking at Yellowstone’s eruptive landscape today, there was once a time when this corner of Wyoming was covered in towering trees. Much like the Redwoods of California, these trees were prolific and crawled across hillsides and thrust their way towards the sky, with many species of tropical plants like cinnamon growing nearby. That all changed about 55 million years ago, when explosive eruptions of Yellowstone’s volcanoes forever altered the landscape. Trees were uprooted and caught in debris fields, slipping and sliding in the mud, before finally settling in upright positions like toothpicks standing on end. While many of those trees would eventually die, a few that were fossilized and petrified like stone are still in the park today—the most famous being the Petrified Tree just west of Tower Junction. Located within a protective fence (to keep souvenir looters at bay), the Petrified Tree is a window back to Yellowstone’s tropical past, when the peaks of the mountains we see today were once at the valley floor.

Fountain Paint Pot is one of several mud pots found within Yellowstone National Park that bursts and pops as the mud thickens throughout summer. The surrounding Fountain Paint Pot area is known for its pools of thermophiles (heat-loving bacteria) that gather to form multihued puddles in the earth, as well as mini-geysers and fumaroles.

 

The Fountain Paint Pot area is one of the most accessible part of Yellowstone National Park, and one where you can see all four types of thermal features found in Yellowstone—hot springs, mud pots, geysers, and fumaroles. Most tours of the Yellowstone Lower Loop include a walk along the Fountain Paint Pot boardwalk, as do winter tours to Old Faithful by snowmobile or snowcoach.

 

 

Fountain Paint Pot is accessed via a half-mile (0.80-kilometer) loop boardwalk known as the Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail. The easy trail is right next to Grand Loop Road in the Lower Geyser Basin area of the park. Plan to visit early in the morning to enjoy the scenery before the crowds pick up.

 

Fountain Paint Pot changes with the seasons. It’s at its most fluid and bubbly in the spring as snowmelt provides plenty of water to the pools. By the end of summer and into early autumn, the mud starts to thicken and dry.

 

Not all geysers are as reliable as this one, situated in the Fountain Paint Pot area. In Ancient Greece, a clepsydra was a type of water clock, and Clepsydra Geyser erupts like clockwork every three minutes. After an earthquake in 1959, the geyser now erupts almost continuously, making it a star in Yellowstone’s Lower Geyser Basin.

Of all Yellowstone National Park’s waterfalls, the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River are possibly the most underrated. At a thundering height of 109 feet (33 meters), the Upper Falls are an impressive sight that’s certainly worthy of a stop—and would more than likely be the highlight of virtually any other park.

The Upper Falls are often overshadowed by the nearby Lower Falls, which tumble 308 feet (94 meters) through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone—the highest waterfall in the park. The most accessible views of the Upper Falls are from the Uncle Tom’s parking area, located just south of Canyon Village and five minutes from the Lower Falls. By following the Southern Rim Trail, it’s easy to experience both the Lower and Upper Falls via a short, half‐mile hike.

The easiest way to get to the falls, located near Canyon Village, is by car. Take North Rim Drive to see the Upper Falls from the Brink of Lower Falls parking area, or opt for South Rim Drive to see the falls from the parking area for Uncle Tom’s Point.

The best time to see the Upper Falls is in late spring and early summer, when snowmelt swells the Yellowstone River and the falls’ water volume is at its most impressive. Come during the winter to avoid crowds and see the falls in all their frozen beauty.

The Upper and Lower Falls are only two of the hundreds of waterfalls that dot the landscape within the nation’s oldest national park. Crystal Falls, also located in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, is visible from South Rim Trail. Other easily accessible falls include Firehole Falls, located just off Firehole Canyon Scenic Drive; Tower Fall, near Canyon Village; Gibbon Falls, between Madison and Norris Junctions; and the Kepler Cascades, situated just south of Old Faithful.