Yellowstone Day Hikes

This is by no means a complete listing of Yellowstone's hiking possibilities. This is just a listing of a few hikes that friends and I have enjoyed.

For a complete listing of trails and hikes look at Mark C. Marschall's book Yellowstone Trails: A Hiking Guide.

[ Text Only Version ]

[ Old Faithful Area ] [ Mammoth Area ] [ Norris Area ] [ Canyon Area ] [ Lake Area ]

or just click on the trail names on the map above.

Old Faithful Area

Lone Star Geyser

• 5 miles round trip. Almost level. This is one of my favorite easy hikes. The trailhead is just upstream from Kepler Cascades on the road from Old Faithful to West Thumb. The hike follows an old road bed along the Firehole river. Once you are away from the main park road this is a very nice hike. Lone Star Geyser erupts from a 11 foot tall cone (third largest in Yellowstone) every 3 hours to a height of 40 feet. The major eruption lasts about 30 minutes and is usually preceded by one minor eruption that lasts about 5 minutes. Ask the rangers at the Old Faithful visitor center for more information about the geyser. Plan to stick around for an eruption. It's a unique opportunity to see a geyser in Yellowstone without the crowds. About one half mile past the geyser is a meadow in which I have seen wildlife in the past.

Mystic Falls Loop

• 3 miles round trip. 400 feet elevation gain. This moderate hike leads through a small thermal area, then through burned but re-growing forest, past a 75 feet tall waterfall with a small thermal spring at the top, then switch backs to an overlook of the entire Old Faithful area. This hike probably provides the most variety of any hike this short in the park. The hike starts at Biscuit Basin (about 2 miles north of the Old Faithful clover leaf.) Once at the basin parking lot, cross the bridge and follow the boardwalk through the basin. Be sure to take time to explore the basin. Jewel Geyser is a frequent if small performer. It erupts every 10 minutes in a series of burst that reach between 10 and 25 feet. The trail leaves the boardwalk near the point furthest from the parking lot. Follow this trail along the river to Mystic Falls. Always keep the river on your left. Once at the falls, you will switchback up the hill and then onto the observation point. It is possible to view distant eruptions of Old Faithful geyser from here. From the observation point, the trail leads back to the basin, completing the loop. Most of this trail passes through forest burned in the 1988 fires and offers good opportunities to explore how the forest is regenerating after the fires.

Observation Point Loop

• 2 miles round trip. This is a relatively easy loop hike with a 100 foot elevation gain. The trail leads off the main boardwalk that leads from Old Faithful geyser to Geyser Hill. Before taking the trail, check the Old Faithful prediction so you can see the eruption from the observation point. It takes about 15 to 25 minutes to walk from the Old Faithful Visitor Center, where Old Faithful predictions are posted, to Observation Point, so plan accordingly. Beyond Observation Point, the trail passes Solitary Geyser. This feature wasn't a geyser until, early in the park's history, when a gouge was dug into the side of the pool to drain water for a thermal bath formerly located near Old Faithful Inn. As water was siphoned off and the pool's water level dropped, the pool started to erupt as a geyser. Eventhough water is no longer removed from the pool and the gouge has been repaired for decades, the geyser still erupts. It is amazing how easily Yellowstone's thermal features can be radically changed by a careless act. Solitary currently erupts about every 4 to 8 minutes in a quick burst to about 6 feet, though 20 foot bursts are occasionally seen.

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Mammoth Area

Beaver Ponds Loop

• 5 miles round trip. One of the parks few short loop trails and one of the lowest in elevation, this trail is a nice alternative early in the season when most of the other park trails are still under snow. Because of the lower elevation and warmer climate the trails in the northern part of the park in general and around Mammoth in particular tend to be clear of snow earlier than other trails in the park. The best times to hike this trail are in the Spring, May and June, and in the Fall.

  From October to June large animals migrate into the area. Your chances of seeing large animals at this time of year is very good. Besides the wildlife, in the Spring, wild flowers are in bloom and in the Fall the aspen are changing color. In the summer, the trail is too hot for me.

  The trail starts in a gulch between a grey stone residence building and the Liberty Cap formation at the base of Mammoth terraces. The trail starts by climbing 400 feet in 1/2 mile but then levels out some. It passes through forest and meadow and, of course, passes a number of beaver ponds. Beaver are nocturnal so you probably won't see them but you should see a good variety of water fowl. The trail returns to Mammoth along a sage brush plain. Look for Antelope along this stretch.

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Norris Area

Artist Paint Pots

• 1.0 miles round trip. This is an easy, well developed trail to some small, colorful and interesting thermal features. While there is a small geyser and perpetual spouter here, the main attractions are the colors and the highly active but small mud pots. The mudpots are located at the top of a low hill. The trail head is 4.5 miles south of Norris Junction at the southern end of Gibbon Meadows. This is a nice short hike and can provide a perfect respite from summer traffic and crowds.

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Canyon Area

Clear Lake/Lily Pad Lake Loop

• 5 to 6 miles round trip. This relatively easy loop trail is possibly the the ultimate way to first see and experience the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The trail is shown on the Grand Canyon Pamphlet available at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. There are two possible starting points for this loop trail. Both starting points are located on the south side of the canyon along the South Rim Drive. The longer starts at the Wapiti trailhead located at the picnic area just past the Yellowstone River bridge on the South Rim Drive. The shorter starts at the trailhead just across the road from the parking area for Uncle Tom's Trail. No matter where you start, I recommend taking the loop in the counter-clockwise direction.

  Starting at the Wapiti trailhead, the trail first takes you into the Hayden Valley. It then leads back into the trees where it joins with the trail from Uncle Tom's parking area. The now joined trails lead to Clear Lake, past some interesting mudpots and then to a junction that leads past Lily Pad lake and onto the South Rim Trail. The sign at this last junction was missing in July 1997 so bring a map and watch for the junction.

  The trail joins the canyon at the most colorful portion of the canyon. Once the South Rim Trail is reached, just follow it up stream until you reach your car. Along the way you will see the most spectacular portion of the canyon, including the Lower Falls. If you started from the Wapiti trailhead, you will also see the Upper Falls and the rapids above the falls.

Mt. Washburn

• 6 miles round trip. This is one of the premier short trails in Yellowstone. Or perhaps I should say that THESE are two of the premier trails in Yellowstone. There are two routes to the lookout on the top of Mt. Washburn. Both are about the same length and both climb about 1400 feet to the 10243' summit. The climb is not steep but it is steady. The northern trail starts at the Chittenden Road Parking Area. The southern trail starts at Dunraven Pass (note this is not the same as the Dunraven Road Picnic Area which is further south.) The view from the top of Mt. Washburn encompasses the entire park but expect it to be cool or down right cold at the top. Along the trail you should see alpine flowers, small animals and if you are lucky some very close views of bighorn sheep.

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Lake Area

Storm Point Loop

• 2 miles round trip. The trail head for this very easy trail along Yellowstone Lake is located 3.5 miles east of fishing bridge. Water birds and large animals are often seen in this area. Unfortunately, the trail sometimes closes due to bear activity in the area so you might want to check at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center before driving out to take the hike. (The end of the loop trail vanishes a short distance before the end of the loop but you can see the parking lot at this point.)

Elephant Back

• 4 miles round trip. The Elephant Back trail climbs 800 feet to the 8600' overlook at the summit of Elephant Back. The overlook provides nice views of Yellowstone Lake and the surrounding area. Moose and deer frequent the area. Unfortunately, for the hiker that is, grizzly bears fish in this area in May and June and at this time the trail is often closed.

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The Lone Star Geyser picture is from The Bear Man's Trailside.