Page Updated: August 21, 2023
Yellowstone National Park
2021 SEPTMEBER
Grand Prismatic Spring - Yellowstone
We had 4 days/3 nights booked for our first trip to Yellowstone National Park. You’d think that would be enough time. It wasn’t. The size of Yellowstone should not be underestimated; add to that the proximity of Grand Teton National Park and there’s plenty to keep a visitor busy.
There are a number of scenic drives into Yellowstone. Ours took us through the Madison Valley where we had rolling hills and distant mountains for much of the ride.
This route can also path you through a tiny section of Idaho before cutting through West Yellowstone — a gateway for Yellowstone that’s full of cabins, lodges and hotels.
If you think you’re not going to see bison in Yellowstone, just wait 5 minutes and one’s bound to be in the road — or a hundred. From the time we entered the park until we made it to Grant Village Campground, it took us 90mins. Much of that time was spent waiting for motorists to tire of taking in the views of a herd of bison resting around Deep Blue Geyser.
Grant Village Campground was well set up. We had plenty of space at our site, and the restrooms were heated which was a nice surprise. After pitching our tent, we had dinner with an elk who could’ve cared less that we were there.
After supper — and against the advice of lodge employees — we decided we’d try to see Old Faithful. The sun was setting and the employees were sure it would be dark by the time the famous geyser erupted again; and they were right. But darkness brought cooler temps and a much smaller crowd, and lucky for us, someone in the crowd brought a powerful enough flash light so we could see Old Faithful just fine. And that was good enough for us.
Though we probably should’ve spent it in Yellowstone, we spent day 2 in Grand Teton National Park. From Yellowstone’s south entrance to Grand Teton’s north is 7 miles. We’d’ve been foolish not to see what we could of it. So we did
By 8am on Day 3 we were leaving our one night Airbnb rental in Gardiner on Yellowstone’s north side for a morning in Lamar Valley. We’d had a better night’s sleep, hot showers and were ready for the day. We should’ve woken earlier to get to the valley at sunrise, but we were still rewarded with some spectacular wildlife.
Lamar Valley is the best place in Yellowstone for easy-to-see wildlife. Large herds of bison and pronghorn inhabit the area and can be viewed from a number of pullouts lining the road. Bring binoculars to better spot bald eagles, osprey, bears, and coyotes roaming the area. We were lucky enough to pass bear on the road on two occasions.
Lunch was a struggle. Road closures on the entire east side of Grand Loop Road had us backtracking through the valley. All of the picnic grounds we could find were occupied; so we adapted and pulled off the side of the road, grabbed our camp chairs and had lunch next to the Gardiner River before spending a few hours at Mammoth Springs followed by a quick stop at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Canyon Campground hooked us up for night 3 and we were not impressed. The site was too cramped and would’ve been better suited for hammock camping.
Making better time on day 4, we spent the morning biking the primitive Fountain Flat Drive to Grand Prismatic Spring (pictured in heading). We passed a few smaller springs, a lone bison, and only 2 hikers all the way to Grand Prismatic. It was a fabulous.
Willing to see at least one more feature of the park, we chose the Norris Geyser Basin. To our surprise the Steamboat Geyser put on a show. The geyser’s eruption shoots 300ft into the air — twice the size of Old Faithful — and occurs unpredictably 4 days to 50 years apart. Cant believe we got to see it. We’re usually late to the party!
We saw a lot, but we missed even more. Pandemic closures had a lot of facilities shuttered, record visitation created significant traffic congestion, and road closures prevented travel in half of the park. Hoping to return one day to Yellowstone when the world is sane again and see the sites we missed, revisit sites we saw, and maybe even hike a trail or two.
scenes from Yellowstone
-b&b
Champagne Falls
Grand Teton National Park
