-----> Plan your RV trip with our NEW State By State Guide To State And National Park Campgrounds. <-----

Monday, April 10, 2023

Things To Do In And Around Yellowstone National Park, WY


Check out this post before your trip to Yellowstone NP, WY for things to do in the park and in this area.

If you are traveling here with your RV, take a look at our list of 10 Items You Should Have On Your RV Camping List before you hit the road.
 


2022 Cross Country Road Trip Stop 8

We headed to West Yellowstone, MT after our stay at Grand Teton NP. This was Stop 8 of our cross-country road trip. It would only take us about 15 minutes from our campground here to get to the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park but it would take us about an hour or more to get to Old Faithful. We were so happy when we noticed that we could pass by Old Faithful on our way from Grand Teton, NP to Yellowstone Holiday Resort, our next campground.

(1)We got up early, packed up and unhooked the trailer from the water and electric and we were on our way to see Old Faithful.


We followed the signs pointing to the geyser. I thought we would head towards what looked like a huge water fountain but I didn't see it. I never realized Old Faithful was a geyser that needed to heat up and erupt. I had a lot to learn. We took a seat with a lot of other fellow tourists and waited for the big eruption. Old Faithful took it's time and didn't erupt at the time posted. But then we heard the bubbling and everyone started to get very excited! The eruption was a sight to see and well worth the wait!


After the very cool water show the geyser put on for us we headed to Observation Point to get an expansive view of the Old Faithful area. We had a great view from 160 ft. above.



Along the trail, we passed Solitary Geyser and then we headed to Geyser Hill.


We walked along a wooden path that encircled Geyser Hill and saw a collection of geysers. 


All of the geysers were named. This one was called Anemone Geyser.


We were lucky to catch the Lion Geyser erupting.


Besides for geysers, you can find hot springs on Geyser Hill. This one was named Heart Spring.


(2) We spent all morning here and after lunch, it was time to head to our next campground, Yellowstone Holiday Resort. As we pulled up to the campground, we were in awe of the view we were going to have here. There were majestic mountains behind us and the bluest water in front of us. We couldn't ask for anything more perfect than that to look at for the next couple of days.


(Read more about this campground here.)

(3) The people who checked us into the campground were very friendly and eager to tell us all about the campground and the town of West Yellowstone. They highly recommended an ice cream shop in town. So after setting up, cooking and eating dinner, we headed into the town of West Yellowstone which was conveniently located only 15 minutes from the campground. After an evening of buying souvenirs and eating ice cream, it was time to call it a night.


We decided to sleep in on our second and only full day in Yellowstone and head over to the park after lunch. It was only a 20 minute drive from the campground to the west entrance of Yellowstone. We had three stops by car planned for the day. The first was to Madison where we excited to see Gibbons Falls.


And Artist's Paint Pots. You can't tell from this photo, but we could understand why this spot got it's name. It was so colorful.


Next we hopped back in the car and headed to Norris. Here we would see a couple of geysers, Steamboat Geyser for one, and a couple of springs that included the gorgeous Emerald Spring, on the 1 1/2 mile Back Basin loop.




After our hike here, we drove to our last stop, Canyon Village to see the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. The Brink of the Lower Falls Trail was a short 1/2 mile hike down to see the top of the Lower Falls. The rainbow added to the fun of seeing the falls from this viewpoint.


Good To Know: We were not prepared for how steep this trail was so left our water and hiking sticks in the car thinking we didn't need them for a short 1/2 mile trail. The 600 foot elevation and steepness of this trail was so strenuous that I thought at one point that Soko was going to have to call the park rangers to help me get up the trail. I really started to panic but was able to calm myself down and decided to slow down to a snail's crawl and did make it up on my own. I passed Sandie along the trail. She was having a hard time with the trail too. Having water and hiking sticks would have made the hike up the hill much easier.

We were so happy to finally make it up the hill. We had no energy left to even think about going to the Upper Falls which we had thought we might do. We did make one more stop before we left the park after a fellow hiker told us where to get a great view of the lower falls. We got in the car and headed to Artist Point where we got an amazing view of the Lower Falls cascading into what is called the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.


We were definitely ready to head back to the campground after our full day at Yellowstone National Park. After resting for awhile and having dinner we got enough energy back to take advantage of the beautiful lake we were camping beside. We grabbed a couple of fishing poles, rented a small boat and spent an hour relaxing and taking in the beautiful view. It was a perfect way to end our time at Stop 8 of our road trip.




Read about the stop we made in Grand Teton, NP. This park is so close to Yellowstone so it makes sense to see them both if you are planning a trip to one of the parks.


Have you been to Yellowstone National Park? Which hikes did you enjoy? Let us know in comments. We would love to read all about your favorite trails.


This post was featured:


19 comments:

  1. Those geysers are very interesting natural phenomenon. Nothing like that in Finland.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We met so many people from different parts of Europe while we were on our road trip. They all told us the same thing that they were in the states to hike in our beautiful parks because there were nothing like them in Europe.

      Delete
  2. Thanks for sharing and your support at SSPS #256.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for coming by and for hosting your nice party!

      Delete
  3. Enjoyed seeing your pictures! We love Yellowstone and will be traveling there later this Spring!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so lucky to have a trip planned to Yellowstone!!

      Delete
    2. I’ve been to Yellowstone twice and it was fun to see all of the wildlife and geysers. The first time we went there was wildfires burning but we had no idea. Then we returned after the fire. Yellowstone is always crazy packed though.

      Delete
  4. It seems like Yellowstone National Park is a beautiful place surrounded with nature's beauty. Wonderful pictures and I really like the photos of Old Faithful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it was beautiful. The pictures can never come close to capturing the beauty though. Hopefully you can see Old Faithful for yourself one day.

      Delete
  5. This trip is definitely on my bucket list.... thanks for sharing it with us at #alittlebitofeverything party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am happy to hear that you will be making it to Yellowstone one day. I think you will love it!

      Delete
  6. Great tips and photos! Pinned to my travel board. I have been to Yellowstone only once -- back in the 1990s. I hope to get back there again, someday. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 60.
    Carol
    www.scribblingboomer.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for pinning. Hope it comes in handy when you are making your travel plans to Yellowstone!

      Delete
  7. Thanks for taking me on this virtual tour. I love to see your travels. Your pictures are great.
    Thanks bunches for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Paula for always stopping by and making such nice comments!

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. We have been dreaming about seeing Old Faithful for years. It really was a dream come true and worth the wait!

      Delete
  9. I would love to visit here some day. You've taken some lovely pics.
    I visited a geyser in Lanzarote, it was fab to watch!
    Thanks so much for sharing with #MMBC. Have a lovely week ahead!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That geyser you saw must have been amazing! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete