Western National Park Trip: Part 2 (July 2025)

Day 4

We began this day by driving 1 1/2 hours to Yellowstone National Park which became our 40th national park that we have visited together. We started our day at Yellowstone with a brisk 45 degree viewing of Old Faithful Geyser. There was a good crowd, but we were able to get a front row viewing. While we were waiting about 20 minutes, we saw Beehive Geyser erupt in the background. Watching Old Faithful erupt was an awe-inspiring sight.

After the eruption was over, we began a hike to the Upper Geyser Basin where we observed Plume Geyser, Anemone Geyser, Giantess Geyser, Aurum Geyser, and Doublet Pool. This was an easy walk because there was a boardwalk.

At Aurum Geyser we decided to take a right turn off the boardwalk onto a paved trail that took us to Solitary Geyser. This got us away from the crowds and we were by ourselves for about 20 minutes. It was a very peaceful location, and the geyser was quietly bubbling while we were there.

We continued hiking up to an observation point that overlooks Old Faithful Geyser. There is about a 160-foot climb to this observation point. We timed things almost perfectly because we were able to see Old Faithful erupt just a few minutes after we arrived.

After this hike we drove to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook trail. This trail is just over 1 1/2-mile round trip hike. I thought this would give a better view because it was elevated but there was a big crowd which made it hard to get to a good view site and there was a lot of trees partially blocking the view. On the return trip we stopped to observe the Firehole River and a nice pedestrian bridge.

Next, we took a short drive to the Fairy Falls parking area which is next to the Grand Prismatic Spring. We walked around the boardwalk and were amazed at how brilliant the colors (blue, green, orange, and yellow) were, how hot the steam was, and how strong the sulfur smelled.

On our way to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we decided to stop and hike to the Artist Paint Pots. Artist Paint Pots are a collection of pastel-colored mud pots, springs, and other geothermal features, named for their appearance resembling pots of paint. A hiking trail winds through this area that was greatly affected by a fire in 1988.

Our last stop in Yellowstone was to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to see the upper and lower falls. We walked along the rim to Lookout Point. From there we hiked down to Red Rock Point to observe the lower falls. It was a steep descent which included steps and a rough surface. There was an elevation change of about 500 feet in 3/8 mile. It was a really steep and difficult uphill return, but the view was fantastic.

As we headed south towards the exit of Yellowstone, we drove around Yellowstone Lake. It is the largest body of water in Wyoming. Yellowstone Lake is the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 feet in North America.

It was a long and exhausting day which included over 25,000 steps that we walked, so we started to make our way out of the park and headed to our motel 1 1/2 hours away in Cody, Wyoming. On our way out we saw a few bison in a field, but the best encounter of the day was the bison who decided to walk directly down the road and passed within 10 feet of our car. It was an awesome sight.