HIKING IN YELLOWSTONE

It is often said that most tourists who visit the park don't even get fifty yards from the edge of the park road. If you want to do justice to Yellowstone's wonderful beauty, this would be a travesty. Even getting a mile off the road, the people start to disappear and Yellowstone takes on a whole different meaning. Very few people take the time to realize and enjoy this part. Hiking in Yellowstone is definitely worth the effort!

The hikes I describe here are some of the ones we have taken in our two summers in the park. For some of the hikes that I have described, there are a lot of different ways to take them. Sometimes we started a hike and turned around before reaching the end. The mileages I have written are not exact. To get a more complete description of how long the hikes are, where they start and other information, I would strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of Mark C. Marschall's book "Yellowstone Trails: A Hiking Guide". For about $6.00 at any visitor center this book is a very good resource. I didn't go anywhere without it. Aside from giving trail descriptions, it gives you information on bears, water treatment, river fords and the like. What I have put together here are my impressions of the hikes that we took, what I liked and didn't like about each. Before doing any of these hikes I suggest buying the Marschall book and checking with the nearest visitor center. They will be able to tell you about recent bear activity, river fords, trail conditions and any other information you may need before setting out. I want to reiterate the fact that what I have described here are just my opinions of the hikes that I have taken. I by no means want to discourage anyone from taking any of these hikes but rather I would like to encourage people to find out more. It is the total experience that makes Yellowstone so special and I wouldn't want anyone to miss a thing. Yellowstone's backcountry is a world full of treasures just waiting to be explored. Have fun!

This short and popular hike, through a burn area from the fires of 1988, provides a nice close-up view of one of Yellowstone's thermal features. The unique mud pots are quite a sight.

Fairy Falls (5mi)

We started the Fairy Falls hike off of Fountain Flats drive north of Biscuit Basin. It travels through burned forest with very little variation in scenery. Like so many hikes in Yellowstone, this trail was not very well marked. To make matters worse, we did this hike in early summer and the ground was very wet, even marshy in areas. When we finally got to the falls, a small patch of snow could be seen near the top. Although the fall is very high, the actual water flow was very thin. From the trail you can get to the bottom of the falls where you can feel its mist. The hike was fair but not recommended until mid-summer when the trail dries out.

Grebe Lake (6mi)

The Grebe lake hike starts off the Canyon-Norris road. A hike through burned forest, the scenery was not very impressive and the lake was not incredibly beautiful or big. It is a nice hike to get off the road and away from people but there was nothing spectacular about it.

Shoshone Lake (6mi)

This hike is much more beautiful than Grebe lake. Starting from the Delacy Creek trailhead on the West Thumb-Old Faithful road, we wound through lodgepole pines and meadows following a meandering stream. On the way to the lake we saw a porcupine along the trail. The trail is relatively flat and is definitely worth the view of the beautiful lake.

Lone Star Geyser (5mi)

If you are a geyser fan, this is a must see. The hike starts off the West Thumb-Old Faithful road just east of the pull off for Kepler Cascades. It is an old service road and one of the few bike trails in the park. If you don't do it in mid-May with three feet of snow on the ground (which we have done twice), this hike is flat and easy. The hike follows a stream almost the whole way. We have been either lucky or misfortunate, depending on your interpretation, to have seen numerous moose on this trail. The geyser is composed of a tall cone and stands prominently away from the rest of the scenery. In front of the geyser you will find a wooden stand with a book in it. This is a log to keep track of when the geyser goes off. It also gives some general information about the geyser. It erupts pretty regularly about every three hours. When it does, it is quite a show. One of the most impressive geysers that I have seen, the hike is definitely worth it.

Mystic Falls (2mi)

This hike starts beyond the boardwalks on the far end of Biscuit Basin. A mile to the falls, the trail skirts burned forest but is pretty none the less. The falls is a beautiful sight. If you are up to more, you can continue on past the falls up a series of switch backs to Mystic Falls overlook. This is not supose to be that long but it feels like it. It is a climb and the trail gets kind of confusing but if you make it, the view is spectacular. On top you can see Biscuit Basin, as well as the Upper Geyser Basin across the road. From here we saw the eruption of Artemesia geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin.

Elephant Back (4mi)

The two mile hike to the top of the Elephant back is quite a hike. You pretty much go straight up for two miles. Once on the top, the view is breathtaking in more ways than one. When you rest, catch your breath and take in the view, it is amazing. You can see out over Yellowstone Lake, Pelican Valley and the Absaroka Mountain Range. You almost feel like you are on top of the world. The hike starts near Lake Village, and is known for bear activity. Because of this, the trail is often closed due to bears. Check at the Fishing Bridge Visitor center for details. The view is worth the strenuous hike.

Tower Falls (1mi)

This one mile round-trip hike to the bottom of Tower Falls is not as easy as the mileage would lead you to believe. The trail is heavily used and is quite steep in some parts. The view is spectacular from beneath. From there you get a sense of how powerful and immense the falls really is. Feeling the mist is an aspect of the falls that you cannot get from the viewpoint at the top. This is a worthwhile, short hike.

Hellroaring Creek (10mi)

There are a number of different starting points for this trail. We did parts of this hike both summers. The first summer we started at Roosevelt junction. This made it a 10 mile round-trip hike. The scenery on this hike is great. It is very different than the type you will find in the southern part of the park but it is beautiful none the less. Most of it is through open sagebrush country. If the sun is glaring, it is an unbelievably hot hike. This we found out the second summer when we started at the regular trailhead and spent three days and two nights in the backcountry before reaching Gardiner, MT. There were many nice, sandy beach backcountry campsites that we were able to take advantage of on our long trip. No matter where you start, you will cross the mighty Yellowstone river via a sturdy suspension bridge. Once coming to Hellroaring Creek, you can go further by fording the river. There is also a bridge over the creek, but that will take you about three miles out of the way. We stopped at the creek the first time. The trail to that point gave us a good taste of the area and made the hike a manageable ten miles. Although neither time did we see much wildlife, other than fresh bear tracks and scat as well as many skeletons, it was a very pretty hike. Take bug spray though. The biting flies were ruthless!!

Pebble Creek (12mi one way)

The Pebble Creek hike, located in the Northeast corner of the park was so beautiful we did this 12 mile hike both summers in Yellowstone. To complete the whole hike, you will need two cars, one at the trailhead and one at Pebble Creek campground. Starting from the picnic area, the first mile of the hike climbs over 1,000 feet. A seemingly endless and breathless mile, once you reach the plateau, it is relatively smooth sailing from there. The view from this vantage point is spectacular. This point in the hike is a good time to rest, get something to eat and take in the view. From there you veer away from the road and into an open valley. Surrounded on both sides by high ground, this area is beautiful, especially when the flowers are in bloom. This hike gave us our first experience at stream crossings in Yellowstone. My brother showed us the proper technique and, although some fords were high, we got through them no problem. From the open meadows you finish the hike in lodgepole pine forests until you reach the camp ground. The scenery is great and the solitude you find on this scarcely used trail is unimaginable.

Pelican Valley (16mi)

The Pelican Valley hike, a 16 mile loop trail, showed us a lot about our hiking abilities. This hike starts off the Fishing Bridge-east entrance road, a few miles east of Fishing Bridge. A notorious bear frequenting area, this hike has many restrictions. You can only do the hike between 9 am and 7 pm and this restriction is heavily enforced. It is also recommended that you hike in groups of four or more. Although the hike has no big ascents or descents, it is not totally flat. Hiking through sparse forest in the beginning, most of the hike is a circle around a huge open valley. The scenery is very pretty. About the half way point on the loop you come to a ranger cabin. Although there wasn't a lot of wildlife along the trail, we were warned by rangers that a sow grizzly and two cubs were in the area. We also encountered a couple buffalo, and an agressive elk. Sixteen miles in one day for us proved to be a struggle but the hike is pretty no matter how far you take it.

Union Falls (15mi)

This hike is located on the edge of the southern border of Yellowstone. To reach the trailhead, you have to take a very narrow dirt road starting at Flagg Ranch just south of the park for ten miles. From experience, I want to warn people to be very careful driving this road. On the far end of Grassy Lake Resevoir, you will find the trailhead for Union Falls. For the first mile the trail travels through a densely forested area until you reach the Falls river. This river ford is often high and dangerous, most of the time impassible before August. With sandals on and walking stick in hand, we crossed the river cautiously. From here, the trail travels up and down, crossing more streams over fallen logs. The last stretch of the hike before the falls is a climb but it is worth it. Union Falls is the most impressive waterfall I have ever seen. Although you have to hike 15 miles round-trip to see it, it is definitely worth the effort. Two rivers join at this single spot and plunge to the earth below. The sight is almost indescribable. Seeing the falls is well worth the miles you have hiked but there is also a side attraction. About a half a mile before you reach the falls, there is a well worn trail off to your left that goes about 3/4 of a mile and ends up at a swimming hole. This hole, containing a small waterfall, is heated by thermal runoff. Not too hot and not too cold, a dip in the water is a refreshing and relaxing way to work up energy for the long hike back. This is another hike we did both summers in Yellowstone and it is my favorite hike in the park.

Mount Washburn (6mi)

This six mile round-trip hike is very popular. There are two ways to take this hike. You can either start from the Chittenden Road which is shorter and steeper or from the Dunraven picnic area, which we did, that is longer but not as steep. Although we have never seen them, they say there is a chance to see bighorn sheep on the hike. When the flowers are in bloom this hike is spectacular. Even without these two things, this hike is worth it. Hiking along an old road, the trail is nice but steep. When you reach the top, there is a tower in which you can go into. There, they have a sign-in book and a map of the major attractions of Yellowstone. You can see pretty much everything from there. It is a spectacular view. Often quite windy on top, take a jacket along even in the warmest of weather. The hike down is pleasant, especially after the rewarding view.

Lava Creek (8.5mi)

This trail starts near Mammoth campground and leads to Undine Falls. The hike parallels the Gardiner river for a ways and is surrounded by massive hills. Through sage brush flats, this area is very different from most of Yellowstone's landscapes. We stopped at Undine Falls which is beautiful. Walking to it makes it even better, but if you don't want to hike, you can see the falls from a pull-out off the road.

Knowles Falls (12mi)

Knowles Falls is another hike similar to that of Lava Creek. Through sagebrush area and forest, this hike eventually joins up with the Hellroaring Creek trail which was discussed earlier. We crossed the Yellowstone river by bridge and made it to the falls. Because the river was so high, the falls actually looked more like a rapid. Despite this disappointment, it was a pretty hike.

Solfatara Creek (12mi)

This hike starts from the Norris campground and is not well maintained. When I asked at the visitor center about it, they weren't real sure what it was like. All they could tell me was that it hadn't been cleared in two years. This meant we would have to deal with a lot of downed trees. Even though a challenge, we thought it would be worth it. The hike goes through burned forest area most of the way. It comes to a small thermal spring area which was unsightly and had a very bad smell. About a mile from the end of the trail, we came to Lake of the Woods. At that point we could no longer see where the trail went. There were downed trees all over the place and we saw no more markers to guide us. Worried that we would get lost, we turned around. Out of curiousity when we got back to the car, we drove to the other trailhead and tried to see where the trail was. We came to Amphitheater Springs which was a pretty thermal feature but we still could not find the trail. In total, we probably missed a half of a mile of the trail. Most of the trail is barren and at points hard to follow. The thermal features were interesting but this is not a trail I would recommend.

Osprey Falls (8mi???)

Osprey falls was one of my favorite trails of the summer. It starts at the Bunsen Peak trailhead just south of Mammoth. The trail itself is not all that interesting but the end result is. The trail gets very steep for about a mile. Here you drop over 800 feet into the canyon below on a series of switchbacks. Taken slowly these are okay, but the trail is often slippery and with very loose rock, it can be very dangerous. You can't see the falls until you are right there and what an awesome sight it is. At the bottom, take a rest, enjoy the falls, and relax before thinking about climbing back up the canyon. This tough hike is definitely worth seeing the beautiful and powerful falls. The question marks on the milage means that there are numerous discrepancies about the actual miles of the hike.

Slough Creek (4mi)

This trail starts from the Slough Creek Campground in the Lamar Valley. Not a flat hike, it can be difficult at times, especially in the beginning. In about two miles you reach a flat area called the "first meadows" and it is absolutely beautiful. There are tall cliffs and open meadows as far as you can see. A stream meanders through the area, making it picture perfect. We took in the view for a while and then turned around. This short hike was very rewarding.

Natural Bridge (2mi)

This is a two mile round trip hike starting just south of Bridge Bay campground. It is a very flat and easy hike which leads you to a natural bridge carved out of the land. It is nothing like you would find in Arches National Park but it is a neat geological structure.

Washburn Hot Springs (9.5mi)

This hike starts just before you reach Inspiration point on the canyon rim road. From the glacial boulder trailhead, you travel along the canyon rim for a ways. A nice view of a thin stream of water called Silver Cord Cascade can be seen across the canyon. A little ways further, the trail forks, one trail going down the canyon called seven mile hole and the other leading towards Mt. Washburn. Here you veer away from the canyon and into forests and open meadows. The flowers here were very pretty. The hot springs were quite a sight. Not wanting to get too close, we stayed on the trail but you can get a close up view of the springs even from there. The smoke and the bubbling mud are neat.

Lake Overlook (2mi)

This short trail starts at West Thumb. It climbs away from the lake and up a hill, passing some small thermal features along the way. The view from the top is very nice. Here you can see the lake, Grant Village and West Thumb below. Although you do climb to the vantage point, it is a very nice, moderately easy trail.

Monument Geyser Basin (1.8mi)

This trail starts at the Gibbon River Bridge. This short hike is not an easy one. It goes straight up for 500 feet after leaving the Gibbon River. Very steep, this hike takes awhile. Once on top, you get a nice view of the meandering Gibbon river. The prominent cones of the now dormant geysers are very neat to see. Reminded that the cone of a geyser grows only one inch every 100 years, these tall cones are impressively old. This hike is a very tough climb and, if not interested in the geyser cones, it is probably not worth it.

Lost Falls (0.5mi)

This very short hike is unmarked by a trailhead but it is easy to find. It starts right behind the Roosevelt lodge. A short walk will get you to this falls, which is not spectacular but is a nice sight. In August, we found rasberries very plentiful along the trail.

Lost Lake (1.7mi one way)

This short trail can be started either behind Roosevelt Lodge or in the parking area for Petrified tree. We started at one end and ended at the other. It is a nice out of the way trail which takes you by an enlongated lake covered with lily pads.

Jenny Lake (Grand Teton National Park) (4mi)

Starting from the Jenny Lake visitor center, you travel along the lake until you reach Hidden Falls. This is a very nice waterfall not far from the lake. Beyond Hidden Falls is Inspiration Point which takes you up to a vantage point overlooking the lake. The view is pretty. The Jenny Lake trail is not entirely flat, but it is relatively easy. A heavily used trail, expect to see lots of people.

Cascade Canyon (Grand Teton National Park) (11. 5mi)

This trail also starts from the Jenny Lake area. It is beyond Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, leading away from the lake and into the mountains. The scenery is awesome. With the towering mountains on either side, you hike in an open valley. On both sides you can see large cascades coming down the mountains from the snowmelt. It is picturesque. Hoping to make it to Lake Solitude, we fell short but will definitely try again. This hike is one of the best in the area!

(Sometimes you wish there would be a neon sign at the end of the trail to reasure you that you were almost there!)