Yellowstone

Overview

Yellowstone, the world's first national park, sits atop one of the planet's largest active volcanic systems — a supervolcano whose magma chamber powers over 10,000 hydrothermal features, more than all other places on Earth combined. Old Faithful geyser erupts every 90 minutes with clockwork reliability, but the park holds 500 other geysers, thousands of hot springs, and features like the Grand Prismatic Spring, a 370-foot-wide pool ringed in rainbow bands of thermophilic bacteria that is the third-largest hot spring on Earth. The Grand Loop Road connects Yellowstone's major areas across 2.2 million acres: the Upper Geyser Basin around Old Faithful, the travertine terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs, the dramatic Yellowstone Grand Canyon where the Yellowstone River plunges 308 feet at Lower Falls, and the wildlife-rich Lamar and Hayden Valleys. The Lamar Valley, known as the Serengeti of North America, is where wolf packs hunt elk at dawn while bison herds numbering in the hundreds graze the valley floor. Yellowstone's wildlife is its other superpower. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem supports grizzly bears, wolves (reintroduced in 1995), bison (the largest free-roaming herd in the country), elk, and the most concentrated large-mammal population in the lower 48. Every season offers a different character: summer is bustling and green, fall brings bugling elk and golden aspens, and winter transforms the park into a steaming, snow-covered wonderland accessible only by snowcoach.

Things to Do

• Watch Old Faithful erupt
• Walk the boardwalk around Grand Prismatic Spring
• Stand at the brink of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River
• Watch wolves in the Lamar Valley at dawn
• See the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs
• Drive the Grand Loop Road through all major areas
• Photograph bison herds in Hayden Valley
• Backpack to remote backcountry geyser basins

Wildlife

Keep an eye out for these animals during your visit:

Weather & Best Time to Visit

Summer highs reach 70-80°F with cool nights and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter is severe with heavy snow and temperatures well below zero. Most park roads close from November through April.