We spent about 35 minutes exploring the upper geyser basin, near the Old Faithful geyser. We…read morefollowed the boardwalk passing the beehive geyser, the plume geyser, the heart spring & beautiful turquoise pools.

This review is for Upper Geyser Basin & Old Faithful Observation Point Loop which was a ~4.9 miles…read moreround trip that took ~2.5 hours to complete. This was one of those unique hikes with various geysers and pools. The trails are located within walkable distances from the Old Faithful hotels and visitor center. Ideally, it would be best to start the hike early in the morning to avoid the crowd. Most of the trail consisted of flat boardwalks and paved asphalt. The boardwalks were icy in some spots during the morning. Observation Point part of the trail was somewhat pointless because there was no "wow factor" in terms of any view. It was still a nice stroll in the wooded areas, eventually reaching Solitary Geyser. Furthermore, this part of the trail had some inclines and declines. The steam from the geysers have an unpleasant sulfur smell. Carry bear spray; the chances of encountering a bear is lower at popular trails but you never know. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/WJGWI2obiwA

Old Faithful is an icon of Yellowstone, and the Old Faithful Visitor and Education Center is a…read moregreat first stop before heading to the geyser. They provide predicted eruption times for Old Faithful and other nearby geysers, which is very helpful for planning your visit. There's free Wi-Fi and ample parking, making it a convenient place to wait for the next eruption. You can also get suggestions on trails and viewpoints, based on the latest prediction timetable. A great place to start your Old Faithful visit!

I would definitely say this is the most aesthetically pleasing visitor center in the park as the…read moremodern architecture and how it faces the Old Faithful is beautifully well done. This visitor center and all of the rangers here were super friendly to all & plenty of knowledge & exhibits to walk through to learn about Yellowstone. The NPS really knows how to take care of their visitor centers and the gift store here had plenty of goodies to look at for all that want to collect souvenirs and get those passport stamps.

This was our main site seeing destination inside Yellowstone National Park. We got to the area…read moreright on time because about 5 minutes after we got to the geyser it went off. It was a really cool experience and a must when visiting Yellowstone. I know when my family came this way when I was a child, while most others got to see it, I wasn't feeling well so my mom and I hadn't gotten a chance that trip to come to Old Faithful. I'm glad I was finally able to see it in its full glory. It is quite crowded, so when it comes to pictures just try to stay aware of your surroundings. Try to stay out of main pathways as well as being conscious of the fact it's practically impossible to get photos without others in the background and you'll probably end up in some photos too. If you're already here, don't skip past this well known spot, it's a fun experience for sure. The park is big so if you want to see it all I can see it taking days, especially since the fastest you can go is 40-45 miles an hour with a lot of areas actually being closer to 25. Both my husband and I were so glad we stopped by.

Old Faithful is the icon of Yellowstone! We parked near the Old Faithful Inn and walked along the…read moretrail to the Old Faithful Visitor and Education Center. The visitor center provides predicted eruption times for Old Faithful and other popular geysers. There's also free Wi-Fi and plenty of parking, making it a great place to wait for the next eruption. There were many people waiting at the Old Faithful Observation Deck for the 2pm eruption. While we were waiting, Beehive Geyser erupted and lasted more than 15 minutes! Its eruption time is unpredictable, so we were lucky to catch it. Interestingly, Old Faithful isn't the longest-erupting geyser. Daisy Geyser, for example, typically erupts for about 3-5 minutes, while Old Faithful can last as little as 1.5 minutes.

There are a lot of shops in this little touristy town! We ate at Firehole BBQ Company which was ok…read moreand then had ice cream at another place. Just about every shop has souvenirs of all sorts for you to buy. *West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center is in town, this is not located in the National Park - very helpful and informative staff *The entrance to Yellowstone National Park is really close-by, about ¼ mile away or so. *Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center - small admission fee, but well worth it and tickets are good for two consecutive days. We went for part of one day, but wished we had time to go again. *Museum of the Yellowstone - there's a small fee to enter. We didn't go in, but we did walk along the front to view the vehicles, buffalo and bear sculptures. Nice small town with plenty of things to do before & after visiting Yellowstone National Park!

+ Idyllic neighborhood rest town before you head in to Yellowstone…read more + Lots of shops and restaurants and gentle sightseeing around town in preparation for your big trip. - Traffic slightly different here. For Yellowstone Ave (leads directly into the park), instead of numerous street lights to keep traffic steady, it's a 25 MPH speed limit. But thus, if you're trying to get on to this street, you gotta carefully look all 3 ways farther down (not just left and right, but also across the street if someone else is also trying to get on to this street); don't have any red lights to hold the traffic for you, like at the Electric St intersection.

The Mammoth Terraces run along two sections of west upper Grand Loop Road, south of downtown…read moreMammoth You drive southwest from the center of Mammoth, and when the road turns south, the terraces start just outside of town. You cant miss them, all white and frosty-looking for half-a-mile along the west side of the road. There are parking areas and trails. Then the road leaves the terraces, and after another half-mile, the road takes a hairpin turn north and comes back to the terraces. Take the turnoff to continue north for more trails and a great overlook! Or stay through another hairpin turn on Grand Loop Road and continue south through another half-mile of terraces. I mention this location because as of Aug 2026, Yelp placed the terraces in the middle of the town of Mammoth, and you cant see the terraces from there.

If you're coming into Yellowstone through the North entrance, definitely make a stop here and check…read moreout the hot spring terraces. The limestone rock formations and water features are very cool. The trail isn't overly long so you can make the full loop in about an hour or so (two if you're a slow walker or likes to stop a lot for photos). Parking can be a challenge, like most other popular spots at Yellowstone, but just be patient and eventually you'll find a spot.

55 million year old petrified tree…read more I've always been fascinated by petrified wood! There's about 30 petrified trees still-standing in the forests in these hills, and another 10 or so on the forest floor, of around 800 trees of over 30-species throughout the Park. Near here is the home of the largest petrified forest in the world! To get to this site, we took a southwest turn for a quarter-mile, off of Grand Loop, Road, about 1.25 miles north of Tower Junction. The sign for the turn is small and would be easy to miss. This petrified tree is a 20-ft-tall more-or-less-50-million-year-old stone sequoia-redwood-relative. There used to be three trees right at this location, which is why this one was fenced to help preserve it. (Jul 2026)

Yeup, believe it or not, we're still in Yellowstone. Who'da expected to encounter petrification way…read moreout here? Of course, the lahar! (Ancient volcanic mudflow and ash.) I understand the temptation to collect some exotic heirlooms, but for the sake of the sanctity of this old Earth, please don't. The other 2 trees were vanquished because of that. Now, only 1 left... - Not much else here. No restrooms. . Little shade. + Peaceful lil pit stop on the way to the Serengeti of North America.

Mammoth Hot Springs is awesome! These travertine limestone terraces feature vibrant, changing…read morecolors, steaming vents, flowing water and unique formations that make the whole area feel like a beautiful art piece. The boardwalks are well maintained and make it easy to explore the terraces. We started with Liberty Cap, then visited Devil's Thumb, Palette Spring, Minerva Terrace, Mound Spring Terrace, Terrace Overlook, and Lower Terrace Overlook. The whole area is so beautiful, with layer after layer of different colors. To me, the terraces look like a giant, pretty layered color cake! The combination of the white, yellow, orange, and brown mineral layers with steam rising from the terraces makes Mammoth Hot Springs one of the most unique places in Yellowstone. Please checkout the photos I posted here.

A must-see when visiting Yellowstone NP! These travertine terraced springs are a sight to see. So…read moremany beautiful colors and lines. Nothing like any of the other springs we've seen in the park this trip. Very cool! The boardwalks throughout the springs and terraces are well maintained. This stop had quite a few stairs, so keep that in mind when visiting. They have multiple parking areas along the boardwalk, so parking wasn't an issue for us. Fort Yellowstone is very cool too! There so much to see at this destination! There's a visitor's center, post office, military housing, restaurants, hotel, gas station, gift shop, etc. One of my favorite stops this trip. Would highly recommend!

Bunsen peak is a lovely hike that I would consider to be moderate. I received the rec to do this…read morehike from a ranger at the station near West Geyser after I'd asked about Mount Washburn trail and Avalanche peak (recs from a friend). The ranger told me that the peaks were actually still covered in snow (per cameras they have) and that the trails would be icy even though it was the end of May, so they wouldn't be recommended. But she said that Bunsen offers a lovely landscape peak at the top and had almost no snow at all so it would be a good option. I'm glad I went! The trailhead has a small parking lot, there were a couple spots available when I came around 10am. It took me about an hour to go up the trail to the peak, and I did encounter some snow and slippery areas because of how steep they were near the peak, but it was navigable with just my hiking boots (I didn't have chains or crampons on). The view at the top was totally worth it, it was just stunning! You get a 360 view depending on where you're standing, and the weather was excellent too - clear skies with just a few clouds and a cool breeze but it isn't cold since you're moving around. Was a great place to stop for a snack, and I actually had 2-3 bars of signal so I FaceTimed my mom to show her the view. Would rec this trail to anyone visiting Yellowstone who wants a moderate hike with a gorgeous sweeping view of the park, including all the way into mammoth lake area and Montana!

Remember the old days in high school where you got to use a Bunsen Burner in science lab? Well this…read morepeak is named after the guy who invented it - German chemist Robert Bunsen. He was responsible for early work on volcanic geyser theories and got a mountain named after him for it. When I visited Yellowstone, my goal was to do a hike everyday. This one was probably my favorite. It's relatively short and gives you amazing panoramic views. The hike to Bunsen Peak summit is 2.1 miles (4.2 miles roundtrip). You can get there and back in 3-4 hrs. But you don't have to go all the way to the top to get great views. You can see Mammoth Hot Springs in the far distance within the first hour of the hike. The beginning part of the hike is filled with a lot of trees until you make a turn at Cathedral Rock. Then you hit a lot of switchbacks until you get to the top. You can continue on to Osprey Falls from the summit if you want to make your day a little longer. Parking for Bunsen Peak is right off Grand Loop Road. The lot is pretty small and fills up quick. There is another parking lot across the street and down the road a little bit if you don't mind the short walk. This hike was a lot of fun! I highly recommend you fit it in your day if you are visiting Yellowstone.