This is the second in a series of diaries from the Park Avenue Daily Kos group about planning a visit to a National Park. Each week we will be opening up a diary on a specific park chosen the previous week in our Photo Friday open thread. After a short introduction of the park and a few diarist contributed tips, people are invited to contribute their own tips about the park or to ask specific questions about the park they'd like to see answered. Hopefully, with the collective knowledge of DKos community, we can harness the power of crowd sourcing to generate a lasting resource for community members wanting to visit the parks. We're looking for info such as... When is the best time to visit (and why)? Where should you stay while visiting? What are the can't miss sites? What are the hidden gems of the park that not many people know about yet? What piece of advice on visiting the park do you have that I'm not going to find in a travel guide?
The subjects of this week's column are Yellowstone National Park and its companion neighbor to the south, Grand Teton National Park.
Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park in 1872. Originally set aside to protect the largest collection of geothermal features on Earth and other scenic wonders like dramatic waterfalls, the importance of protecting the diversity of wildlife also became one of the park's major functions. The park's existence probably saved the American bison from extinction and has taken on greater importance in our understanding of ecology in recent decades with the studies undertaken on the reintroduction of wolves in the park. Grand Teton was likewise set aside to preserve scenery in 1929, but that preservation was limited only to the mountains and a few glacial lakes at their base. A later expansion of the park in 1954 added the sage brush plains of Jackson Hole, not only an important environment for elk and bison, but also home to some of the most spectacular views of the mountains themselves.
It is certainly not possible to cover all of Yellowstone and the Tetons in a diary and comments, but hopefully we can provide some useful tips for anyone planning to visit the Greater Yellowstone area. Without further ado, here are my suggestions for your visit:
Get off the Road!
Stephen Colbert: How many hours is your documentary?
Ken Burns: Six parts. Twelve hours in length running Sunday through Friday night.
Stephen Colbert: Twelve hours! That's how long it takes you to go a mile in Yellowstone in July.
Colbert Report, 24 Sept 2009
I mean that phrase in two senses. First, I don't mean to be impolite, but if you see some wildlife from your car, don't stop in the road and obstruct others. At the very least, pull off of the road to the side so traffic can pass if you can't find a turnout nearby. This is a big safety issue in the park in addition to being discourteous. Last summer while I was in the Lamar Valley, a guy literally parked his RV on the road and got out to hike up the small hill where about two dozen of us were perched with cameras, telescope and spotting scopes to find out what the crowd was looking at. Those stopped behind him (justifiably) became impatient and tried to go around the RV in the opposite lane nearly causing a massive accident. Traffic accidents are the number one cause of death to visitors in Yellowstone.
But in a more positive sense of the phrase "get off the road," I encourage you to do at least one hike or other activity that takes you a few hundred feet away from any of the roads and parking lots in Yellowstone. The Park Service estimates 97% of visitors never venture more than 100 yards from the road. I guess I could also phrase it as "take a hike." The park is so much more than the sites the roads pass by.
Here are just a few easier day hikes worth considering that will take you more than 100 yards from the road, though more options are certainly available:
Yellowstone River Picnic Area Loop
This hike is about 3.75 miles if you hike the whole loop, but it can be shortened as an out and back hike to whatever length you like. It starts at the Yellowstone River Picnic Area about a half mile east of the Tower Junction on the Northeast Entrance Road. From the picnic area, you hike up the side of a small hill about 125 ft high to the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the same canyon you see at the famous waterfalls, only further down river. You then follow the trail along the rim as far as you like and take in the dramatic views of the canyon, including hexagonal volcanic basalt columns, the Calcite Springs and Bumpus Butte across the river and the Narrows, a constriction of the canyon. When you reach the fork for the Specimen Ridge Trail, take the left fork and hike down the hill to the highway and follow it back to the picnic area or turnaround and go back the way you came.
Wraith Falls Trail
This one mile round trip trail is almost completely level for about the first 0.49 miles. At the end, you do have to walk up a modest incline to get to the viewing platform for the 100ft tall Wraith Falls (which is actually more of an inclined cascade). Its a great easy trail if you have kids. On this trail I got to see marmots sunning themselves on the rocks and some bull elk grazing in the meadow west of the trail. The falls is probably better viewed in the late afternoon and evening. I went in the morning and had to fight the sun in the east to get some pictures which didn't come out that great.
Yellow belied marmots |
Bull elk near Wraith Falls trail |
Little Gibbon Falls
For the last several years there has been massive construction along the road where Gibbon Falls is located to improve access and safety, which included rerouting the Grand Loop and construction of a new bridge. While the construction was complete last fall and Gibbon Falls is now accessible again, the hike to the Little Gibbon Falls is a worthy alternative to get away from the road. It was dubbed Little Gibbon Falls because it bears a striking resemblance to its larger brother, and both falls are on the Gibbon River. The trailhead is located about 3 miles east of the Norris Junction on the north side of the road across from a roadside parking area. Several trails leave from here, so finding the right trail head is tricky as there was no sign there last year when I went. It is the easternmost of the trailheads on the north side. The trail starts out going through a forest that was heavily burned in the 1988 fires before following along the side of a small hill on the edge of the forest (with views of the Gibbon River) before finally opening into a meadow. The meadow is pretty soft and soggy early in the season. Good wicking hiking boots recommended. After the meadow, you hike up a small hill into more lodgepole pines. The falls will be visible to the right atop the hill. Total hike one way is 0.6 miles.
Gibbon River along Little Gibbon Falls Trail |
Little Gibbon Falls |
Natural Bridge Trail
This is a easy, 2.5 mile round trip hike over mostly level ground which used to be a paved road. The trail takes you to a natural bridge connecting two sides of a small canyon. Access is at the parking lot of the Bay Bridge Marina. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take this hike last year while I was there. The two consecutive days I was in that area of the park the trail was closed due to bear activity in the area, something that sometimes happens with all trails. For your own safety, please obey the bear closings. A hiker was killed outside the park last year when he hiked into a closed area of the national forest where a bear had been sedated and collared for research. When bears awaken from being tranquilized and collared like that, they tend to be a wee bit aggressive and this man unfortunately was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That said, bear attacks are very uncommon, especially if you follow the park's recommended protocols for hiking in bear country.
Geyser World?
Ken Burns: If we didn't have national parks, Yellowstone would be called Geyser World.
Stephen Colbert: Have you been to Old Faithful?
Ken Burns: Yes.
Stephen Colbert: It's kinda Geyser World. You can buy a Dove Bar.
Guess what? Old Faithful is not the only geyser worth seeing in Yellowstone. It isn't the biggest, the tallest or the most regular, but the combination of its size, frequency and its location at the edge of the geyser basin made it the most popular. But there are other geysers that are worth the hike (yes, more than 100 yards from the road) to see. Here are a few worth mentioning:
Grand Geyser
Grand Geyser erupts on intervals varying from 7 to 15 hours, but you won't have to sit there waiting that long to catch an eruption. Grand has several indicates that can be used to predict when it will erupt. These conditions are monitored most of the tourist season by park volunteers known as Geyser Gazers and walkie-talkied back to the visitor center. If Grand Geyser's pool is full of water and Turban Geyser erupts, you have up to about two hours to get ready for Grand geyser to spew a column of steaming hot water 200 feet into the air in a series of bursts with a total duration of 9 to 15 minutes.
Daisy Geyser
Another predictable geyser with a relatively short interval between eruptions is Daisy Geyser. It goes off roughly every 2 to 4 hours with eruptions lasting 3-5 minutes sending water up to 75 feet in the air at an angle of 70 degrees to the ground.
Riverside Geyser
Daisy geyser isn't the only geyser that erupts at an angle. Riverside Geyser, appropriately located on the banks of the Firehole River, erupts out at an angle of 70 degrees over the river at intervals of 7 hours. Like Daisy, the water can reach heights of 75 feet and the eruption can last 20 minutes. It is a predicted geyser whose estimated eruption time is posted at the visitor center. Check to see if it is set to go off in the late evening, 1 to 3 hours before sunset. If it is and the sun is out, be there for a special show. If the sun is shining in the evening during an eruption, you can generally expect to see at least one rainbow in the water column.
Geothermal Feature Doesn't have to Mean Geyser
In addition to the geysers, Yellowstone is home to many other types of thermal features such as mud pots and hot springs. In northwest Yellowstone is the Mammoth Hot Springs, an area of thermal activity where the discharge of hot water from the earth over eons of time has built up travertine terraces with strikingly beautiful and delicate formations. It is one of the most variable parts of the park as springs go through cycles of dormancy where the thermophilic bacteria go dormant or die fading and losing their color in an ever changing symphony of color.
Canary Springs of Mammoth Hot Springs
Waterfalls Galore
Like Yosemite, Yellowstone is a place of falling water. Waterfalls abound in every corner of the park, from the elegantly shaped Undine Falls to the power and majesty of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.
Undine Falls |
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River |
Other notable and easily accessed waterfalls include Gibbon Falls, Rustic Falls, Tower Falls, the Kepler Cascades, Lewis Falls, Moose Falls, the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River and Firehole Falls.
Kepler Cascades |
Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River |
For the truly adventurous, there are many isolated and beautiful falls in the so called Cascade Corner of Yellowstone, accessible only by a drive to the Bechler Ranger Station from Ashton Idaho and then backpacking in to the falls (Union, Bechler, Colonnade, Cave) or backpacking down Bechler Canyon along the Bechler River Trail. These hikes are not possible though until after July 15th each year because of bear management closings for visitor safety. It is also recommended to have an experienced guide for the longer multi-day backpacking trips. Skills fording rivers a must.
America's Serengeti
The Yellowstone Plateau boasts perhaps the greatest diversity of wildlife in the United States. If wildlife watching is your thing, Yellowstone is a mecca, particularly the Hayden and Lamar Valleys.
Please remember though that the animals here are wild animals. This is not a zoo and certainly not a petting zoo. One ranger mentioned a story that has been passed around over the years (and even published in one of the Oh, Ranger! series of books) about the guy that asked a ranger if he could go set his son on the back of one of the bison to take a picture. Thankfully he asked before just doing it. Every year visitors are injured by animals that charge or attack when someone gets too close for their comfort. Park regulations dictate staying at least 100 yards away from bears and 25 yards from all other wildlife. If you want a nice picture of an animal, don't get closer to it, get a better camera/lens!
Bison
You know how you can tell you have a first time visitor to Yellowstone that has just arrived in the park? They stop their car and go berzerk at the sight of a bison. Relax. There are up to 4000 of them in Yellowstone and they are easily seen in both of the valleys I mention above and often elsewhere including the Old Faithful village area. Do beware of them though. They may look docile, but if they feel threatened, they can charge and can outrun the fastest sprinter over short distances. The best viewing of bison is in late April and May when the calves are born and again in late July to early August when the males are rutting and collecting their harems.
Elk
Like the bison, elk are very plentiful in the park. Between 25,000 and 30,000 of them summer in the park, though significant numbers of them leave in the winter, the majority of those dropping down to the Tetons and the National Elk Refuge north of Jackson. The prime time to watch the elk is during their rut in the fall. You can observe males fighting and clashing over the females, locking antlers in a battle for dominance. Gibbon Meadows tend to be the favorite spot to observe them in Yellowstone, but they also infamously lounge about in Mammoth Hot Springs, posing a driving hazard in the village.
Moose
While more associated with Grand Teton to the south, moose are also found in Yellowstone, though they tend to favor the less accessible areas of the Cascade Corner in remote southwest Yellowstone, but they can be found anywhere where they can forage along the banks of a body of water such as the rivers or Yellowstone Lake.
Big Horn Sheep
The adept mountain climbers tend to congregate in the northeast section of the park from the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone to Tower Junction to Mount Washburn. The aforementioned Yellowstone River Picnic Area Trail is one of the better day hikes for seeing them though they can be seen occasionally on the Mount Washburn Trail.
Bears
While it was commonplace for the Park Service and visitors to feed mooching bears 40 plus years ago, the practice is now forbidden as the park tries to force bears back into a more natural existence rather than depending upon man. This has made the animals less visible as they prefer to avoid humans. They can, however, attack if they feel threatened or are hungry enough. Please read up on bear safety before visiting. For bear viewing, they can be found just about anywhere in the park. The greatest concentration of black bears is between Tower Junction and Mammoth Hot Springs. One spot where they, in my experience, frequent is the area around the Petrified tree and the Lost lake Nature Trail west of Roosevelt Lodge. The prime locations from Grizzlies tends to be Mount Washburn, Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley, though in my travels in Yellowstone last year I aslo saw them near the Mount Holmes trailhead between Mammoth and Norris and in the Mud Volcano area north of the lake.
Grizzly Bear near Mount Holmes Trail Trailhead
Wolves
Wolf watching has become big business in Yellowstone. If you are really serious about seeing a wolf in the wild, spotting scopes are available for rent at several of the general stores (Roosevelt and Tower at the very least). The best time for wolf watching is winter when the wolves stand out in the snow, but they can be seen most any time from late September through late June. In July through mid-September they tend to go to the higher elevations to avoid the heat making sightings less frequent. The best spots to set up for wolf watching are the Lamar Valley, the Hayden Valley and near the Slough Creek campground. The three packs that frequent and den in these areas have been the most visible for visitors, but the northern section of the park tend to be best in general. While the famed Druid pack of wolves in the Lamar Valley has died out after several seasons of lost pups dur to mange and deaths by automobile, another pack, the Silvers, has taken hold in the area. The Canyon and Mollie packs can be seen in Hayden Valley and the Sloughs at Slough Creek. There are a loyal bunch of wolf watchers that can be found most mornings and evenings at the prime viewing locations. Just look for the crowds. They try to be helpful to newcomers. Please be polite and ask before trying to look into someone's spotting scope.
Silver Pack Wolf |
Two Silvers stalk a pair of Pronghorn |
Other Wildlife
Other animals frequently seen in the park are yellow bellied marmots, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, falcons, osprey, wading birds, geese, swans, herons, etc. But I betcha you don't know which animal injuries more people each year in Yellowstone and Grand Teton than any other...Squirrels! Yes, the fury rodents we find annoying at home, but cute while on vacation can be the scourge of the park, biting people who don't obey the rules about feeding them. They will bite the hand that feeds them.
A squirrel makes his presence know to any bird that dares to land on his fence near Jenny Lake in Grand Teton
Don't forget the Tetons!
In my opinion, no trip to Yellowstone can be complete without a trip to the Tetons...if the South Entrance Road is open. In fact, I've found that many people, while they love Yellowstone, find the tetons to be the highlight of their trip. While a day trip is possible, I'd recommend at least one if not two nights or two weeks in the park. And I have a good reason for this. I know you are on vacation, but if the weather cooperates, you have got to get up early one morning while in the Tetons just to see the sunrise...and in summer, the sunrise can be as early as 5am, meaning a 4:30am wakeup call might not get you to the require location in time. And by required location I mean anyone of a number of spectacular vantage points the park has to offer such as Schwabachers Landing, a quarter mile walk from the parking area at the end of a dirt road between Glacier View and Teton Point along the highway. There you get the morning alpenglow of the dawn and sunrise reflected into the still waters of a beaver pond the main set of mountains framed between the trees. Other great sunrise spots include Snake River Overlook, Oxbow Bend, the shores of String Lake, the Mormon Row barns, Jackson Point on Signal Mountain and, if you are very lazy are get up late, the back terrace of the Jackson Lake Lodge.
Schwabachers Landing at sunrise
The favorite thing for tourists to do in the Tetons is to go to Jenny Lake along the park road. There you can take the 7.7 mile mostly level hike around the lake or hop on the shuttle boat across the lake towards Cascade Canyon. On the opposite shore, you can hike up a half mile trail with 250-300 feet of elevation gain to Hidden Falls where Cascade Creek comes pouring out of the canyon above 80 ft as it makes its way to the lake. Continue up on the trail 0.4 miles and several hundred feet up to Inspiration Point offering sweeping panoramic views of the park. Continuing up and into the mountains is the lovely Cascade Canyon Trail. If you reach Inspiration Point, you have already done the hard part of the hike into the Canyon. From there, it is a gentle incline up the canyon as the trail tends to closely follow the path of Cascade Creek. If you catch the first shuttle boat across and up into the Canyon, you may get treated to seeing more wildlife as they feed in the morning before the droves of hikers arrive. This is a prime location for spotting moose.
Hidden Falls |
Cascade Canyon |
There are many other nice trails in the Tetons worth trying. I particularly like the Taggart Lake Loop and the trail along String Lake. If you are a backpacker looking for overnight hikes, there are plenty to choose from that go up into the mountains.
For the sake of brevity, (Ok, I know I've blown brevity at this point) I'll forgo more detail on the Tetons since, as my favorite park, I could quite literally go on for pages about where to go, what to photograph, when to be there, what focal lengths work best, etc. But Now we need to talk sleeping arrangements...
Lodging in the Parks
Yellowstone and the Tetons offer an array of lodging choices ranging from primitive back country camping to $750 a night luxury cabins at the Jenny Lake Lodge and lots in between. Campgrounds are generally on a first come first serve basis, so if you want to camp at a particular campground, if it is a popular one, it is best to get your site reserved early in the day. In GTNP, Jenny Lake fills up very quickly in the summer. I tend not to be so outdoorsy as to camp, preferring some amenities like heat, running water and hard walls that can keep a bear out. ;-)
On my visits, the cabins found at many of the villages work best. You generally can park right in front of your cabin, easing the loading and unloading of the car. They are modestly priced, most under $100 except in GTNP where Colter Bay tends to run about $120 a night. Cabins are also available in Yellowstone at Canyon Village, Old Faithful Village, Roosevelt Lodge, Mammoth Hot Springs and Lake Village. A motel is available at Grant Village. Hotels are available at Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful (the Inn and Snow Lodge) and Lake Village.
The world famous Old Faithful Inn, built in 1904, should at least be visited even if you don't end up staying there. The lobby is a sight to behold with its towering chimney with multiple fireplaces and log design by the then 29 year old architect Robert Reamer.
Lobby of the Old Faithful Inn
Reamer also designed The Lake Yellowstone Hotel and the now demolished Canyon Hotel and with Gilbert Stanley Underwood and Herbert Maier helped define the architectural style known as National Park Rustic or sometime as CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) style. The Old Faithful Lodge, the hub for the cabins in Old Faithful village, should also be visited for its architecture. Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed the lodge building connecting several previously unconnected structures into a unified building.
More lodging is available outside the parks in Gardiner, West Yellowstone, Jackson, Cooke City and the Pahaska Teepee.
Something to See Outside the Park
If you really want to see a Grizzly Bear and Wolf while you are in Yellowstone, but are afraid you won't have such luck in the wild, make plans to visit the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center just outside the western boundary of the park in the town of West Yellowstone, Montana. The Center has two habitats for maintaining grizzlies and wolves. From its viewing platforms you can see these magnificent animals up close, but safely and learn about their habits and life cycle. Admission to the center is good for two consecutive days.
Wrapping it up
That's my highly abbreviated run down of tips for Yellowstone and the Tetons. I'm barely scratching the surface, but hopefully this will serve as a starting point for discussion. Please, by all means add your own. or if you are looking for info about a visit, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be around in the comments to answer any questions as bets I can and I'm sure others can help to answer your questions as well. I'd love it if someone whose been to these parks in the winter could chime in with some winter hints.
Up Coming Park features
The Park Avenue group, in addition to having these "Things to Know Before You Come" columns is also putting out user contributed features on the parks on a volunteer basis. Previous features have included Jackson Hole National Monument, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine and Capitol Reef National Park. This Thursday, SJerseyIndy will be publishing his feature on the Petrified Forest National Park and next week we have Scott in NAZ writing about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. If you are interested in writing a feature about a park, please volunteer at our sign up form and as your window approaches, you'll be contacted (about 3 weeks before) to finalize your date. And with that, see everyone in the comments.