The Canyon Area - Yellowstone
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is one of the most famous spots in the park, it’s about 1,200 feet deep, 4,000 feet wide, and 20 miles long. The colors of the rock walls are the result of ancient geysers "cooking" the minerals, mostly iron, in the stone. At only about 10,000 years old it’s considered an extremely young baby canyon. It is twice the height of Niagara Falls, and one of the tallest you can drive to in the park. If you look along the river there are many thermal spots you can see the steam rising from, sometimes these even turn into geysers, but it’s very unpredictable. There are two sides of the canyon. I'm going to list all the shorter trails and viewpoints in an order where if you wanted to do it all, you would start coming from the lake (Grand Loop Rd) and end in Canyon Village. Canyon does have good cheeseburgers and mac and cheese. There’s also an ice creamery.
Trails;
North and South Rim Trailheads - are one of the first trails you’ll see if you’re coming from the lake area, North takes you along the rim of the canyon, it’s an out-and-back trail 2.2 miles long, or you can continue all the way to the village. South takes you along the other rim, this one can take you almost all the way to Artist’s point, it has stops at the viewpoints on the way, and you can walk the road from the end of the south rim trail to artists point. It’s about 4 miles out and back to do the whole thing, or just walk to the upper falls viewpoint and back. There’s parking lots for most spots too.
Wapiti Lake Trail - is just across the street from the north and south rim trailheads, this is likely where you would park to do those trails too. This trail connects into the backpacking trails, but you can just walk to Wapiti Lake, while the trail has a lot of elevation gain it is fairly short, and it is beautiful! To the lake and back is about 2.5 miles.
Artist’s Point - The best view of the whole lower falls. This is not where Thomas Moran did the original sketches of his famous painting 'The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone'. The name was a mistake, and it stuck. The sketch was done along what is now the North Rim Trail. He used mud from the Artist’s Paintpots on his original sketch, to get the color match. It’s now in a Smithsonian in D.C.. You can then just go out the way you came and turn right on the Grand Loop Rd, the next turn to the right is the-
Brink of the Upper Falls - This has a viewpoint from above, and you can walk the stairs to get a good view of the upper falls from the very top. You can get onto the North Rim Trail from here as well, closer to here on the north Rim trail is Crystal Falls, and Cascade creek, you can walk to the-
Brink of the Lower Falls - from this trail too, there and back would be about 2.5 miles. Or park at the Brink of the Lower Falls, and walk the trail down about a mile there and back, to sit over the top of the lower falls.
Lookout Point and Red Rock Point - Lookout point is at the parking lot, you can hike down to Red Rock Point along switchbacks, it’s a lot of elevation and Artist’s point is better in a lot of ways.
Grand View - a lookout with a parking lot
Inspiration Point - A lookout of the falls, also connects into backpacking trails. In 1975 a series of earthquakes caused a large portion of this area to fall into the river, it wasn’t until 2018 they spent $12 million to turn it into the viewpoint it is today.
Hayden Valley -
There are a few things between the lake and Hayden valley
LeHardy Rapids is a pullout with a bathroom and a view of these small rapids
Cascade Picnic Area you can walk down to the river, beware of hot springs
Cold Water Geyser is dormant but it is a rare occurrence, it is not ‘powered’ by thermal features, rather CO2 buildup under the surface, making it one of the only cold geysers in the greater Yellowstone area.
Mud Volcano - This is a short hike on boardwalks around several types of thermal features. This is a common place for bison to nap around thermal features, as it is warm, remember that 25-50 yards still applies when they’re on the boardwalks too, many injuries and even deaths have happened here because people walk right up to them. From this parking area you can access the-
Sulphur Cauldron Trail - which leads you to the sulphur cauldron, and a few mudpots at the end. It’s maybe a mile out and back.
Hayden Overlook - is the next pullout, and is the best spot to get a picture of the whole valley.
Hayden Valley at Trout Creek - a pullout with a view of the creek, sometimes there are swans here, mostly ducks and small birds.
Alum Creek - An out and back trail that follows the creek for a while, good chance you’ll have to turn around because of bison and bear but worth going as far as you can.
Mary Mountain Trial - while fairly short, it’s got a lot of elevation gain, but it rewards you with a great view of Hayden Valley. Lots of bison here, so higher chances of having to turn around at some point. Does connectect into a through trail, and some backpacking trails as well.
Viewpoints;
Listed above with trails, but I would suggest Artist’s point, Inspiration Point and one of the Brink Falls trails
Upper Falls View - parking lot with viewpoint
Hayden Valley - One of the most common animal viewing areas in the park. Bison, wolves and bears are the most commonly reported sightings. There are many places to pull out along this road, I’d suggest stopping at any that are empty and taking a moment to look around, you’re likely to see something along the treelines. If they're busy, there’s probably a bear or wolf, it’s best to pull off where you can and stay in your car unless it is really far away. The ‘wolf watchers’ are typically more than happy to let you look through their scopes. People are almost always driving stupid on this road, but we ask to keep any honking to a minimum as it scares the animals, even though the people deserve it. Don’t get out of the car without bear spray, animals are a bit sneaky here. I have also seen a shocking amount of parents on the side of the road with their kids sitting in the middle of of a lane, so look out for that too...
Animals;
Black and grizzly bears, bison, deer, coyotes, wolves, and elk are all common in this area.
Hayden Valley is a common animal viewing area, most animal activity is during dawn, and at dusk. This year there has been a pack of wolves in Hayden Valley, they have been spotted taking down several bison. After the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone’s ecosystem, the water levels have risen, bison populations have grown, sick and injured animals have lowered, and animals have retired to their natural habitats in the park, evening out all the animals and flora in the park.
Camping;
While one of the most secluded of the campgrounds, it’s also the least maintained. Good place to use a hammock but I don’t recommend sleeping in them, and always take them down when you’re not using them, animals get stuck in them, people get attacked in them, and the animal almost always has to be put down.
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