Yellowstone is one of America’s signature locations. It’s the nation’s first national park and contains countless wonders to behold. If you’re planning a trip there, it can be hard to decide what to do during your visit because there are so many options. To help you plan, here are just a few favorite stops that visitors make in Yellowstone:
Classic Old Faithful
Yellowstone National Park has more geysers than one can visit in a day, but Old Faithful is by far the most well-recognized and revered. Roughly 20 times a day, the geyser will launch thousands of gallons of water up to 180 feet into the air, an event that brings millions of visitors to the park each year. The name, Old Faithful, is from the predictability of the eruptions of the geyser, it usually erupting every 74 minutes, give or take about 10 minutes. The park also provides eruption times on their website and around the park so you can check out those sites while you wait.
The Vast Upper Geyser Basin
While Old Faithful is the most famous, it’s not the only geyser that is worth checking out while in Yellowstone. Upper Geyser Basin is an area that includes Old Faithful, but also many other geysers in the park. Many of these are even within walking distance of Old Faithful. Geysers worth seeing include Geyser Hill, Castle Geyser, Daisy Geyser, Riverside Geyser, and Grand Geyser. There’s more than just geysers in the area to see as well, there are various pools of water that accent the landscape with multiple colors.
Magnificent Hayden Valley
There is so much more than just Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone. Hayden Valley is also worth seeing, located just an hour northeast from Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin. It’s the spot to see all the wildlife that Yellowstone has to offer. There you can see herds of bison roaming through the plains. Seeing bison in Yellowstone is one of those treasured memories that will stick with you. It’s the only place in the world where bison have lived continuously for thousands of years.
Ride a Horse
If you really want to live in the cowboy-era old west that Yellowstone is, go horseback riding. The park has countless trails, both flat and mountainous, that you and your horse can trot along. There are also plenty of places near the park that provide horseback riding trips for you to enjoy since you likely aren’t bringing your own with you.
Thrilling Whitewater Rafting
In order to make a trip to Yellowstone truly worth it, you need to do more than just sight-see. The landscapes of the national park allow you to do so many adventurous things, including whitewater rafting. Yellowstone has some of the best whitewater runs in the American West, offering Class II and III rapids for rafters of all experience levels. If you’re up for a bigger challenger, there are even some stretches of Class IVs. These, however, are usually only open during the beginning of the season.
The Sport of Fly Fishing
Fly fishing is abundant in Yellowstone. Its rivers, lakes, and streams are full of trout, whitefish, and arctic graylings for your catching pleasure. There is no shortage of lakes and rivers in Yellowstone that you can easily find a spot to fly fish from. Some of the best spots include Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone River, Grebe Lake, Madison River, Trout Lake, Lamar River, and Lewis River.