The road layout in Yellowstone makes touring by private vehicle especially inviting. Five highway entrances from all four sides of the park provide the spokes for two inner circles. The figure eight formed by the loop roads in the middle of Yellowstone can be navigated in a variety of ways which reduce or eliminate the need for backtracking.
The snow-covered beauty and relative quiet we enjoyed by making our visit in the early spring was a trade-off for the fact that the smaller side-road loops and most of the trails were closed. In addition, the major highway link from “Canyon” to “Tower Falls” was also still closed.
USA - Wyoming - Yellowstone // Left: Yellowstone River through Hayden Valley // Right: Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
For the 2.5 full days that we had available inside the park, the access limitations did not matter – we filled our time with none to spare. If you travel later in the season when every trail and side-road is open, and your travel time is increased by heavier traffic and the occasional roadblock created by a “bison jam”, a full week in Yellowstone would not be too much.
We were also too early for the black bear population, which was not quite finished with their hibernation, and did not spot any grizzly bears though some sightings had been reported. In the photo below, we saw either a gray wolf, or the most buff coyote I’ve ever encountered (naturalists invited to comment) and the elk and bison were plentiful.
USA - Wyoming - Yellowstone National Park // Left: Yellowstone Lake and Gray Wolf (?) // Right: Mud Volcano and Bison
The photos above are all from the lower right segment of the figure eight, on the road from West Thumb to Canyon. This was our best weather day, and we easily completed the loop back to the Old Faithful Inn despite spending several morning hours touring the geysers and pools in the immediate area around Old Faithful. We’ll double back to the previous day to share some foul weather beauty and revisit the subject of fire damage.
Yellowstone National Park – Page 1
Page 2 – Old Faithful Inn and Geyser
Page 3 – Yellowstone Geysers and Such
Page 4 – You Are Here
Page 5 – Travertine and Trees
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