YELLOWSTONE GEYSERS

OCTOBER 2016

FOUNTAIN PAINT TRAIL

FOUNTAIN PAINT TRAIL

FOUNTAIN PAINT TRAIL

BELOW GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

BELOW GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

NEAR GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

NEAR NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

BISON NEAR NORRIS GEYSER BASIN

OLD FAITHFUL

There are a many geyser trails located within close proximity of each other in Yellowstone National Park. When we visited in October of 2016, we hiked Artist's Paintpots, Norris Basin, Fountain Paint Pot Trail, Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful. We also took the scenic drive to Firehole Lake. Because the trails are relatively short, we were able to visit all of these areas, with the exceptions of the Artist's Paintpot Trail, in the same day. 

On our first evening in Yellowstone, we stopped by the Artist's Paintpots on our way to the Yellowstone Falls. While this was a nice trail with some mud pots, it is not quite as nice as the other geyser trails in the area. So if you are trying to conserve energy or time, you can skip this one. The next day, we decided to hit as many geysers as we could. We started at the Norris Geyser Basin and worked our way south to Old Faithful. At Norris Geyser Basin, we took a look at Porcelain Basin, and then hiked the Back Basin Loop past several cool geysers and springs. Steamboat Geyser was the most impressive feature on the hike. 

After visiting Norris Basin we stopped to hike the Fountain Paint Pot Trail. This trail is worth the stop, as it is located along the main road through the park, is just over a half-mile long, and passes by a mix of mudpots, geysers, hot springs and fumaroles (steam rising out of the ground). Just across the street from the Fountain Paint Trail parking area is a scenic drive to Firehole Lake. Along the way to Firehole Lake, we took the walk over to the Great Fountain Geyser. I remember there being a nice wooden viewing area across from the geyser, but I can't recall if the geyser erupted while we were there. We continued down the road to Firehole Lake, where we took a the short loop trail on the boardwalk across a portion of the orange water. 

Next we stopped to hike Grand Prismatic Spring, which was covered in steam and mist. On some portions of the trail, the steam was so thick, we could only see a couple feet in each direction. Unfortunately, if you want to see the bright, vibrant colors that make Grand Prismatic Spring famous, you need to visit when its warm. By October, it is so cold that stream coming off the hot spring blocks your view of it. It was still a fun hike, but I was a little let down. Finally, we stopped in at the visitor's center and walked over to see Old Faithful erupt. 

While I lived less than five hours from Yellowstone for most of my life, I had never visited until this trip. The large crowds had all been a discouragement. We decided to visit in October in order to avoid the large summer crowds and the mosquitoes. While there were still a lot of people there it never got overwhelming, and had a peaceful off-season feel to it.