Yellowstone National Park West Entrance

If you are not staying in Yellowstone National Park but are wanting to visit the park daily and need an entrance that is not too terribly far from the main attractions. Yellowstone National Park West Entrance is the place to look. West Yellowstone Montana is an amazing little town that is only about 45 minutes from grand loop road. It is an easy drive with breathtaking views of the river and plenty of wildlife along the way.

This post is going to cover the features surrounding the West Entrance to Yellowstone. I am going to put up a separate post just on the town of West Yellowstone Montana in the future.

One tip I have is to make sure that anytime you enter the park, you are full on fuel. There are many occasions that we would be stopped for animals in the road. Depending on the animal and the herd, you may sit there for an hour or more.

You don’t want to be stranded with no way to get fuel, there is not a service station within walking distance.  I know this from experience. We did not run out of fuel, but boy was we close to running out. The wife was in a full-on panic attack. It was making myself pretty nervous as well.

I wanted to share some of our favorite things to see and do within the Yellowstone National Park West Entrance. In this area, you re going to be able to see some of the most famous parts of Yellowstone National Park. If you are visiting and are on limited time, this is the part of the park you will want to spend the most time at.

Norris Geyser Basin

Norris Geyser Basin has a superb, partial board walk path. This path will take you to the oldest, hottest geysers in the park. Just over 1,000 ft. below the surface, scientist have measure temps at 459 degrees. Along this path is where you will come across steamboat geyser. This is the tallest geyser in the world at over 300’ tall. Every year Norris Geyser Basin changes. Some more hot springs and geysers appear and others become dormant.

There are 2 areas that make up the Norris Geyser Basin. The first is called the Porcelain Basin. This area consists of partial board walk and partial ground that is about .75 miles walk. Keep in mind the boardwalks in this area are absent of hand rails and can be very dangerous for little ones that are not supervised. While strollers could be used we preferred to use a backpack carrier for our youngest son and held the hand of our oldest the entire time.

The second part of Norris Geyser Basin is called Back basin. The back basin is more wooded and the thermal features are more spread out. I prefer the back basin just for the serenity. We only came across a few other families on this part of the boardwalk. The back basin has a mix of boardwalk and bare ground and it approximately 1.5 miles long. The walk is worth the features and the peace that you will feel.

If you are coming here you are going to want to get here early. The parking lot will fill up fairly fast and the overflow parking is about a half mile walk to the basin. There are 143 parking spots and only 17 oversized spots for RV’s.

Artist Paintpots

About 3 miles south of the Norris geyser basin you will see some signage for the Artist Paint pots. These paint pots consist of approximately 50 different hot springs, geysers, and mud pots. Even though these are not as active as the Norris Geyser Basin, they are just as amazing to view. The springs have rich colors of blue, greys, red, and browns giving this area its name.

This is a very easy family friendly walk, you can see all the features via a .6 miles path. If you are able to make a small climb there is a fabulous overlook that will give you views of the entire area. Once again please make sure you stay on the path as it is the only safe passage without threat of injury.

Firehole Lake Drive

Just south of the west entrance on the Grand Loop Rd there is a one way 3 miles drive that is a must do. It is called the Firehole Lake Drive. When we took this drive we only seen 2 other cars the entire time we were out there. It is a fantastic way to experience some geysers and some thermal features without the large crowds.

One of the first things you will come across on the drive is Firehole Spring. This spring is a beautiful blue with red and orange edges. It looks like a mini grand prismatic. Worth taking a stop and taking a look at it.

A little father down the road you will come across surprise pool. This hot spring got its name from the early days when travelers would throw some sand into the hot spring in order to make a boiling effect. Do not do this today as it is against the law and causes many problems for the hot springs

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White Dome Geyser

Our experience on Firehole Lake Drive is a geyser that stole our hearts. It was called the White Dome Geyser and I highly recommend everyone to go by and watch the show of this small geyser. It only erupts about 30’ in the air but it is spectacular, in my opinion I enjoyed the personal show this geyser gave us over the Old Faithful eruption.

Unfortunately, the White Dome Geyser is starting to seal itself closed. It is considered a cone geyser, as the buildup over the years has made it stand tall from the ground, resembling a large cone.  Along the drive we pulled up next to this White Dome Geyser. We were the only spectators when it decided to erupt. It was a personal show just for us. Being able to hear the water slashing around, feeling the mist of the spray. All without hearing people holler and yell. It made it a very personal, intimate moment in our trip. I will never forget it.

White Dome Geyser had a big impact on my oldest son as well. He loved watching the show! He was super excited every time an eruption happened. Two years after us going to Yellowstone National Park, Killian still talks about Hot Springs and Geysers. Makes the entire expense of the trip, money well spent.

Continue past the White Dome Geyser you will come to Firehole lake, here you can get out and walk the boardwalk around the whole lake coming across various thermal features. It is a nice quite place to stretch your legs, before returning to the Grand Loop Road.

Grand Prismatic

Right off the Grand Loop Road is one of the most beautiful sights that you will be able to see in the park. It is called the Grand Prismatic, it is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone National Park and considered the third largest hot spring in the world.

The Grand Prismatic measures at approximately 370ft in diameter and it discharges approximately 560 gallons per minute. Looking at the spring it resembles a rainbow, or an eye, whatever your imagination makes of it.  The Grand Prismatic has a dark blue center, light blue outer, and a green, yellow, and red crust.

 When we got there in the morning, we were able to park and walk right up to the Grand Prismatic, unfortunately the crisp cool air and the warm water made a huge steam cloud surrounding the grand prismatic and made it very hard to see.

The Grand Prismatic is part of the Midway Geyser Basin and if you are wanting to see this hot spring you are going to want to get here early. The parking lot fills quickly. It is a bit of a walk but you will be on a boardwalk the entire time.

Excelsior Geyser

While on the midway geyser basin boardwalk you will come across the Excelsior Geyser. This Geyser in the 1800s would erupt up to 300ft in the air. It is thought that the violent eruptions have damaged some of the internals of the geyser making it a lot less violent today, but still very active. The Excelsior Geyser discharges approximately 4050 gallons of water a minute. The water is activated by several vents causing it to churn and boil.

Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin

A few smaller basins that are just around the corner of Old Faithful but defiantly still worth a stop is the Biscuit Basin and the Black Sand Basin. The biscuit basin is a small lollipop shaped hike that will take you to a handful of various thermal features.

The Black Sand Basin offers some of the most colors of all the basins in the Yellowstone National Park West Entrance area. Black Sand Basin receives its name from the small obsidian crystals that forms a sand in this area. Obsidian, also known as lava rock, is a natural glass that forms when lava rapidly cools. Obsidian is said to have a lot of natural cleanser of your aura. Seems like a great place to get away and recharge the soul.

While visiting black sands make sure you check out the Spouter Geyser. This geyser may not be as grand as the Old Faithful, only averaging 5-7 ft tall during its eruptions but it last approximately 10-11 hours long only taking a 1-2 hr. break before starting back up again. So, chances are you are going to be able to watch its eruption while you are visiting.

Please remember that while visiting any National Park, it is illegal to take anything with you as a souvenir. It is also illegal to thro items into the geysers, hot springs, or any other feature you come across. Lets all do our part to preserve these beauties and keep them around for years to come. We had to remind our children of this every 3 minutes.

Old Faithful

OK so I know that Old Faithful is a must do when heading to Yellowstone National Park. I also know that watching old Faithful erupt is the highlight of many traveler’s vacation. With all that being said, I just really did not get it.

Yes, it was a grand eruption and yes it did erupt on schedule. After you get past that you realize that humans once again have taken something spectacular and made it commercialized. There is nowhere else in the park that gives you a feeling of a tourist trap other than the Old Faithful site.

Now I am not saying that you should not go to Old Faithful because you definitely should, but just be aware that there is going to be large crowds of people. A huge paved parking lot and a visitor’s center. You can grab some food while you are here as well.

I will say, that if you have trouble walking long distances or over uneven ground. Old Faithful is going to give you a great experience. It is very accessible and easy to get to. Plenty of oversized vehicle parking is available if you are traveling through in a RV.

west Thumb Geyser Basin

Just east of Old Faithful is a tremendous Geyser Basin that you must check out yourself. It is one of my favorite places within the Yellowstone National Park West Entrance It is called the West Thumb Geyser Basin. In my opinion this basin has some of the most beautiful areas of Yellowstone National Park. The most amazing blue hot springs and geysers in this area resemble a painting. Makes you think it cannot be natural.

West Thumb Geyser Basin is a easy walk along a boardwalk. You will walk in the middle of beautiful Yellowstone Lake and these incredible thermal features. One of them known as fishing cone has a history of fisherman catching trout from the lake, and dipping the fish into the geyser so cook it, while still on the hook. I would not recommend such actions today, but I would recommend taking a walk through West Thumb Geyser Basin.

The Yellowstone National Park West Entrance is a perfect location to set up base camp. There is plenty of features in the area to keep you busy. It will also allow you to see all the famous features that made Yellowstone one of the most visited park in the country.

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