" Northwest Travel: Yellowstone; National park offers spectacular sights and ... - Bend Bulletin

By John Gottberg Anderson / For the Bulletin

OLD FAITHFUL, Wyo. —

America's first national park is also its grandest.

There is no other place on Earth like Yellowstone National Park. Rising above the northwestern corner of Wyoming, this massive preserve, roughly 60 square miles (2.2 million acres), is home to bountiful wildlife, a spectacularly picturesque canyon, a vast high-altitude lake and the greatest concentration of geysers and other geothermal features in the world.

The park's central feature, although it is not distinctly visible, is an enormous volcanic caldera. Three times in the last 2 million years, huge volcanic eruptions have altered the face of the central Rocky Mountains landscape. But their legacy is not yet complete — the last of the three great eruptions occurred 640,000 years ago, and the constantly burbling geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots give daily notice that Yellowstone is overdue for another blast.

Fur trappers were the first non-Indians to stumble upon Yellowstone's wonders in the years following the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was established as the world's first national park in 1872, and since has become a land-use model for many countries.

Visitors today should not be surprised to hear a United Nations of languages spoken as they visit the park's plethora of features.

Because it's a 643-mile drive from Bend to Yellowstone by the fastest route, most Central Oregon visitors plan a full week for the journey to, within and back from the park.

The most direct route is through the park's west entrance at West Yellowstone, Mont. A more alluring drive, for the traveler with a couple of extra days, is from the south, via Jackson, Wyo., and Grand Teton National Park. In either case, Twin Falls, Idaho, seven hours east of Bend via U.S. Highway 20 and Interstate 84, makes a logical midway stop.

Although the behavior of some naive visitors might suggest otherwise, Yellowstone is not a petting zoo. Many animals in the park — from bears and wolves to moose and bighorn sheep — are dangerous. Warnings are posted everywhere, but every year, overzealous nature lovers approach bison and elk too closely and are severely injured or even killed.

If you're planning to hike far from a populated area, it's wise to carry bear spray (available at park stores) and know how to use it. Bears no longer beg for food in campgrounds and on highways, as they did when I first visited in the 1960s, but they can be more dangerous in their natural habitats.

The vast majority of the park sits at an elevation of 6,200 feet or higher. Many major attractions, including Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake and Canyon Village, are around 7,700 feet, and highway passes climb as high as 8,859 feet. People who have issues with elevation must take appropriate precautions.

The following itinerary will lead you in a counterclockwise loop around Yellowstone National Park, beginning and ending at the West Entrance. I recommend taking at least three days to allow plenty of time for sightseeing and relaxation. Five days is even better.

West Entrance to Old Faithful (30 miles)

The first leg of the journey takes you through the heart of geyser country. Follow the gently flowing Madison River upstream 14 miles, keeping an eye out for wildlife as you drive; this is one of the best places in the park to see moose. This section of Yellowstone was heavily impacted by forest fires in 1988, so that most of the lodgepole pine growth is barely 20 years old.

At Madison Junction, where there is a rest stop and information station, turn south and follow the Firehole River to Old Faithful. En route, you'll pass through several "geyser basins." In the Lower Geyser Basin, look for the colorful mud of the Fountain Paint Pot. In the Midway Geyser Basin, the park's largest hot spring, the Grand Prismatic Spring (370 feet across), has a deep blue color ringed by orange and yellow thermophiles — heat-loving organisms common in Yellowstone's volcanic environment.

The Upper Geyser Basin is the home of Old Faithful. Erupting to a height up to 180 feet, the famous geyser sends a plume of super-heated water into the air, on average every 90 minutes, although the interval may vary from 50 to 120 minutes. Hundreds of visitors gather for the spectacle on the boardwalk flanking the geyser.

An entire community has risen around Old Faithful since it was discovered in 1870. There are three hotels, including the rustically beautiful Old Faithful Inn, built of lodgepole pines in 1904 by architect Robert Reamer. A National Historic Landmark, it is regarded as the largest log hotel in the world. Nearby are restaurants, stores, service stations, a post office, a medical clinic and more.

Next door to the Inn is the brand-new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, where rangers continually update their predicted time for the next geyser eruption. An extensive exhibit gallery describes the geothermal mechanics that cause geysers and related features.

Extending north from Old Faithful is a trail system that extends four miles north past sapphire-colored Morning Glory Pool to the Biscuit Basin. En route, it passes more than two dozen geysers, among them the Castle and Grand geysers, both of which erupt a couple of times daily on a predictable schedule.

Geysers to Yellowstone Lake (38 miles)

East of Old Faithful, the park highway climbs past the lovely Kepler Cascades on the upper Firehole River, then twice crosses the Continental Divide — this is the only point of the drive where streams flow toward the Pacific Ocean rather than the Atlantic — before descending to West Thumb Junction on Yellowstone Lake.

Situated at 7,733 feet elevation, Yellowstone Lake is the largest high-elevation lake in North America, 20 miles long and 15 miles wide. (Lake Tahoe is larger but 1,500 feet lower.) On a map, the lake is shaped like the hump-backed Native American deity Kokopelli, his two distinct legs propelling him westward.

On the figure's fore brow is the West Thumb Geyser Basin, whose thermal features extend directly to the lakeshore. When mountain man John Colter — a veteran of the Lewis and Clark expedition who is generally credited as being the first non-Indian to witness Yellowstone's wonders — returned to civilization with stories of catching a fish and cooking it in a single motion, without taking it off the line, he heard nothing but guffaws. But that might frankly be possible here.

Grant Village is immediately south along the lakeshore. For Yellowstone visitors arriving from Jackson and Grand Teton National Park, this is the first of several park communities they will encounter.

Our route continues north, tracing the lake's western edge for 19 miles to Lake Village. Its Lake Yellowstone Hotel may be the park's most gracious hostelry, a Colonial Revival-style building with an Ionic portico facing the lake. It's not uncommon for a herd of bison to wander across the grounds each morning, forcing visitors to retreat to the safety of the hotel until the animals pass.

Narrated lake cruises depart several times a day from Bridge Bay Marina, a short distance south of the village. Motorboats and kayaks are also available for rent.

It was once common to see dozens of lines dropped into the Yellowstone River outflow at Fishing Bridge, just north of Lake Village, but these waters are now protected; it's worth visiting the nearby visitor center, however, to view a fascinating geological scale model of the floor of Yellowstone Lake.

Yellowstone's East Entrance Road tracks east from Fishing Bridge across Sylvan Pass to the Wyoming town of Cody, a distance of 80 miles. Bear watchers might consider a short detour to the valley of Pelican Creek, a favorite grazing and fishing area for the large carnivores.

Lake to Canyon (16 miles)

The Yellowstone River is the longest undammed stream in the United States outside of Alaska. Running 692 miles from its headwaters in the Absaroka Range, above Yellowstone Lake, it flows through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and into southeastern Montana before joining the Missouri River just inside the border of North Dakota.

From the perspective of park visitors, the most notable stretch is its first miles north from the lake, through the Hayden Valley. I have always found this area to be the best in the park for wildlife viewing, especially in the early morning and twilight hours.

On my most recent visit, in mid-August, hundreds of bison ranged over its grassy hills. Several times they stopped traffic as they lumbered down the middle of the highway, unconcerned with the activity around them.

From a roadside vantage point, scopes focused on a large grizzly bear feeding on an elk carcass in a shallow section of river.

There are several intriguing geothermal features in this section of the park, as well. The Dragon's Breath fumarole — a type of volcanic vent — hisses and smokes only a few steps from the thick brown bubbles of the constantly active Mud Volcano. Across the road, the Sulphur Caldron earns its name with its pungent stench.

But the highlight of this section of road is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and its two spectacular waterfalls, Upper Yellowstone and Lower Yellowstone.

Canyon Village is the ideal base for exploring this area by road and trail. Get hiking information at the Canyon Visitor Education Center, then set out on the South Rim Drive, which extends about two miles to Artist Point. The view of the canyon, dropping 1,000 feet in 20 miles through jagged multicolored rocks, cutting a swatch through geological history, is unforgettable.

A view of the 109-foot Upper Falls is impressive, but no comparison to that of the 308-foot Lower Falls from Uncle Tom's Trail. Not a hike for the timid, this track descends about 350 steps down a rock face for closeup views of Yellowstone's most powerful water feature. On sunny mornings, a brilliant rainbow is readily discerned in its spray.

Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs (37 miles)

From Canyon Village, the highway ascends to the park's highest point accessible by road. Catch your breath at Dunraven Pass, 8,859 feet, and if you're feeling especially strong, hike from here to the summit of 10,243-foot Mount Washburn for remarkable views.

Tower Junction — so named for nearby Tower Fall, a 132-foot drop through volcanic pinnacles — is a half-mile lower in elevation. From here, the Northeast Entrance, least used of the five park entrances, is 29 miles away.

It's about 10 miles from the junction to the headquarters of the Yellowstone Association's learning institute in the heart of the Lamar Valley. The institute's year-round field trips include excursions into the park's principal habitat for wolves, whose favorite food are the plentiful elk of the region.

At Tower Junction is the Roosevelt Lodge, built in 1920 on the site of an 1884 lodge. Named for President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and early supporter of Yellowstone, it is one of the park's most rustic accommodations. Horseback riding is a popular activity for guests here.

The 18-mile road across the Blacktail Deer Plateau, to Mammoth Hot Springs, is another popular area for wildlife watching.

Mammoth, named for its marvelous tiered terraces that flow down a hillside like the layers of a wedding cake, serves as park headquarters. It is just five miles south of the park's North Entrance at Gardiner, Mont., the original gateway community for visitors who traveled by rail to Livingston, Mont., and proceeded south. At any time of year, large numbers of elk may traipse through the community and hot springs, attracting considerable visitor attention.

The village was built in 1886 as an Army base, Fort Yellowstone. Many of the former barracks now serve as office buildings, employee residences and a museum. The community's carefully tended tranquility is in sharp contrast to the drama of the hot springs, which overlook the village by several hundred feet.

Mammoth to West Entrance (35 miles)

The terraces of Mammoth are indeed engaging. You can walk from the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to the foot of the travertine formation at Liberty Cap, or drive a couple of miles south to Upper Terrace Drive, which winds through an area of intense thermal activity. Here the skeletons of gnarled trees rise through beds of chalky calcium carbonate, and colorful algae tint the limestone deposits red, orange, brown and green.

The road south extends past Sheepeater Cliff, where Shoshone Indians once camped to hunt for bighorn sheep that still inhabit this area. It continues by Obsidian Cliff, where the same native peoples harvested rocks for tools, and ever-steaming Roaring Mountain before reaching Norris Junction. Several small lakes and streams are good places to look for moose, beaver and other animals; we spotted a large grey fox in a field, closing in on a colony of waterfowl.

There are two principal attractions at Norris. The Norris Geyser Basin is Yellowstone's most impressive after the Old Faithful area. Porcelain Basin has the park's hottest pools. Nearby is the Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest (300 feet or more); unfortunately, its eruptions cannot be predicted, as the irregular intervals may range from days to years.

Across the highway, the Museum of the National Park Ranger tells the story of early Yellowstone, when administration was handled by the Armed Services prior to the evolution of the National Park Service and the ranger profession.

The 14-mile stretch from Norris to Madison is notable for a drive past 84-foot Gibbon Falls, one of the park's prettier drops. Then it's another 14 miles west to the start of this route, at West Yellowstone.

John Gottberg Anderson can be reached at janderson@bendbulletin.com.

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05 Sep, 2011

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