Yellowstone: what's the big deal about it?

[rexlion]

I would like to ask those of you who think Yellowstone NP is worth 3, 4, 7 or even more days of a vacation, what do you find so interesting there? Maybe I'm missing it, and you can help me know what I should be seeing there.

I've been to Yellowstone twice. First time was at about age 12 with my parents. With a 22' Winnebago MH we drove across Canada (starting in Michigan), through Banff and Yoho, then to the Seattle area where we visited with my eldest brother for a day. Then we returned east through Montana, went into Yellowstone for a day, continued east to Mount Rushmore, and eventually back home to MI. After seeing the spectacular snow-capped Canadian Rockies grow ever larger as we moved west from Calgary, and then camping near the foot of Takkakaw Falls, and seeing Lake Louise and Emerald Lake and the hoodoos, the US Rockies seemed like plain vanilla by comparison.

Then about 14-15 years ago my wife and I towed a popup and spent a day in the Tetons (which I really liked and want to spend more time at), then a day in Yellowstone, then headed to Idaho to visit the same brother (who moved from WA eventually to ID). We saw Lewis Falls, the paint pots and steaming pools near Yellowstone Lake, the big waterfall in the canyon, some bison, a couple of bears, and Old Faithful. Old Faithful was not very faithful to us, BTW; when it was 40 minutes overdue we headed back toward the van, only to have it blow when we neared the parking lot. After one day we felt like we had seen about everything worth seeing. What did we miss?

[bee_46]

Bumpy - Our 20' motorhome will not tow much, so a toad is out of the question although I wished for one more than once on the trip. Although except for the early morning wildlife we managed well.

Mosseater - I agree about enjoying the different terrain in this country. I too marvel at the forces that created the mountains and places like Devil's Tower. I also thought more than once about the fact that I was staying inside a large volcano crater that could "blow" at any time. As we drove into southern Utah and northern Arizona, we felt we had been dropped on another planet full of red rocks. This was not our first trip to the western U.S. but the difference from the east coast was just as stunning.

As for Old Faithful not being very faithful, that is the nature of nature. We spend a lot of time photographing animals, and you have to work on their timetable not you own. We were fortunate that Old Faithful "went off" within the time frame predicted when we stopped by. I was disappointed that Steamboat Geyser erupted within a couple of weeks of our visit after not having erupted in over a year.

[Lauren]

Well said, Ken.

We have both agreed on here for years about the taking time factor; it is so important to SEE things - soak it in. The geyser pools and wildlife at YNP were far more impressive to me than Old Not So Faithful!

[4runnerguy]

I've been following this thread and just reread the OP's descriptions of his visits. On the first, he'd toured some of the great mountain ranges of the Canadian Rockies and said the US Rockies seemed "like plain vanilla" by comparison. Are the Canadian Rockies more grand than the US Rockies? In many ways yes, as they seem to go on and on as one drives through Banff and Jasper. However, Yellowstone NP wasn't created because of its mountains, so it's hardly fair to compare YNP to Banff and Jasper using that criteria.

On the OP's second visit, he essentially did the entire southern loop in one day. Obviously there was no time to see any of the geyser basins other than the stop for Old Faithful. He was disappointed because nature didn't cooperate with his very tight schedule (yes, these are natural phenomena, there isn't a boiler and valve system hidden in one of the buildings 😉 ). He saw "the big waterfall in the canyon", but probably didn't time to hike to any of the viewpoints in the canyon.

What I'm trying to get across is the need for time. When one is trying to see the southern loop of YNP in one day, one is too focused on maintaining a schedule rather than experiencing the park.

The OP wanted some specific suggestions. For one, stop at one or more visitors centers. Although I can appreciate scenery by just looking at it, I get much more out of it if I have an understanding of how things came to be as they are, what kind of animals are out there and what's their story, what is the history of man in the area. Plus, the rangers can direct you to things that might be of specific interest to you.

At Old Faithful, stop in the visitors center and find out what the predicted eruption times are for the various geysers in the basin. You might have to have patience, as they don't run like clockwork, but to me, the sight of water shooting out of the ground like that is pretty awe inspiring. The colors of some of the large pools like Grand Prismatic Spring display nature's use of the color palette in a remarkable way. Stinky? Yes if you get caught downwind. But breweries don't smell great either, but I like their output!

Hike down into the canyon to view the falls. This will be more similar to your view of Takkakaw Falls (from the bottom up) rather than just looking down from the rim. If you want the closest thing YNP has to a mountain hike, head to Mt. Washburn. From the top you can see much of YNP and the Tetons in the distance. You'll be able to see how Yellowstone sits in kind of an intermontane basin, surrounded by higher mountains. This is partly because the park sits in a collapsed caldera and why there aren't the great peaks such as are found in the Tetons. In mid-summer, the flowers along the trail are delightful.

Is YNP crowded? Yes at certain times, but not so much as the Yosemite Valley IMHO. If you are there multiple days, you can better plan your routes so as to avoid the worst of the crowds. And when one of the geysers goes off, I find that I'm so intent on the spectacle, the crowds seem to melt away. And if you're in the geyser basins in the morning or evening, the crowds are much less and the peace and serenity of the place are unlike the experience in the middle of the day.

In conclusion (whew!), one thing I always point out about YNP is that it was the first national park in the world for a reason. There's no place else like it on earth.

[Lauren]

I am truly enjoying this thread as I relate it a lot to what I witness on here on other great places like the Grand Canyon, etc.

As I said, you can always say you have been someplace but it takes time there for you to say you have SEEN it.

This posting says it so great and I had not heard it like that before.

PegLW wrote:

Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.

And mosseater's second paragraph nails it also.

And so many others as well.

Sometimes I hear someone tell me of all the great places that they sat around for hours having dinners but don't have time to see Yellowstone or Grand Teton or Grand Canyon or whatever.

Priorites.

People!

[Bumpyroad]

bee_46 wrote:


Unfortunately we were traveling in a motorhome we had to unhook each day to go sightseeing, so we did not get out early enough to see the wolves or momma bears and cubs, but we did enjoy the bears in Hayden Valley that were stopping traffic all day our last day there.

that seems to fit right in with other discussions on this topic. too bad you didn't have a toad.
bumpy

[mosseater]

Maybe it's the proximity to the destination that elicits a proportional reaction, don't know.
Being from PA, all I ever wanted to do was see what's "out west". Not that things are terribly boring around here. I'm still fascinated by my home state.

All I can say is, and I don't mean this as a dig to anybody, it sounds arrogant as heck, but if you don't feel like there's anything special about Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Niagara, Tetons, et al., then I truly feel sad for you. I don't understand how you can miss the grandure and uniqueness of these places. I'm awestruck at the beauty this nation has to offer. The sheer diversity of terrain and geology is astounding, and I don't even consider myself a student of such things. I have to wonder about what others consider wonderful if they can't see anything worth seeing in these places. On a sliding scale, what is above seeing the natural wonders of the world? Seriously! Give me an example of something above the breathtaking spendour of the Grand Canyon, or the hidden meaning of the pretroglyphs of the Painted Desert. The obvious story of Mesa Verde brought to life so you can touch it, or the massive power of Meteor Crater? The forces necessary to carve Devil's Tower? How does one top these things? Disneyland?

If these things don't hold any meaning for you, what does? inquiring minds want to know. I understand the OP was specifically about Yellowstone, but to me, it's the same principle no matter which place you're talking about.

[bee_46]

We just returned from a 23 day trip to the western U.S. from Maryland. We spent 4 days in Yellowstone. We no longer have the ability to hike as we did when we last visited 25 years ago when we hike to Lone Star Geyser, but we managed to fill 4 days without a problem. I wonder how many people visit Sheepeater Cliff or the Petrified Tree, neither of which require hiking, or watch the sandhill cranes wandering through the field. Had I been younger, I might have gone swimming in the Firehole River.

Unfortunately we were traveling in a motorhome we had to unhook each day to go sightseeing, so we did not get out early enough to see the wolves or momma bears and cubs, but we did enjoy the bears in Hayden Valley that were stopping traffic all day our last day there.

Any where you travel, the trip is what you choose to make it. If you go to the beach, but spend the time at the motel pool, did you really go to the beach? As a photographer, I can make anywhere I go memorable as long as I have my camera along and look for unique places to photograph. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Many people really like Canyonlands. I was disappointed as my pictures pretty much looked all alike, but if I had an off road vehicle, I may have loved it.

If I am ever fortunate enough to get back out to Wyoming, I will put Yellowstone on my list to see.

[photonut4]

Yellowstone is one of my favorite places. First off I love wildlife and photography, so Yellowstone is perfect for that. We are also hikers so, again, Yellowstone is perfect for that. But it you want a couple awesome things that you do not have to hike to a couple of my favorites are 1). The brink of the waterfalls. Being right at the place that all that water goes over the falls is amazing. The power of the water is unbelievable. If you have never been within a few feet of a powerful brink, it would amaze you. 2). Also the boiling river is also a great way to spend some time. It is where geo thermal water enters the river, so you can pick and chose the temp of water you want. Very relaxing, and fun. 3). As for the geysers, I like the middle geyers the best. The prismatic lake is incredible. We always get to the park between 5 and 6 am for the best animal viewing, and the fewest crowds. Last time there I watched a mama bear and her two cubs playing. I got some great photos of it.

[Veebyes]

Some folks just have a short attention span. What is the average time at the rim of the Grand Canyon? Something less than half an hour I read somewhere.

We live in a very shallow world where cellphone reception & what goes on in Hollywood is more important than any natural wonder.

[2gypsies1]

This reminds me of our time volunteering at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. A visitor came up to me asking for suggestions on what to do. I started telling him about taking the 7-mile driving scenic drive and I explained all the marked stops and what he'd be seeing. I finished and he asked "but what's there to really see on the scenic tour"?

[tatest]

Depends on what interests you. If you just want to see a geyser pop, you can do that passing through. Don't need to take hikes, climb, look for wildlife, study the geology inside a volcanic crater.

Different people have different interests. I have some friends who would rather have three days of shopping in Manhattan than see any natural wonders anywhere, let alone enjoy the ordinary wonder of nature. Even more for whom the only real vacation is a beach vacation, or a big theme park.

I think a lot of our national parks, particularly those meant to preserve nature, are oversold by "1000 Places" type of lists, drawing millions of tourists who are expecting some kind of theme park experience and leave disappointed that it was just rocks and desert or woods and mountains, or lakes where they could not ride a SkiDoo.

[Sue_Bee]

Yellowstone is different from a lot of parks in that there are few roads, and people are intentionally concentrated in the smallest footprint possible, unless those people are willing to ditch the vehicle and go hiking. If you hike into the back-country, you will see and experience far more than most visitors, or if you can ride a horse, and can spend the money, there are some outfitters who will take you to places that most don't see. If you are able to visit the first couple of weeks in September, or late May before Memorial day, you will encounter smaller crowds, but the weather can be more iffy.

I would suggest for any of the parks to check with the visitor centers to see if there are any ranger led programs that you can fit in which interest you, and also, check with the rangers about local conditions, special sights, anything that they suggest that might be interesting.

When we stopped at the upper geyser basin, we pulled in to see Old Faithful spouting. We parked and ate our picnic lunch, then we walked into the center, we spoke to a ranger who alerted us that Grand Geyser was predicted to go off within the hour as it had been over 12 hours since it had gone off, plus or minus some. We took his advice and walked over to wait. We were rewarded with a show that put Old Faithful to shame, which we would have missed had we not spoken to the ranger.

[Campfire_Time]

rexlion wrote:
I'm only good for about 3 or 4 miles max on a hike (round trip), so that might be a limiting factor for me.

No need to backpack. Lots of good trails in that range so even with that limitation you can see a lot of really cool stuff that the general public will never see. Get a hiking book or two. I highly recommend Best Easy Day Hikes for Yellowstone. It will help you pick hikes you can handle.

Oh, and I recommend good hiking shoes. Your feet will thank you. Yellowstone was the place where my wife and I realized that regular sneakers were the worst things to wear on back country trails.

[Idahoan]

It's not that Yellowstone is better than anywhere else, there is tons of beautiful scenery all over the world. It is however unique in the geysers, mud pots, and other geothermal feaures. Also the abundance of wildlife is hard to match. Unique and special in it's own right, but not "better" than anywhere else.

[VegasBT]

I would also recommend exploring a lot of the national forests around Yellowstone. My Dad lives south of Jackson near Thayne, WY, and he took me on a drive along Grey's River Road near Alpine, WY. An amazing area with some beautiful wildlife and great fishing opportunities. My wife and I will be camping there next summer, and it's only 50 miles south of Jackson along the Snake River.