Popular Lookout Point, near Canyon Village, offers the best views of the Lower Falls. An adjacent 0.5-mile trail drops 500ft to Red Rock for even closer views – the average age of the crowd plummets with the elevation (it’s hard on the knees). The trails can be very slippery, so watch your step. It was around here that iconic early painter Thomas Moran made the sketches for his famous painting of the canyon, allegedly weeping over the lack of colors in his palette.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.32 MILES
The imposing Lower and Upper Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs are the highlight of the Mammoth region. An hour’s worth of boardwalks wind their way between…
24.71 MILES
While Old Faithful gets the most attention, there's lots to explore in Upper Geyser Basin, which has the densest collection of geysers in Yellowstone. On…
22.03 MILES
At 370ft wide and 121ft deep, Grand Prismatic Spring is the park’s largest and deepest hot spring. It’s also considered by many to be the most beautiful…
17.17 MILES
Of Lamar Valley's abundant wildlife, the most famous – and to some, controversial – resident is the gray wolf. Wolves were missing from the ecosystem…
Canyon Visitor Education Center
0.99 MILES
This major center is well worth a visit for its innovative and interactive displays on Yellowstone’s geology. The highlight is a room-sized relief model…
0.31 MILES
Artist Point is probably the most famous of the canyon’s viewpoints, offering a long overview of the Lower Falls and canyon. It was not, as many people…
10.66 MILES
Norris Geyser Basin comprises Porcelain Basin and Back Basin, accessed through two connecting loops. If the world's tallest geyser, Steamboat Geyser, isn…
0.82 MILES
A side road branches off North Rim Dr to reach busy Inspiration Point, which offers an overview of the length of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and a…
Nearby Yellowstone National Park attractions
1. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
0.13 MILES
Near Canyon Village, this is one of the park's true blockbuster sights. After its placid meanderings north from Yellowstone Lake, the Yellowstone River…
0.21 MILES
The one-way North Rim Dr leads to Grandview Point, which offers views north over the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone's colorful smoking walls, though not…
0.31 MILES
Artist Point is probably the most famous of the canyon’s viewpoints, offering a long overview of the Lower Falls and canyon. It was not, as many people…
0.55 MILES
The first of the North Rim viewpoints leads down a steep 0.75-mile trail, descending 600ft for exciting close-up views of the tumbling white water as the…
0.82 MILES
A side road branches off North Rim Dr to reach busy Inspiration Point, which offers an overview of the length of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and a…
0.87 MILES
Just before Inspiration Point is this huge granite boulder scooped up from the Beartooth Mountains, 15 miles away, by a glacier and deposited here 80,000…
7. Canyon Visitor Education Center
0.99 MILES
This major center is well worth a visit for its innovative and interactive displays on Yellowstone’s geology. The highlight is a room-sized relief model…
1.3 MILES
From Artist Point a trail leads 1 mile (45 minutes) to this viewpoint for more fabulous views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone's colorful walls,…