America's iconic first national park, Yellowstone is home to over 60% of the world’s geysers – natural hot springs that periodically erupt in towering explosions of boiling water and steam. And while these astounding phenomena and their neighboring technicolor hot springs and bubbling mud pits draw in the crowds (over 4 million people each year), the surrounding canyons, mountains and forests are no less impressive, teeming with elk, bison, grizzly bears and wolves.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
21.04 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…
20.49 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…
25.21 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
13.23 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…
12.19 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…
18.34 MILES
Norris Geyser Basin comprises Porcelain Basin and Back Basin, accessed through two connecting loops. If the world's tallest geyser, Steamboat Geyser, isn…
12.24 MILES
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…
12.33 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
1.19 MILES
The buttercup-yellow colonial Lake Yellowstone Hotel, dating from 1891, is the park’s oldest building and certainly its most elegant. Robert Reamer (who…
2.41 MILES
There has been a bridge at Fishing Bridge since 1902, but it closed to fishing in 1973 to protect spawning cutthroat trout – to the benefit of resident…
3. Fishing Bridge Visitor Center
2.51 MILES
The displays of stuffed birds and wildlife inside this small center are less interesting than the historic 1931 building itself: built as an information…
4.33 MILES
These rapids are named after topographer Paul LeHardy, whose raft overturned here, spilling guns, provisions and bedding but sparing his life. Rock uplift…
5.22 MILES
A fairly subdued geothermal area near Fishing Bridge, Mud Volcano still delights with the huffing, steaming maw of Dragon's Mouth Spring and the spectacle…
11.71 MILES
Although West Thumb is not one of Yellowstone’s prime thermal sites, its 0.5-mile shoreline boardwalk loop (with a shorter inner loop to finish with)…
7. West Thumb Information Center
11.77 MILES
This former ranger station, dating from 1925, serves as a summer bookstore and winter warming hut. Rangers lead an hour-long boardwalk stroll from here…
8. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
12.16 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…