Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
Wyoming 2023 Trip➤
In September of 2023, my husband and I set out to explore some National Park units in the state of Wyoming. We visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, The John D. Rockefeller Parkway, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. In Yellowstone National Park, we stopped at the Old Faithful Inn.
Yellowstone National Park➤
President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law in 1872. This created America’s (and the world’s) first National Park. The US Army managed the park from the late 1800s through 1916 when the National Park Service was created.
The park sits on top of a massive super volcano. As a result, over half of the worlds geysers and geothermal features reside in Yellowstone. It’s also famous for being home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope. One of our guides compared touring Yellowstone’s Valleys to taking an African Safari.
This park is huge at 3500 square miles in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Divided into two large loops, the park road takes visitors to the main sites. The Lower Loop Road is 96 miles while the Upper Loop is 142 miles.
Old Faithful Inn➤
The Old Faithful Inn first opened in the spring of 1904. It overlooks the Old Faithful Geyser, which erupts at regular intervals. Constructed of logs and limbs, it was the first of the great park lodges of the American west. It serves as the prime example of National Park Service Rustic Architecture. The hotel is the largest log hotel in the world.
We arrived at Old Faithful early in the morning, before the visitor center opened. Freezing, we scurried into the Inn to warm up by the huge stone fireplace. Later, after we’d toured the Lower Geyser Basin, we ate lunch in the dining room. This was nice for the ambiance but the food was just OK.
Yellowstone Posts➤
- West Thumb Geyser Basin
- Fishing Bridge
- Yellowstone Lake
- Old Faithful Inn
- Old Faithful
- Observation Point
- Upper Geyser Basin
- Grand Prismatic Overlook
- Midway Geyser Basin
- Artists Paintpots
- Lower Falls
- Lamar Valley
- Mammoth Hot Springs: Lower Terraces
- Mammoth Hot Springs: Upper Terraces
- Norris Geyser Basin
- Artists Point
Location: 3200 Old Faithful Inn Rd, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Designation: National Park
Date designated/established: March 1, 1872
Date of my visit: September 24, 2023
When we visited Yellowstone a couple years ago, they offered free tour of Old Faithful Inn several times a day. It is an amazing place. Thanks for your post!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Amazing to see these old lodges still standing after 120 years. Such a huge timber structure must have been difficult to build. Have a great Friday. Allan
Thanks for reading and commenting, Allan! Happy weekend!
Such a neat place!
Yes!
Peggy worked as a waitress at the Inn and the Lodge in the summer of 69 when she was a college student! Many great adventures.
The year we put a man on the moon 🙂
That was it. It was also the first year I backpacked. Grin.
I know that the Old Faithful Inn is meant to be the nicest in-park hotel in Yellowstone but I’ve never seen the inside! I had no idea that it’s the largest log cabin in the world.
I think there are more modern accommodations, but Old Faithful is something special 🙂