Yellowstone National Park: Upper Geyser Basin

On By nationalparkswithtIn Wyoming6 Comments
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 visited the Upper Geyser Basin.

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.

Upper Geyser Basin➤

We arrived at Old Faithful early in the morning, before the visitor center opened. After watching Old Faithful erupt, we climbed to Observation Point. From there, we could see the surreal landscape of the Upper Geyser Basin. We descended from the point and found ourselves at the beginning of the boardwalk trail.

Upper Geyser Basin spans two square miles and contains the largest concentration of geysers in the world. The basin features spouting geysers, colorful hot springs, and steaming fumaroles. The 3.5-mile boardwalk loop winds around the thermal features with interpretive signs along the way.

Five major geysers—Old Faithful, Grand, Castle, Daisy, and Riverside—dominate the landscape. Visitors witness nature’s power as bubbling pools and hissing steam vents dot the terrain. We spent over an hour walking here and didn’t see everything.

Yellowstone Posts➤

Location: Grand Loop Road, Wyoming
Designation: National Park
Date designated/established: March 1, 1872
Date of my visit: September 23, 2023

Sponge Geyser
Doublet Pool