Grand Prismatic Spring

 

We reserved one of Yellowstone's most iconic sights for our final day in the park, the breathtakingly vibrant Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in North America.

Arriving early, we hoped to stroll along the boardwalk encircling the spring before the crowds arrived. We did manage to get a car park & bat the crowds, however, the cool, still air combined with the rising steam from both Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Geyser, blanketing the basin in a dense mist that veiled the spring's brilliant colors.

The outlet cascades from Excelcior Geyser were very dramatic with clouds of steam billowing off them.

We did a lap of the boardwalk, but couldn't understand why it was even there. It was just a steaming lake.

Having anticipated the mist, we had already planned a hike to Fairy Falls. Kerri decided to sit this one out, while we followed the pleasant 4 km trail that winds behind the Basin area. The delicate waterfall gracefully plunges 61m down an amphitheater, ending in a tranquil, shallow pool below.

On the return leg from Fairy Falls, we took a short detour up the hillside to the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook, where we reunited with Kerri. By the time we arrived, the morning mist had lifted, revealing the spring's full brilliance. The vivid colour gradients we'd seen in smaller pools throughout the park were now displayed on a grand scale. Viewing Grand Prismatic from this elevated vantage point is far more impressive than at ground level, no matter the conditions.

Biscuit Basin

 

After fully exploring the Upper Geyser Basin, we made a quick detour to Biscuit Basin, just a short distance away. While it doesn't rival the grandeur of the Upper Basin, it offers a pleasant boardwalk loop around a handful of small geysers.

The bridge across the Firehole River to Biscuit Basin was guarded by a fierce beast! The fierce beast was doing a terrible job as it was more interested in mowing the grass than intimidating the humans.

We spotted the aptly named, Black Opal Pool just after crossing the bridge. It's the only black hot spring we have seen so far in Yellowstone.

The highlights here are two striking hot springs, Wall Pool (above) and Sapphire Pool (below). Wall Pool, averaging 88°C, is intensely hot and even boils in spots.

Sapphire Pool, slightly cooler at 77°C, also bubbles in places. Their extreme heat nurtures thermophilic bacteria, which create the brilliant blue tones that dominate these pools. Both were shaped by past explosive events, giving them steep, dramatic walls that add to their unique beauty.

There are a few other minor features in the Basin including Avoca Spring (above) & Jewel Geyser (below) that resemble a couple of the smaller geysers in the Upper Basin.

As a tourist tip, Biscuit Basin probably should be viewed before Upper Basin to avoid being underwhelmed.

Upper Geyser Basin - Old Faithful

 

Yellowstone's most iconic attraction is undoubtedly the Upper Geyser Basin, the famous home of Old Faithful. This area boasts the planet's highest concentration of geysers. Click here for park map.

Castle Geyser

Among the other impressive features is Castle Geyser (above & below), with its massive sinter formation, though we unfortunately missed its eruption by just a few minutes.

Grand Geyser

The towering Grand Geyser (above) erupting in bursts up to 65m high. Grand Geyser only errupts two or three times a day so we had planned to time our visit see this monster blow and we were not disapointed.

Turban Geyser

Turban Geyser is part of the same clomplex as Grand Geyser, although not as spectacular as it's bigger sibling.

Sawmill Geyser

Near Grand Geyser, Sawmill Geyser is the liveliest feature in the Basin, if not the largest. Reminiscent of Vixen Geyser, its energetic erruptions spit jets of water 10m in the air. We passed Sawmill a number of times as we wandered the trails & it was spitting and carying on most of those times.

Tardy Geyser

Tardy Geyser is Sawmill's neighbour & is a smaller version that starts its erruption cycle after Sawmill, hence the name.

Crested Pool

Along a boardwalk from Sawmill Geyser, we found three strikingly colourful hot springs, the first being the dark blue Crested Pool. The pools feature stunning colours from heat-loving bacteria called thermophiles that create vibrant rings of yellow, orange, and green around a blue center. The hotter pools tend to be on the blue end of the colour spectrum as is the case for this one.

Beauty Pool

Beatyr Pool has a more varied colour palette ranging from blue all the way to orange. The minerals present also have an impact of the bacteria colours.

Chromatic Pool

Chromatic Pool is an anommaly with stark white mineral deposits dominating the bacteria.

Firehole River

The crystal-clear Firehole River winds gracefully through the basin, weaving its way between clusters of geysers. Not as flashy as the geysers, this peacful river is a crutial life blood for the plants & animals in the basin.

Grotto Geyser

During our visit, Grotto Geyser erupted continuously, sending powerful surges of water over its contorted sinter cone. It has a gnarly formation which it likely formed around a stand of trees. This was one of the more active geysers in the Basin during our visit.

Morning Glory Pool

Morning Glory Pool is arguably the most spectacular example of the vivid colour gradients formed by heat-loving thermophiles in Yellowstone's geothermal hot springs.

Old Faithful

We took a break for lunch at the viewing area for Old Faithful with a large crowd of people of a similar mindset.

Old Faithful stands as the world's most renowned geyser and the star attraction of Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin. True to its name, it erupts with remarkable consistency, sending powerful plumes of water and steam up to 40 meters high roughly every 90 minutes.

Lion Geyser

Lion Geyser quickly became one of our favourite sights in the basin. This impressive cone geyser frequently erupts on a similar schedule to Old Faithful, with a thundering roar, shooting a towering fountain up to 27 meters high. With viewing areas located nearby, the sheer power and sound of its eruptions feel even more thrilling than at Old Faithful.

Heart Spring

Although often overlooked beside the dramatic Lion Geyser (above background), Heart Spring is a quiet gem worth pausing to appreciate. This small by beautiful spring only exhibits the turquious blue hue.

Spasmodic Geyser

Spasmodic Geyser looks more like a bubbling coral reef than a geyser. The intricate mineral deposits and multiple vents make it one of the more interesting in the Basin.

Old Faithful

As we were passing Old Faithful on the way back to the car park, the geyser gave us a bonus send off erruption.

The Upper Geyser Basin was always going to be a must do activity on this trip & it delivered and some!

West Yellowstone

 

It had been a full day packed with sightseeing, and by the end, we were feeling a little worn out. We checked into the Gray Wolf Inn, our home base for the next few days, before strolling down the main street to explore West Yellowstone.

West Yellowstone sits just outside the park’s west entrance and offers far more amenities than the more remote Canyon Village in the park’s interior. The town boasts a wide range of restaurants, numerous souvenir stores, adventure tour kiosks, and fishing outfitters, as well as several quality clothing shops catering to tourists. The souvenir stoes offer everything from fridge magnets and keychains to pocket-knives and quirky coffee mugs.

Harry found an ice cream cone that was bigger than the one from Pike Place, Seattle. Not nearly as tastey though. Very bland and a bit plasticy.

I met one of the locals who wasn't very talkative. He was a bit of a stiff to be honest.

We also spotted some fantastic T-shirts sporting funny Yellowstone slogans and some that were just quality shits and jumpers. I treated myself to a high-quality, super-warm hoodie that I’m sure will remain a favourite for years to come.

cattered throughout the open spaces of the town is a herd of 36 painted bison statues, each one decorated with a unique landscape or scene. Harry has an important public safety message about the bison in the park.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, where guests are treated to a complimentary bag of goodies for making s’mores. Just steps from the entrance, a cozy fire pit waits—perfect for roasting marshmallows to golden perfection before indulging in the gooey, sweet delight.

For those who aren’t familiar, s’mores are a classic North American campfire treat made by sandwiching a large, toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two crisp graham crackers. The heat melts the chocolate and softens the marshmallow, creating a sweet, gooey indulgence.