Yellowstone in Five Days

First of all, get a Yellowstone map. Use it while you read this. If you can't get a map right away - be sure to get one before your trip.

What you are going to do is pinpoint your base camp on the map and check out the distances to all the different areas. You will plan each day according to how close each area is to each other. Basically, you will keep your travels confined to one sector of the park each day. I will be dividing the park into four sectors starting now!!!

Southwest sector:

This is the main geyser region of the park. The road in this area was recently redone so you should have smooth sailing. You will typically find Bison herds, Coyotes, and Elk here.

*Geyser Basins and Thermal Areas*

• Upper Geyser Basin - If you wanna see geysers, spend at least a day here. The ones to see are Old Faithful, Grand, Castle, Beehive, Daisy, and Riverside. The small geysers are great to!! This valley has more geysers in it that any other region in the world. Check at the visitor center for geyser info before you go wandering through the basins. You can also find the Old Faithful Inn here. It is the largest log cabin structure in the world!!
  
• Black Sand Basin - Cliff Geyser, Emerald and Rainbow Pool, Sunset Lake
  
• Biscuit Basin - Sapphire Pool and Jewel Geyser
  
• Midway - Excelsior Geyser (Once erupted to three hundred feet!) and Grand Prismatic Spring (One of the largest hotsprings in the world!)
  
• Lower Geyser Basin - This place is awesome. Be sure to check out Great Fountain Geyser on the Firehole Lake Drive and the Fountain Paint Pots Trail (at the end of Firehole Lake Drive). You can almost always see some great geyser action here!

*Waterfalls (short hike or next to road only)*

• Mystic - Behind Biscuit Basin. Requires a very short hike for a big reward!
  
• Firehole - Next to the Firehole Canyon Drive which starts just south of the Madison Campground.
  
• Kepler Cascades - Just east of Old Faithful. Has its own parking lot. Near the trail to the Lone Star Geyser Basin which requires a five mile round trip (so I don't recomend it with your time constraints!

Northwest sector:

In this area expect lots of elk and the occasional bear. The roads here are awful!!

*Geyser Basins and Thermal Areas*

• Norris - Very different from other basins because the water here is acidic. A nice little hike through both areas (Porcelain and Back Basins). Features of intrest are: Steamboat Geyser (Which had its last eruption before I started high school, but when it does go, it is the largest geyser in the world at nearly 400 feet!), Echinus Geyser (usually a faithful performer, it has been a dud this year), all of the porcelain basin (you never know which hole might suddenly go!), and all the hot springs because of there acidically induced appearance. This place is also one of my favorites!
  
• Artist Paint Pots- Located in the Gibbon Geyser Basin, just a short hike through the woods off the grand loop. Here you will find some interesting colored pools and some great mud pots.
• Mammoth Hot Springs- Lots of nice looking spring formations and a great deal of history. Be sure to take the Upper Terrace Loop road and stop in at the Mammoth Museum.
  
• Roaring Mountain- a mountainside taken over by fumaroles partway between Norris and Mammoth. Very creepy!

*Waterfalls*

• Wraith Falls- Between Mammoth and Roosevelt. The short hike is worth it!
  
• Gibbon Falls- Right next to the road in the canyon between Madison and Norris
  
• Undine Falls- Just a few miles east of Mammoth Hot Springs. These very picturesque falls are easily viewed from a turn off on the road.
  
• Rustic Falls- At the head of Golden Gate Canyon right after you pass Bunsen Peak going north. The first pull off will allow you to see these falls well.

Northeast sector:

*Geyser Basins and Thermal Areas*

None really - There is Soda Butte - a long extinct spring cone between Roosevelt and the NE entrance. That is about is for easily accessable thermal stuff.

*Animals*

Best place in the park to see animals. The Lamar Valley (between Roosevelt and NE entrance) is a great place to stop and look for animals. There are also frequently bear sightings near Mt. Washburn.

*Waterfalls*

• Tower Falls - just SE of Roosevelt - the best if viewed from the bottom.
  
• Canyon - Upper and Lower Falls - Nice as well. Frequently photographed and almost as infamous as Old Faithful.

*Hikes*

The trails around Canyon and the hike to the top of Mt. Washburn. You should see bighorn sheep if you hike Mt. Washburn.

Southeast sector:

This is the sector I know the least about. (sorry!)

*Geyser Basins and Thermal Areas*

• Mud Volcano - Lots of mud and acidic activity (similar to Norris). If you thought the other areas smelled bad, watch out for this one!!! A nice little hike. Oh, and a thermal feature broke out in the parking lot there last summer. Might be neat to check out!
  
• West Thumb - The great thing about this basin is that it is the only easily accesed basin that sits on the edge of a lake. Makes for some great scenery. This area has been doing some interesting stuff over the past decade so you never know what you might see there. (The road between Fishing Bridge and West Thumb as you near West Thumb also has some neat features along it.
  
• Steamboat Point - (I think that is the name of it!!) Basically some fumeroles next to the road on the eastern side of the lake.

• Lewis Falls - a small waterfall just south of Lewis Lake on the road between The South Entrance and West Thumb
  
• Moose Falls - A short hike just north of the South Entrance leads you to these falls.

• The Hayden Valley is the place to go if you need to see animals. Pull off the road at a turnout and check out the valley. Don't stray out into it though (unless you are careful) because this is definately bear country. I can almost gaurantee you that you will see something here.
  
• I have heard that you can sometimes see pelicans near Fishing Bridge, but I have never seen them myself.

I don't really know of any short ones. (Other than the one to Moose Falls!)

Day One - SW sector

Upper Geyser Basin - This one should take all day!! Stop by the visitor center to check for predicted geyser eruption times. Take the Mystic Falls hike and be sure to hit each geyser basin and the Kepler Cascades. Be sure to spend the evening after it is dark checking out the Old Faithful Inn. Having a drink or plaing cards on one of the levels in the lobby can be a great experience.

Spend the morning in the Canyon area. Take some of the short hikes in the area. In the afternoon, check out Mt. Washburn and Tower Falls (don't hike to the top of Mt. Washburn unless you really want to spend at least 5 to 6 hours there. It is a great hike if you decide to devote most of your day to it). At Tower Falls, be sure to hike to the bottom. Spend late afternoon and early evening in the Lamar Valley watching for animals.

The Lower Geyser Basin is a must!! Be sure to see Great Fountain Geyser on Firehole Lake Drive (prediction times are posted at the Old Faithful Visitor Center and at the geyser). Also make sure to visit Fountain Paint Pots - ask around to see if you can get a predicted time for Fountain Geyser (different from Great Fountain). This geyser has no posted predictions, but as of the past couple of years has been predictable.

Also check out the Gibbon Valley between Norris and Madison. See Gibbon Falls and Beryl Spring. Also, take the hike to Artist Paint Pots.

Visit West Thumb in the morning (Should look great as the sun rises!) Work your way up the lake through out late morning and early afternoon enjoying the scenery along the way. Stop at Fishing Bridge if you like. Hit Mud Volcano at Mid-afternoon. Spent Late Afternoon and early evening animal watching in the Hayden Valley.

Morning in Norris. Visit basins (the back Basin is a great little hike - see if you can tell where the old road used to go!)Lunch and the afternoon in Mammoth. Hike the Terraces and drive the Upper Terrace loop road. Explore the town itself if you get a chance. Also, if you get a chance - take the Wraith Falls hike east of Mammoth.