Part 1 – West Yellowstone to Old Faithful

Part 1 of an 8 part virtual tour of Yellowstone National Park. Today’s featured tour route is West Yellowstone to Old Faithful which you can explore first hand in Austin-lehman’s Yellowstone Vacation Packages.

West Yellowstone to Old Faithful, Part 1 from Montana Office of Tourism on Vimeo.

The west entrance of Yellowstone National Park is located just outside of the small Montana town that is aptly named West Yellowstone. The highway winds along the Madison River and you’ll have plenty of opportunity to see some great wildlife right off the bat. You may see a majestic bald eagle fishing in the river as you drive right by a giant eagle’s nest. You might even see an immature bald eagle waiting patiently to leave the nest.

As you turn left and head towards the Lower Geyser Basin, the road will follow the Firehole River, which is one of 2 major tributaries of the Madison River.  Hundreds of geothermal features empty into the river, which got its name from the steam that commonly rises from it.

A walk along the boardwalks of Lower Geyser Basin will give you a great introduction to the park’s thermal features. You’ll see geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots, like the ever-bubbling Fountain Paint Pots. A few miles down the road is the Midway Geyser Basin, home of the breathtaking Grand Prismatic Spring. Grand Prismatic is the largest natural hot spring in Yellowstone and the 3rd largest hot spring in the world!

Today’s final stop is at the Upper Geyser Basin, home of the world-famous Old Faithful geyser. The Upper Geyser Basin is about 2 square miles in area and contains almost one-quarter of all of the geysers on Earth. You’ll also have the chance to see the Old Faithful Inn, which was completed in 1904 and is one of the largest log buildings in the world!

The combination of thermal features and wildlife make this the perfect introduction to Yellowstone Park!

Thanks for coming along on Part 1 of our Virtual Tour of Yellowstone National Park. Tomorrow we’ll tour from Old Faithful to Fishing Bridge.