Yellowstone Highlights

Even though this is a waterfalls website, we recognize that there are many highlights in Yellowstone National Park (both involving and not involving waterfalls).

So we’ve come up with this page to pay homage to some of the highlights that we think are worth mentioning as you try to figure out what to see and do in your own trip plans.

While I recognize that this list is by no means exhaustive and that it is highly subjective, at least you have an idea of what we loved about the Nation’s first National Park (and possibly the first one in the world).

So without further adieu, here are the highlights in no particular order…

The Upper Geyser Basin is home to many predictable geysers, and the famous Old Faithful Geyser is only one of these.

We’ve managed to witness others like the Daisy Geyser as well as the Grand Geyser (both of which also perform pretty regularly albeit without quite the precision of Old Faithful).

We were able to see a table of estimated eruption times at the Old Faithful Visitor Center in the south end of the Upper Geyser Basin.

And every once in a while, the rangers there report on an imminent eruption by a not-so-regular geyser such as the Beehive Geyser, which we were very fortunate to see go off!

All throughout Yellowstone, there were geothermal springs and pools each exhibiting their own color and character.

Perhaps the most dramatic of these pools were in the Upper and Midway Geyser Basins where we saw the Morning Glory Pool as well as the Grand Prismatic Spring, respectively.

There were also a plethora of other springs and pools (many of which had names) like the Belgian Spring, Shield Spring, Heart Spring, Sapphire Pool, and countless others.

It just goes to show you how unique the Yellowstone ecosystem is, especially when you account for the fact that the earth’s crust is so thin here because we’re essentially standing within the caldera of a supervolcano!

Of all the features in Yellowstone National Park, none exhibit quite the following and thrill than seeing the wildlife in their native habitat without fences nor cages.

In fact, they are as much of the experience and landscape as you are when you roam through the park. The fact that these wildlife are in fact wild and unpredictable that is what yields that thrill as you’re never quite sure what they’re going to do next.

Sometimes it’s almost as if some of the wildlife are the celebrities in the park. This is especially true of bear sightings which often result in traffic jams of rubbernecking tourists called “bear jams.” There are also traffic jams caused by bison herds blocking the road, which we witnessed (actually got caught up in) on one of our trips.

Some wildlife spotting hotspots include Lamar Valley which is known for wolf sightings (which were re-introduced to the park in 1995) as well as the plains of Hayden Valley.

This was perhaps the most dramatic scenic spot in the entire park. After all, it featured the Yellowstone River cutting right through the sulfur-caked cliffs that earned the park its name of “yellowstone”.

As the sun brings out the canyon’s hues (as well as that of the water), we witnessed the kaleidoscope of colors looking both upstream towards the iconic Lower Falls as well as downstream in the direction of the Seven Mile Hole.

A highlights list wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the National Park’s waterfalls!

Naturally since this is a waterfalls website, we’ve got numerous write-ups that extensively cover these features that are every bit as iconic and integral as the highlights mentioned above on this page.