Gary and I were both excited to finally visit Yellowstone, having heard countless stories of epic hikes and seen gorgeous photos of waterfalls and roaming wildlife. We entered through the East Gate, after staying at a campground I found online in a tiny town called Wapiti, about 30 minutes from the park entrance.
What we didn’t realize is that once you’re in the park, it takes another 30 minutes or more to get to anything. Yellowstone is the largest national park in the lower 48, with over 2 million acres. Only Alaska’s parks are bigger — and we’re talking 8 million+ acres up there!
Then there’s the construction. Lots of it.
Don’t get me wrong — Yellowstone Lake is big and serene, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is breathtaking, and the geological features are extraordinary. It’s just that… everything is so spread out, and for us, it didn’t quite match the beauty or feel of some of the other parks we’ve loved.
Still, there were highlights.
We spotted the cutest bison hanging out by a mud pot field — though we didn’t get to see the famous herds roaming across the open valleys. On our second day, the landscape felt like a science documentary come to life. I joked that I felt like Bill Nye the Science Guy.
We saw:
- Boiling mud pots
- Long, cascading waterfalls
- Vast, colorful canyons
- Old Faithful and lesser-known but equally fascinating geysers
- Fumaroles — rock formations that smoke like chimneys
- Sulfur pools and hot springs
- Expansive, beautifully carved valleys
- And of course, Lake Yellowstone
It wasn’t until standing near one of the hot springs that I truly grasped what Yellowstone is — an active supervolcano, lying just eight miles below our feet. Millions of years ago, a massive volcanic explosion formed the caldera we now walk through and photograph. It’s a little unsettling to realize that all this beauty and wonder sits atop so much power, heat, and volatility.
There we were — staring off into serene landscapes, scanning for bison — all while standing on top of a sleeping giant.