Day 3: Yellowstone South Entrance to West Loop
Drive Time: 5.5 hours
On day three of our family road trip to Yellowstone, we headed north from our lodging at Headwaters Lodge Flagg Ranch, passing through the South Entrance & heading towards Grant Village. Our first stop was Moose Falls, which is close to the South Entrance. It was a short, moderately steep walk to the waterfall & provided wonderful photo ops (especially in the early morning light) — a MUST stop if you’re planning your own trip. 
Continuing north we reached Lewis Falls & stopped again for great photo ops & a quick steep climb up to the top viewing point.
Overlook Trail Lewis Falls
Lewis Falls
Lewis Falls
Lewis Falls Overlook
Hopping back in the car, we drove past Lewis Lake & on until we reached Grant Village, where we picked up lunch provisions & shopped for souvenirs (they had a good selection of hydration bags, sandals & other gear in case you arrive ill-prepared). Grant was one of the few places in Yellowstone that we had full AT&T signal. After Grant, we headed west towards Old Faithful village, stopping at Kepler Cascades (because we can never get enough waterfalls).
We got to Old Faithful early (before 10am), which meant we didn’t have to fight crowds & search for parking. It also meant we could spend our time exploring Old Faithful Inn, leisurely sipping our Huckleberry Mochas (they had a small cafe on the 2nd floor). Not sure that I’d stay at the inn because of the crowds, but I LOVED the architecture of this building! It was built in 1903 and is considered to be the largest log structure in the world.
According to Wikipedia, Old Faithful Inn is “an example of rustic resort architecture, a style which is also known as National Park Service Rustic.”
Old Faithful Inn
Old Faithful Inn
Old Faithful Inn
Old Faithful Inn
Old Faithful Inn
The Old Faithful Visitor Center had good educational displays & excellent views of the famous geyser, but we skipped the rest of this area. There were walking trails & observation points here, but we felt we could see what we wanted from the Visitor Center & wanted to spend more time at prettier locations. For day hikes in this area, click HERE.
Before you judge me about sticking my nose up over Old Faithful, take a look at these photos. There were MUCH prettier geysers & springs to see just past Old Faithful. Our favorites were Black Sand Basin & Midway Geyser Basin (which included Grand Prismatic Spring & Excelsior Geyser). Midway was crowded & the parking lot was full, but it was well worth parking on the road & walking to. There was a trail that followed the side of the road & led to the parking lot, & on our way back someone had begun to build teepees along the path.
Black Sand Basin
Black Sand Basin
Black Sand Basin
Yvonne @ Black Sand Basin
Black Sand Basin
Black Sand Basin
David at Flood Geyser
Firehole River
Runoff from Excelsior into Firehole River
Opal Pool (i think)
Excelsior Geyser
Grand Prismatic
Grand Prismatic
Turquoise Pool
Turquoise Pool
Teepee on walk to Midway
Hike to Fairy Falls for an excellent view of the Midway Geyser area. Expect it to be a popular hike, so get there early if you can. It’s 5 miles round trip, but you can combine it with Queen’s Laundry & Sentinel Meadows trails for a longer route. The Firehole River runs through this area, making a pretty contrast to the bacteria-colored springs. If you want a shorter waterfall hike, try Mystic Falls (2.5mi loop), which begins at Biscuit Basin (between Old Faithful & Midway).
After Midway, we took two scenic detours: Firehole Lake Drive & Firehole Canyon Drive. The lake drive was practically deserted, which was fine by us because we were able to enjoy taking our time snapping photos of birds & geysers. The canyon drive was AWESOME & is a MUST SEE. It’s a one-way road, so if you’re coming up from the south you’ll pass the road before reaching the entrance. We stopped at every spot we could along this drive because it was just so gorgeous. Rushing water, towering trees & colorful wildflowers — what’s not to love! We saw quite a few people sitting in lawn chairs while their kids swam in the river. It’s the only place in Yellowstone with changing facilities for swimming, so you can imagine why it’s so popular.
Firehole Canyon Drive
Firehole Canyon Drive
Firehole Canyon Drive
Firehole Canyon Drive
David at Firehole River
Firehole Canyon Drive
White Dome Geyser
Western Tanager bird
Firehole Canyon Drive
Firehole River
Back in the car on the main road, we reached the Madison junction & turned east towards Norris. We had already driven this route on our first day when we drove from West Yellowstone to Gardiner, so the only stop we made was to eat lunch at the Gibbon Falls picnic area (which was on a quiet turnoff beside the Gibbon River). Then onward towards Canyon Village, where we walked to the Brink of Upper Falls & Artist’s Point. By this time it was afternoon, so the car line to park at Artist’s Point was long but WELL worth the wait. Both of these offered breathtaking viewpoints & and short, easy trails. At Upper Falls, we kept walking past the falls, away from the crowds, & found an old bridge with equally pretty views. Had this been a hiking trip, we would have continued along the trail to Artist’s Point…but this was a family trip…so we drove. As we were leaving this area, we saw the unmistakable signs of bear…park rangers & TONS of cars on the side of the road. Like the crazy tourist I had become, I hopped out of a moving vehicle to snap a closeup of something that could easily maul me to death. But hey, I believe in the saying “you don’t have to run faster than the bear, you just have to run faster than the guy next to you.”
Gibbon River
Gibbon River
Gibbon River
Upper Falls
Upper Falls
Upper Falls
Upper Falls Trail
Canyon Bridge
Yellowstone River
Artist Point
Artist Point
Artist Point Canyon
Black Bear
Canyon Bridge near Artist Point
Driving through Hayden Valley, we saw more bison & elk. There was a pullout near LeHardys Rapids, with picnic tables & a nice nature trail along the Yellowstone River. We stopped at Fishing Bridge & drove a few miles towards the East Entrance, but it was under construction & there wasn’t much to see (other than expansive views of Lake Yellowstone & a secluded beach near Steamboat Point).
Hayden Valley
Yellowstone River
Eric at Yellowstone River
Mother & her sons
Yellowstone River
Bison near Fishing Bridge
Steamboat Point
Wildflowers
Our day ended with a hunt for Vietnamese food in Grant Village. Handy dandy librarian Clare had written down “eat pho in Grant” but we walked all over that place & didn’t see it. We DID, however, walk into the Grant Village Dining Room (thinking it looked Asian) & enjoyed a nice dinner there. Apparently, the 2016 blog post I read about “new healthy” dining options at Yellowstone was no longer current. 🙂
