Yellowstone - Hiking and Elk Sightings

On Sunday, our second day in Yellowstone National Park, we started the day off with another Geyser Loop, the Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail. While many of the Geysers and Springs look the same after a while, this path had some cool bubbling mud pots, which we hadn't seen before.


A bubbling Mud Pot
The main roads of Yellowstone form a figure eight, so are commonly referred to as the Upper and Lower Loops. On Sunday we drove around the entire Lower Loop, which really gives you a sense of just how big the park is - the Lower Loop road alone is 105 miles long! We got great views of Yellowstone Lake and even stopped off for a picnic lunch with a view.

Lunch with a View

We hiked the Elephant Back Trail, a 3.5 mile path with an 800 foot increase in elevation. Though the trail was muddy from recent rains and very steep in places, we took our time and enjoyed the gorgeous view from the top.

Jason and Nicki at the top of Elephant Back


View from the Top, Elephant Back Trail
We continued our drive around the loop and finally spotted some Elk!


Then off to Artist's Point overlooking the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Here you have an amazing view of the Lower Yellowstone Falls.

Yellowstone Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
We were also amused by the 'No Hiking' signs, since 2 feet behind the sign is a rocky cliff into the canyon. Seems as though no hiking would go without saying...


The rest of our shots from Sunday are below:

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We really just scratched the surface of this enormous park, so we already know we'll be back some day!