Try to allow a minimum of two hours to see more of it. This must be done on foot, but trails are easy and diversions many. The best choice is to start from the back side of Old Faithful, on the trail that crosses the Firehole River to Geyser Hill, and follow the map (or your nose; you can’t get lost here). You can cross the river at several points and return on the other side, making the walk as long or short as you like. You’ll pass dozens of colorful boiling springs and delicate formations of geyserite, a silicate mineral deposited by hot water. Chances are good to see one or more geysers erupt at short range. Keep an eye out for elk and bison. Morning Glory Pool, named for its resemblance to the flower, marks the far end of the basin.
Back in your car, drive north. Black Sand Basin is worth a quick stop, but bypass Biscuit Basin. The road follows the Firehole River several miles to Midway Geyser Basin, where a 20-minute stroll on the boardwalk takes you past the enormous crater of Excelsior Geyser. It erupted for two days in 1985. A huge boiling vat, it produces about 4,000 gallons [15,141.7 liters] of scalding water each minute. The boardwalk continues across the delicate terraces of Grand Prismatic Spring, 370 feet [112.8 meters] wide, the largest and most beautiful hot spring in the park. The bright colors are caused by algae and bacteria, different types of which thrive in different water temperatures.Two miles [3.2 kilometers] farther, turn right on the one-way Firehole Lake Drive to Great Fountain Geyser. Check the prediction board for the estimated time of eruption. If you have time to wait—Great Fountain goes off every 11 hours or so—this eruption is one of the best. A bit farther along is White Dome Geyser. Its cone may be massive, but its eruption is a thin spray. Perhaps centuries ago it had more power. Yellowstone is always changing.
Rejoin the main road at Fou ntain Paint Pot, a cauldron of hot reddish-pinkish mud, blooping and spitting—always entertaining. Any hot spring could become a mud pot with the right balance of acidity, moisture, and clay; however, a constant flow of water keeps most springs clear.
For the next few miles, rest your eyes on meadows and forest. Look for bison on Fountain Flat; also for purple-colored western fringed gentian, the park flower. Fountain Flat Drive is closed to vehicles 1 mile [1.6 kilometers] from the main road. But it’s open to visitors walking to Goose Lake, a peaceful picnic site. The Firehole River, warmed by hot water from springs and geysers along its course, flows through the meadows and along the main road before dropping into a canyon with nice waterfalls; to see them, turn left on Firehole Canyon Drive just before Madison Junction.
At Madison Junction, a left turn follows the Madison River to the West Entrance, but stay on the road to Norris. In this area, the fires of 1988 burned extensively. Their effects—the jagged sweeps of charred lodgepole pine forest—will be visible for a long time. However, billions of new lodgepole pines have since grown back (the fires’ heat released seedlings from cones on the forest floor). And because the fires moved erratically, the burned areas are not far from unburned areas, another source of seeds for regrowth.
The road climbs beside the Gibbon River to Gibbon Falls, and continues through the Gibbon Canyon and large meadows, where elk are commonly seen, to Norris.
Norris Geyser Basin contains the hottest ground in the park, as well as the world’s tallest geyser, Steamboat. Its eruptions are infrequent and unpredictable; it may stay quiet for years at a time. Echinus, however, goes off about once an hour.
Highlights of the drive north include the steamy fumaroles of Roaring Mountain that snore rather than roar a nd Obsidian Cliff, an outcrop containing black volcanic glass that was valued for arrowpoints by Indians throughout the area. The road crosses Gardners Hole, with nice views of the Gallatin Range to the west, and drops toward Mammoth through Golden Gate, cliffs with bright yellow lichen growing on them.
