Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [403]
Continuing south, you travel through the Washburn Range, an area in which the 1988 fire ran especially hot and fast. The terrain changes dramatically as the road climbs, as well as along some major hills toward Mount Washburn. There are trailheads for the Mount Washburn Trail, one of our favorites, on each side of the summit.
As you approach Dunraven Pass (8,859 ft.), keep your eyes peeled for the shy mountain sheep—this is one of their prime habitats. One mile farther south is the Washburn Hot Springs Overlook, which offers sweeping views of the Grand Canyon. On a clear day, you can see 50 to 100 miles south, beyond Yellowstone Lake.
CANYON VILLAGE
You're in for yet another eyeful when you reach the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Compared to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Yellowstone canyon is relatively narrow; however, the sheer cliffs are equally impressive, descending hundreds of feet to the bottom of a gorge where the Yellowstone River flows. It's also equally colorful, with displays of oranges, reds, yellows, and golds. You won't find thermal vents in Arizona, but you will find them here, a constant reminder of ongoing underground activity.
You should plan on encountering crowds when you reach Canyon Village. The Canyon Visitor Center (☎ 307/ 242-2550) is the place to go for books and a geology exhibit.
An auto tour of the canyon follows North Rim Drive, a two-lane, one-way road that begins in Canyon Village, to your first stop, Inspiration Point. On the way, you'll pass a glacial boulder estimated to weigh 500 tons that was deposited by melting ice more than 10,000 years ago.
At Inspiration Point, a moderately strenuous descent down 57 steps takes you to an overlook with views of the Lower Falls and canyon. There are several other viewpoints you can stop at along North Rim Drive before you reconnect with the main Canyon Village–Yellowstone Lake road, which will take you down to South Rim Drive.
For the adventurous, an alternative to driving from one overlook to another is to negotiate the North Rim Trail, which is slightly more than 2.25 miles long, beginning at Inspiration Point. Unfortunately, the North Rim Trail is not a loop, so if you take the hike, you'll have to backtrack. The footpath brings you closer to what you want to see, and you won't be fighting for elbow room, as you will at the overlooks that are only accessible to cars.
Whether you drive or walk, you should go down to the Upper Falls View, where a .25-mile trail leads down from the parking lot to the brink of the Upper Falls and an overlook within splashing distance of the rushing river and the waterfall. At this point you won't just hear, you'll feel the power of the river as it begins its course down the canyon.
The South Rim Drive leads to several overlooks and better views of the Lower Falls. The most impressive vantage point is from the bottom of Uncle Tom's Trail, a steep, 500-foot steel staircase that begins at the first South Rim parking lot.
South Rim Road continues to a second, lower parking lot and a trail that leads to Artist Point. The astounding view here, one of our favorites in the park, is best in the early morning.
CANYON VILLAGE TO FISHING BRIDGE
The road winds through the Hayden Valley, a vast expanse of beautiful green meadows accented by brown cuts where the soil is eroded along the banks of the Yellowstone River. The valley is now a wide, sprawling area where bison and antelope play and where trumpeter swans, white pelicans, and Canada geese float along the river. This is also a prime grizzly habitat; during early spring, pay close attention to binocular-toting visitors grouped beside the road.
Nature is working at her acidic best at the Sulphur Caldron and Mud Volcano areas, 12 miles south of the Canyon Junction, which the frontier minister Edwin Stanley described as "unsightly, unsavory, and villainous." We think he was right on the money, so you'll not want to miss this area.