Canyon | Yellowstone Treasures

Jul

Short hikes

Comments Off

This is a great time of year to go hiking. Some delightful short hikes can be taken by going partway on a long backcountry trail. For example, start the Seven-Mile Hole Trail along Yellowstone Canyon’s north rim or head toward Point Sublime on the south rim. If you are interested in this one, take a look at the Canyon Area map.

Another idea is to start the Pebble Creek Trail. Park at the upstream end of Pebble Creek Campground (9.7 miles after the Northeast Entrance). Layers and layers of limestone about 350 million years old are exposed in cliffs in a lovely canyon. Look closely at the rock to see bits of tiny marine organisms.

For a fantastic view of Yellowstone Lake and a trail with some interesting small hydrothermal features and great wildflowers, take the Yellowstone Lake Overlook Trail south from West Thumb Geyser Basin.

walks list in Yellowstone Treasures You can certainly find good sources for longer hikes, but author Janet Chapple believes there are lots of older people and also young families who want to do less ambitious walking and would like to know where the best hikes for them are. So she has put together a chart of “56 Recommended Short Walks in Yellowstone” starting on page 366. See the “How to Find Great Hikes in Yellowstone” nugget for more about that list and other possible hikes to choose among.

—Editor Beth Chapple

Mar

What to see and do near Canyon Village

Categories: Trip planning

Tags: birds, caldera, Canyon, hiking, horses, visitor centers

Comments Off

Yellowstone Canyon from Inspiration Point

Canyon colors from Inspiration Point

Are you planning a trip to Yellowstone? Here are some tips about what you can visit when you are in the right middle section of the figure 8 known as the Grand Loop Road. (See the main map to orient yourself.)

At the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, marvel at the world’s most spectacular combination of rainbow-colored canyon walls and breathtaking waterfalls.
For an unusual and uncrowded view into the Yellowstone River canyon across the river from the busy Tower Fall area, take the Specimen Ridge Trail from the Yellowstone River picnic area. You can see Calcite Springs and sometimes spy osprey or peregrine falcon nests in the canyon.
Horses are available at Canyon, Mammoth, and Tower-Roosevelt Junctions, for hire from the park concessionaire.
Opened at the end of August 2006, the beautifully upgraded Canyon Visitor Center displays the volcanic source of Yellowstone’s wonders in ways that all can understand. Exhibits about the caldera eruptions, subsequent lava flows, glacial effects, and earthquakes bring you up to date on scientific knowledge about the park’s geology. Don’t miss it when you visit the Canyon area!

There’s more about what to see and do at and in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone Treasures, fourth edition, pages 179-188. Here is the Canyon Area: Village and Falls map from that section of the guidebook.

–Editor and webmaster, Beth Chapple

Dec

Recommended walks in Yellowstone Park

Categories: Trip planning, Winter

Tags: Canyon, hiking, roads, skiing, snowshoes, trails, updates

Comments Off

Until the park reopens fully next April, we won’t be able to follow any of its wonderful trails except for those open to skiing and snowshoeing. But I have happy memories—as well as anticipation for my own future use—of walking wonderful Yellowstone trails in the summer season.

Yellowstone Treasures’ first edition (2002) listed 59 trails that I recommend, having walked all of them myself, most of them several times. But now in the fourth edition we’re down to 56, and here’s my chance to explain what happened to those three lost trails!

First, in the Canyon area, the trail from Artists’ Point east along the canyon’s south rim, where I’ve written (on page 182 in the new edition) that you can see “some of the most awe-inspiring sunset colors you will see anywhere, with the sky and canyon rivaling each other on a beautiful evening.” This trail is not maintained for casual walkers. The National Park Service warns hikers of uneven footing and steep drop-offs; it’s also narrow and sometimes slippery.

Next, the trail to the base of Tower Fall has proven so difficult to maintain over the years that it disappeared from my table of walks (pages 366 to 368) as early as the second edition of Yellowstone Treasures, which came out in 2005. The picture below shows Tower Fall from the easily accessible viewing platform.

Most recently, I’ve had to remove a quiet, little-used, level road with many wildflowers and lovely mountain views that was formerly open to biking and walking, This was a two mile (in and out) route leaving the main road south of Swan Lake in the northwestern part of the park. It has been closed for public use for a year or two now and is only a service road.

For your information: The park will not reopen until December 15; from then on until early March there will be relatively limited access. Only snow coaches and snowmobiles may use the groomed roads. The one road that is plowed for cars and trucks goes from the North Entrance at Gardiner to the Northeast Entrance and on to Cooke City. Of course, winter is the best time to see wolves along that road, especially in the Lamar Valley.

Feb

Yellowstone’s hotels will remain in good hands

Categories: Trip planning

Tags: cabins, Canyon, lodgings

Comments Off

Good news arrived in my inbox first thing this morning [February 2013]! Xanterra Parks and Resorts will continue to manage the hotels, restaurants, and some activities in Yellowstone.

I have known the concessionaire contract was up for renewal but not exactly when a new one would be awarded. As a yearly (or oftener) visitor to the park, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Xanterra, and I find they keep getting better. Rooms are always clean and equipped as promised, restaurant food has been getting better, and their personnel is pleasant, helpful, and seems content to be working there. Many of the seasonal help return summer after summer.
Xanterra has also embarked on making the park greener, with recycling, serving locally obtained food products when possible, and other worthwhile projects. A major part of their new contract involves redevelopment of the dilapidating cabins at Canyon. Hooray!

An excellent article about Xanterra’s new contract by Ruffin Prevost appears at:
http://www.yellowstonegate.com/2013/02/park-service-chooses-xanterra-for-20year-yellowstone-concessions-contract/

All posts tagged Canyon

Short hikes

What to see and do near Canyon Village

Recommended walks in Yellowstone Park

Yellowstone’s hotels will remain in good hands