Travel Guide: Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, Wy

The two weeks prior to Memorial Day is a wonderful time to view the newly born wildlife. When the crowds start to gather over the holiday, they will move out from the low lying areas and be less visible. Elk, bison, bighorn sheep and bear are readily accessible. Moose are prevalent in the Teton area. I have met several people who make regular visits at that time to track the progress of certain animals and their offspring. (Rosie the Black Bear is a popular one) Talk to the rangers for the latest updates on what has been spotted and where. They will be very helpful if they understand you will not be disturbing the wildlife. Also be on the lookout for others parked along the road with cameras and spotting scopes. They have already seen what you are looking for!

Since the crowds are smaller, it is easier to shoot around the geysers as well. The Upper Geyser Basin has some spectacular geysers. Take the 200 yard walk up to Solitary Geyser. It erupts every 4 to 10 minutes and there will probably be nobody there. Morning Glory pool is a colorful treat, especially contrasted against the stark, grey surroundings. Make sure to bring a rain cover for your camera and a keep a UV filter on your lens. The hard water from the spray can be a bugger to clean. If you wear glasses, bring a hat with a visor. (ask me how I know this one!)

The weather can be iffy that time of year. The Northeast entrance will more than likely be closed because of snow, however the North entrance is plowed year round. Take that into consideration when planning your route. You may wish to check with the park before you depart to make certain your planned entrance is open.   

Dress warmly and be prepared for quickly changing conditions. Snow is likely that time of year. Camping is restricted in certain parts of the park due to bear activity, but there are still plenty of options. The Mammoth Hot Springs area has some nice hotel/condo options as well.

These are a few sample shots taken with my first forray into the digital age with an Oly 750 UZ. I have countless other film shots in dire need of scanning.

Elk in velvet (taken from the window of the van)


Morning Glory Pool


Grotto Geyser

Hi All,

I couldn’t resist posting this when I saw the original ‘new’ thread on locations; I did something similar recently for a couple of Dyxumers and a colleague. It appeared to go down well so I thought why not share. Apologies for the length but I am totally in awe of this location and just want to share this with you all. The thread to the Summer images of mine can be found here

Grand Tetons

A great area for hiking in and a real contrast to Yellowstone, even though it is barely an hour drive away.

The main thing here is the backdrop – always the Grand Teton Range to act as a backdrop to images and so this can act as ‘wallpaper’ in so many different and interesting ways.

1. Jenny Lake - Take a one-way trip across the Lake by boat to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point (and, if you are feeling adventurous, Cascade Canyon). Return to the Boat stage then trek either anti-clockwise (2 miles) or Clockwise (5 miles) round the lake back to the trailhead.

2. In the Southern part of the Park there is a recently developed area called Laurance S. Rockefeller Reserve which can be approached via the Granite Canyon entrance from Jackson. This is a very beautiful walk through sage brush and meadows then into woodland. Lots of wildlife available (birds abound as well). From here you can get directly to Phelps Lake and all the while you get views across to the peaks of the Teton Range

3. Taggart Lake trail - you can also include Bradley Lake but on the return take the Beaver Creek trail - this loop takes you back to the trailhead at the car park but you go over the next valley and through some good animal habitat with lovely viewpoints.

4. From Coulter Bay lodge/Marina you can hike out round a promontory via Swan Lake/Heron Point and Hermitage Point - there are some great views of the Mountains from here and lovely reflections in Jackson Lake. Good Moose/Beaver territory.

5. Take a trip up to Antelope Flats Road - Mormon Row (everyone does it!) - off highway 191 about 3 miles north of the junction with the Moose road. Just up from here is Schwabacher Landing (dirt track off the same highway), left about 1 or 2 miles further North. Great walk along a small off-shoot of the Snake River and home to Beaver and Herons. Spent ages here photographing both. It is also great for reflections of the mountains in the water.

6. Oxbow Bend. The ‘classic’ point for image taking but also a great place for wildlife – Elk, Bear, Moose and Coyote all seen here. The view back to the Tetons will never fail to take your breath away.

Yellowstone.

Where to start.......

1. Mount Washburn. The MUST DO trek in all of Yellowstone. There are two start points for this; both have the same distance/elevation increase but I would tend to favour starting from the Dunraven Pass car park - it seemed to us to be slightly less exposed. This goes from 8800 to 10300 feet in altitude with great views all the way up and from the top.

2. Fairy Falls. This starts at the back of Midway Geyser Basin and is one of the highest waterfalls. There is also an extension up to Imperial Geyser beyond the waterfall (well worth it when we were there!); you can then return the same way or go via the Meadows loop back to the Bike Track and back via Goose Lake. This will be about 9 miles or so but, be warned, the path is a little indistinct in parts and we did have to walk through some geothermal run-offs but it is worth it (hint: the logs are placed in a rough line to guide you on the less identified parts of the trail!). You can also get an image of the Grand Prismatic Spring from above by climbing up the hillside next to the path along the walk. No, I didn't do it but now wished I had!

3. South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to Artists Point, then back via a Meadows loop. This is a great walk and, again, takes you through semi-active geothermal areas. Really interesting! You should see lots of wildlife (Elk etc.) as you drop back down to the trailhead. Note: Artists Point is horribly busy with tourists but once you are 100M away they all disappear.... It also affords multiple vies back down the Canyon towards the upper and lower Falls.

4. We found a trail starting from Indian Pond (east of Fishing Bridge) that loops out to skirt the shoreline of the Lake. Very different changes in the make up of the land etc. and loops back round to the start. Great place for Bison (especially if they block the path and won't move........). This gives very good and varied views of the Lake.

5. Geothermal Areas. Lots of them! You have to do Old Faithful (very regulated as it happens) but, for us, the best sites were the following:

5.1. West Thumb Geyser basin - Lots of activity/variation and the backdrop of the lake. I think this was one of our favourites.

5.2. Black Sands/Biscuit Basins - very colourful run-offs and variations in geyser types and activity. Black Sands also has Firehole Creek running through it so a great counterpoint for images

5.3. Norris Geyser Basin - very, very spooky! A very large area of almost desolation, but well worth the effort to walk round though.

5.4. Firehole Lake Drive. This is a one-way loop road off the main highway between Madison and Old Faithful that comes out opposite the entrance to Fountain Paint Pot. Some great thermal areas in this short (but very rewarding) drive with plenty of opportunities for stopping off. Actually, I really rate this for diversity and accessibility - would be near the top of my list to go back to.

6. Lower Canyon Falls lookout - well worth the walk down as you sit just above the lower falls drop; I can't recall being that close to so much water at such a force. On this topic, both this viewpoint and the walk down to Uncle Tom's viewpoint on the South Rim are well worth it - very spectacular, even in the summer!

7 Pelican Creek - just East from Fishing Bridge and is a short but very rewarding walk to Yellowstone Lake. Has great views across the road back towards the Yellowstone River/Canyon area and this road out of Fishing Bridge also takes you to Indian Pond. Further along the lake edge there are some fascinating thermal areas in Mary Bay which, when we were there in the summer, were ablaze with colour (have you done a search for my original Yellowstone threads posted last year?) as you head towards Steamboat Point. Follow this road on and there is a turn-off to Lake Butte overlook which has a high elevation – you get a fascinating view of the Lodgepole Pine forests that were badly affected by the fires in the 1980’s and create a really interesting series of patterns in the landscape

8. Lamar Valley. Upper part of the Park and a very different landscape; thermal ‘mounds’ create a wonderful rolling landscape and the area is renowned for the wildlife in both Winter and Summer – plenty of Bison and wolf packs also tend to operate in this area

9. Geysers - Cannot even begin to tell you where to look! Old Faithful I've mentioned but take a walk all the way round the basin - especially go up to the overlook and along the ridge to Solitary Geyser all on it's own up there - it's generally very quiet and you seem to have the whole place to yourselves!

10. Madison Valley – I think the road in from West Yellowstone along the Madison Valley, winter or summer, has to be one of the most beautiful drives anywhere, and is a great introduction to the vastness of Yellowstone. Plenty of opportunity for landscape images and Elk aer very common there as well as other animals (bear and Wolf lately).

I cannot recommend too highly the NPS service for their Geyser Watch service – it’s pretty accurate (as this could ever be!) and it appears to be kept up to date. Word of encouragement – if you se a Geyser going off that does not appear on their ‘lists’ let them know – the will be very grateful!

Wildlife:

-     Bison/buffalo will be around and probably close enough to photograph with a moderate zoom etc.
-     Elk will also certainly be around and I would recommend a run up the Madison River towards West Yellowstone as they tend to congregate around there at most times of the year (we saw them in summer and winter there - there's also Wolf activity in tat part of the park now as well so you may be doubly lucky)
-     Moose - good luck; if you see one then you have done better than we have so far
-     Coyote – very common but our experience was that they were much less approachable in the summer than the winter; also summer tend to be as lone animals; in the winter you may see more working together in the same area.
-     Bears. Ah, bears. I cannot guarantee you will see one or any; we saw a couple of Grizzly's (one on the Madison actually) and one Black bear (Lamar Valley - another good 'Furry' location but can be busy); they tend to go up into the mountains in the summer but the seasons are so short in Yellowstone you may be lucky...
-     Otters – we saw one family group opposite the LeHardys Rapids on the Yellowstone river, but they are throughout the Park near the main waterways so you could be lucky.
-     Pronghorn – Seen around Gardiner (North Entrance) and also along the Lamar Valley
-     Bald Eagles – can be seen anywhere in Yellowstone
-     Ospreys – very common in the Tetons and around Jackson Hole itself
-     Just remember; do not approach wildlife within 50 -100 yards. I know that, you know that, unfortunately no-one has ever seemed to tell the animals that....

This is by no means an exhaustive list(!) but the items that come to mind first. Quite a few of these can be done in a single day if you are committed to getting around....

As far as eating/provisions are concerned, all the main 'centres' in the park have reasonable to good Grocery stores. The best ones (for us) were Coulter Bay in the Tetons and, in the same park (but not run by the same group) was Dornan's; this has something of repute about it; it is a combined General store, shop, restaurant (Pizza and Pasta) and I would recommend you go and look at the Wine store there - the best in the whole region by all accounts. You can also get made-to-order sandwiches there as well.

In Yellowstone, there are really good stores at Old Faithful (though busy), Canyon, Fishing Bridge (generally, a really nice place!) and Mammoth.

Evening meals are generally good in most establishments but recommendations would be Mammoth, Grant Village, Lake, Canyon and, in Grand Teton, Signal Mountain Lodge has a good pair of restaurants (depending on how much you want to pay but we found the cheaper one more than acceptable) both with balconies overlooking the lake. There are other options in addition to these but, between them (and after a long day on the trails) something simple is all you really want.

A couple of things I forgot to mention; take plenty of insect repellent as we found them to be quite persistent, and in the summer IF the weather remains dry the trails will be very, very dusty; I don't think our hiking boots and socks will ever recover - it's very fine dust that seems to get everywhere so watch out with the camera gear as well!

Getting around there is very easy but be warned - the speed limits are enforced and some distances can be very deceptive; we said we would not have a holiday with much driving this time after our last North American trip where we did 2800 miles across various states; so we did 2200 miles in 18 days in Yellowstone and the Tetons.... Don't ask where all that came from!

Anyway, have a great time (as if you couldn't!) and I look forward to all these images when you return.

Kind regards,

Neil

There is an iPhone/iPod app for Yellowstone that has world-class photos from all of the best places with the GPS locations, times of day and lenses used. There is a free trial available at www.travelphotoguides.com.

The photographer was Tom Murphy. He has been featured in National Geographic and is considered the best in Yellowstone.