old faithful area

Junior Ranger program for Yellowstone: http://www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/upload/JR20128-12.pdf

Old Faithful: 
Visitor Center is open year round. 
from :  http://www.trailguidesyellowstone.com/information/upper_geyser_basin_yellowstone.php

Old Faithful

Facility	Opens	Closes
Snow Lodge Geyser Grill Fast Food	Apr. 18	Nov. 2
Snow Lodge, Cabins, Restaurant	May 2	Oct. 19
OF Lower Service Station (credit card fueling available at the pump)	May 2	Oct. 12
OF Lower Store (Basin) General Store	May 23	Sept. 29
OF Upper General Store	May 2	Oct. 13
Wrecker Service	May 2	Oct. 12
Old Faithful Inn; Gift Shop, Dining Room, Bear Paw Deli	May 9	Oct. 12
Old Faithful Lodge	May 16	Oct. 5
Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria	May 16	Oct. 5
Old Faithful Lodge Gift Shop, Bake Shop	May 16	Oct. 5
Old Faithful Clinic	May 16	Oct. 3
Upper Service Station	May 16	Sept. 15
Repair Service	May 23	Sept. 1

Ranger programs: 

8:30a hit the road
9:30 Old Faithful area, hike and view for 2 hours
12:00 lunch
1:00 fairy falls trail 
2:000 grand prismatic parking lot
3:15 firehole canyon
4:45 back at cabin to cook dinner

"Plan on at least two hours for Old Faithful." 32.2 mi from cabin, (50 min) elevation 7349ft.  " Try to miss the lunch time crowd since a lot of people turn up to eat lunch at the restaurant."  From a visitor in August "Be wary of the crowd. If you get there just before she goes off, you've missed it. People get there very very early and crowd around, packed in like sardines."  "Well we had a great visit here in late September and the weather was unbelievable. About 1000 people and we arrived about 30 minutes before it gave us a show. " "Take time to walk over the Firehole river and up Geyser hill where you will see some spectacular sites and if you are really lucky as we were, you will witness Castle Geyser erupting which was more spectacular in my opinion and lasted 20 mins or so " " I suggest you do is do one of the tours with a Ranger that walks around the grounds and listen to the stories and the history." ". I would recommend getting there around 30-40 mins earlier than the time they guesstimate for the next eruption so you can get good seats or standing space."  "Recommend viewing the geyser in an "up wind" position, since the spray of the geyser will obscure the view if viewing from downwind." "Hike to Grand or Riverside at the Old Faithful Loop and wait for fantastic displays!" "The nearby Beehive guyser did erupt nicely though"

Beehive Geyser: Beehive is a favorite of many because of its lovely narrow, tall jet of water. This geyser usually erupts only once during daylight hours, Lately, it has averaged about 12-15 hours between eruptions, with a few extra-long waits of 17 to 19 hours now and then. You can check at the Old Faithful Visitor Center to see if they know when it last erupted.

Doublet Pool: This gorgeous hot spring doesn’t erupt, but it does “thump.” About every half-hour or so, the water level rises to the top of the lacy, scalloped edge and then the thumps start. The thumps come from large gas bubbles that collapse below ground. 

Grand Geyser is consistently the tallest and most spectacular of the predicted geysers. This excitement doesn’t come without a cost though. It has the largest prediction window of the predicted geysers. Even so, it is worth waiting to see. Grand erupts from a pool of water making it a fountain-type geyser as opposed to Old Faithful which is a cone-type geyser. Grand’s interval is usually around 8-12 hours, its height about 150-180 feet and its duration is about 10-12 minutes. It will often stop after about 9 minutes and then restart after a minute or so. This second “burst” and any subsequent bursts are often among the tallest if not the tallest of the eruption. 

Castle Geyser is a very old geyser. Estimates put the age of its 12 foot high cone at 5,000 to 15,000 years. It would take that long to build such a large cone. Even more remarkable is that Castle’s cone sits on top of an even more massive sinter formation deposited by an even earlier spring. Castle is a cone-type geyser. Its interval is usually between 9 and 11 hours. Its maximum height is 60 to 90 feet. The 20 minute water phase of a major eruption is followed by a 40 minute steam phase.
I like this guy's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lushaevans/3938331924/in/photostream/

Grand prismatic Spring is in the midway geyser basin, is the largest hot spring in the park:

200 ft across.  160F water.  Best viewed from on top of the hill off of Fairy Falls Trail.  There is also a boardwalk that starts from the middle geyser basin parking lot and passes very close to the GrPrSpr.  The parking lot for the boardwalk is 38 min, 24.8 mi from cabin, 12 min, 7 mi from Old Faithful parking.



freeze frame walk through the Fairy Falls trail: http://naturevalleytrailview.com/yellow-stone/fairyfalls#/trail-436
The parking for the Fairy Falls trail is 1 mile South of the midway geyser basin parking lot at these coordinates: 44.5144700, -110.8319920

some more specific maps of the geysers around Old Faithful:  http://www.geyserstudy.org/oldsite/ugb_sub_gmap.htm

Firehole canyon Drive to the hot springs in which people may swim 27 min, 16.2 mi from cabin: 
There is a sign for the turn onto Firehole Canyon Drive, if you get to Madison Jcn, you went too far.  30 min, 17.9 mi from Grand Prismatic Spring parking.  "We took this one-way road, and weren't disappointed. This drive is only 2 miles long but you get great views of the Firehole falls and there is a great swimming area"  "There is also a place where you can park, go down a staircase and swim in the river." "Really unique wonder of nature . Beautiful canyon with rapids . The geological area very interesting to behold" "The firehold canyon drive is a picturesque and hilly (paved) road that leads to the swimming spot. There are a couple of basic toilets you can get changed in. A set of stairs leads you down to a small 'beach' area and some rocks where there is a natural pool of water you can swim in. If you are a strong swimmer (and/or willing to climb over the rocks) you can get upstream and then ride the current back, or go a little higher to jump in front of a small cascade which will similarly push you back down to the pool area. Would recommend sandals for the rocks. " "it was still cold at first. I took my six and eight year old up stream a hundred yards or so and floated down. It was a blast. My daughter couldn't get enough. We floated multiple times. It's great on a hot day " "Take the "Canyon Loop Drive", you'll need to go to the north end as it's One-Way, is the answer. drive slowly and keep a sharp watch on your right. You'll see parked cars pretty soon, where the Firehole widens out into a slow, flat run."

The one-way Firehole Lake drive



Firehole Canyon Drive:

Saturday Sept 20

rental house is 513 S. Cache St., Jackson Hole, WY: http://www.vrbo.com/979136ha  and http://www.mpmjh.com/Unit/Details/81302  Drive time to rental house is 16 minutes from airport.  If you have questions about your vacation home please contact our reservation team at 800-992-9948 or via email at info@mpmjh.com for assistance. "1.      Towels and linens are both provided.  There will be extras as well.

2.      Your final balance is due Aug 20^th.  I will send you a reminder when it is due.

3.      You will pick up your key at the condo.  When you make your final payment I will send you the directions and check in information.

There will be paper towels and toilet paper enough to get your started.  Each group is a little different with usage so you might need a little extra, but should be okay with only a 3 night stay.  Dish soap and laundry soap are all there.  There is soap and shampoo (hotel style) in the bathrooms.  Towels and linens are provided with extras in the closets and in the bathroom cabinets.

We have been offering a discount because of construction.  I would like to wait until it gets closer to your arrival to see if there is still going to be a driveway issue.  Maybe they will be closer to completion! 

Since we have a 4 night minimum we don’t usually give a discount for 3 nights.  This might prove to be an exceptionJ 

There are 4 bedrooms, 2 with queen, 1 with 2 sets of bunks, 1 with 2 singles beds that each have a trundle.  

Grocery stores: Jackson Whole Grocer (1.6 mil away [4 min], or Albertsons (1.5 mi away [ 5 min]).
Snake River Brewing Pub is 7 blocks from the condo: http://www.snakeriverbrewing.com/#the_brewpub
43 North - restaurant listed on mapquest as within 2 blocks from condo is now closed, says tripadvisor. It was replaced by Lift: http://liftjacksonhole.com/menus/ which has a limited menu with $12 burgers and $17 entrees.

This place is the tripadvisor #1 restaurant in Jackson Hole: 4125 South Pub Place, Jackson, WY, 6 mi from condo.  http://thebirdinjackson.com/ It is a sandwich and burger place with the "best veggie burger anywhere".

Persephone Bakery is 12 blocks away (.5 mil, 10 min walk).  is ranked 2nd best place for food in Jackson  Open 7a - 5p except Sunday 7a-4p.  People say great bread, great desserts, great breakfasts.  Lots of mentions of croissant, some mentions of chocolate croissant.  One mention of brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

yellowstone canyon info

2 h 38 min, 115 mi,  from 315 S Cache to Canyon General Store, Yellowstone OR 

2 h 47 min, 114 mi, from condo to Canyon via Teton Park Road instead of 26

1 h 06 min, 40.9 mi from Lookout Point to 336 Firehole Ave.

Leave Jackson, 10a, arrive Canyon 12:30p, each lunch.  

1:00 Uncle Tom's trail, 384 steps down, 384 steps back up, 500 ft elevation change, approx 45 min.  

2:00 Brink of the Lower Falls trail, .4 each way, 600 feet elevation change., 

3:30 Lookout Point

4:00 head toward West Yellowstone

5:15 arrive West Yellowstone.  Unpack, get groceries and dinner.

http://mms.nps.gov/yell/features/canyontour/map.htm
 from:  http://www.trailguidesyellowstone.com/information/grand_canyon_of_the_yellowstone.php

I'd like to to Artist Point, Lookout Point, Uncle Tom's Trail and if the kids don't quit before then, Brink of the Lower Falls.  That doesn't achieve the objective of getting away from the crowds, but as the only way to see the canyon is from the rim (with the crowds), or from the bottom (5 miles down, 5 back up, I'm not doing it with kids).  Cafeteria and Lodge will be closed, we are on our own for lunch.

Canyon Village

Facility	Opens	Closes
Canyon Yellowstone Adventure Store	April 18	Nov. 3
Service Station (Credit card fueling available all season)	May 2	Oct. 20
Wrecker Service	May 2	Oct. 12
Canyon General Store	May 16	Sept. 29
Repair Service	May 23	Sept. 1
Canyon Campground	May 30	Sept. 14
Canyon Lodge, Dining Room, Picnic Shop, Cascade & Dunraven Lodges, Western Cabins, Gift Shop	May 30	Sept. 21
Cafeteria	May 24	Sept. 14
Pioneer/Frontier Cabins	May 30	Sept. 17
Trail Rides	June 25	Aug. 30

Note people standing next to falls
brink of the lower falls

328 steps ~= 25 flights of stairs.
people on the stairs of Uncle Tom's Trail.

Purchase your self-guiding booklet for $5 at the Canyon Visitor Education Center or Old Faithful Visitor Center. You’ll investigate the mysteries of Yellowstone by completing activities in the visitor center and field. Young Scientist Toolkit, which has a thermometer, stopwatch, and other gear. Once your investigation is complete, you will be awarded an official Young Scientist patch or key chain.

Also, Junior Ranger program is available at Canyon Village: http://www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/upload/JR20128-12.pdf

Uncle Tom's Trail is a quick but strenuous hike that ends near the base of Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park.

Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km
Duration: 1 hour or less

Family Friendly

Nestled between Upper Falls and Lower Falls, Uncle Tom’s Point is located along a bend in the Yellowstone River. Because of the bend, it is not possible to see both Upper Falls and Lower Falls at the same time.

For a leisurely walk to see Upper Falls plummeting 109 feet (33 m), follow the trail on your left. The viewpoint is approximately 100 yards (90 m) from here. You will find two platforms from which to see Upper Falls. From the overlook on your left, you can also glimpse Crystal Falls across the canyon. 

Uncle Tom's Point: 44° 42.918′ N, 110° 29.783′ W. Marker is in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, in Park County. Marker can be reached from South Rim Drive 0.6 miles east of Grand Loop Road.

The steep, winding path to the Brink of Lower Falls overlook descends very rapidly about 600 feet (180 m) in 3/8 mile (0.6 km). You will encounter very steep grades, slippery gravel, and rough surfaces.  Reaching the Brink of Lower Falls overlook requires hiking a steep trail that winds down the canyon wall…a wall of hardened rhyolite lava.

Lookout Point (above) is popular for its lofty view.  The minimum distance to Lookout Point is 0.15 miles round trip with 25 feet of elevation gain.   From Lookout Point, a steep descent to Red Rock will take you to the North Rim's closest full view of Lower Falls. Please be prepared for steep grades, steps, and a rough surface. The trail descends rapidly—about 500 feet (150 m) in 3/8 mile (0.6 km).  Red Rock Trail takes the hardy visitor close enough to feel the spray. To reach this trail from the parking lot, bear right on the paved walkway. The trail drops 500 ft (150 m) in about 3/8 mile. It is not recommended for visitors with heart,lung, or other health conditions.
Red Rock stairs: 

Grandview

This stunning canyon is 23 mi long, but there is only one trail from rim to base. As a result, a majority of Park visitors clog the north and south rims to see Upper and Lower Falls. Unless you're up for the six-hour strenuous hike called Seven Mile Hole, you have no choice but to join the crowds on the rims to see this natural wonder.

Upper Falls 109ft high, Lower Falls, 308 ft high.

Three popular scenic overlooks line the one-way 2.5 mile North Ridge Dr: Lookout, Grandview and Inspiration points.  Most visitors drive, but you can walk the North Rim Trail that parallels the road and continues .75 further to Chittenden Bridge on South Rim Dr, where it links up with the South Rim Trail.  

"Brink of the lower falls" at the end of a steep .75 mile trail descending 600ft.

Lookout Point offers the best views of the Lower falls, and an adjacent .5 mi trail drops 500ft to Red Rock for even closer views.  

Grandview Point: views of the canyon walls.

Inspiration Point: overview of the length of the canyon

Upper Falls viewpoint: less dramatic

South Rim:
'Artist Point: the canyon's most spectacular overlook. "Rangers give talks here 6 times a day with the 10a talk aimed kids.

South Rim Trail 3.25 mile

"Don't miss this, best sight and most breath taking sight in Yellowstone! Make sure you visit both the upper and lower falls cross the bridge to the other side. Make it point to go to all the sight stops to enjoy all this natural beauty"

"The hikes around the rim are very nice and easy to do with kids."

"If you stay at Canyon lodge and cabins there is a wooded path to Grandview point just 15 mins or so away, from there we walked the north rim. We spent 5 hours in total and it was worth every moment, even in the rain ! Plan to spend at least 2 or 3 hours to enjoy it. You can drive along the rim and stop at various viewpoints if hiking is not your thing."

"Hiked down to the brink of Lower Falls. Gorgeous!!! Must see from Artists Point on the South Rim. More impressive than Old Faithful"

"Take all the short hikes in the area."

"Be VERY careful though--many of the boardwalks and paths teeter on the edge of the canyon, hundreds of feet up and dozens of people have gone over, I've heard. Keep a close eye on your kids"

"Artist's point is by far the best view"

"There are excellent free ranger-led walks, which take you along the southern rim. These give you a lot of interesting information about the creation of the park and the canyon, as well as a certain degree of security from wild animals, such as the inquisitive bison that chose to follow our tour. The main viewpoints are very congested with coach parties and in the afternoon you will not get the best lighting conditions, so go early to beat the crowds."

"Make the trip to the lower waterfall' it's a tough way up using the almost 300 steps, but the view is impressive"

"There are car parks at the Upper Falls and at Artist Point, where there is a magnificent view of the canyon and the Lower Falls. Early morning is the best time to see the canyon and, if you have the time, it is possible to walk the trail at the top of canyon between these two points."

"You should allow 2 to 3 hours to tour this area. If hiking, you should carry bear spray for this is a bear area"

"The area is best appreciated by driving the rim drives and exploring the overlooks on each side"

"The falls that are taller than Niagara"

"We traveled in September when we know most kids would be back in school. Start out early in the day and plan on the parking lots being full by midday."

"We photographed from Artist's point, then walked down the trail to Uncle Tom's Point for a spectacular view of the canyon. Well worth the walk."

"There are two sides of the canyon that can be explored. Make sure you see both; the views are completely different"

"We started our morning here. There was a beautiful rainbow at the falls. On the North Rim Drive, we saw the tops of the Lower Falls, Look out point and inspiration point. There were a couple of osprey nests on the rocks in the canyon. We saw the brink of the upper falls and then continued to the South Rim Drive, saw the upper falls viewpoint, artist point and walked down the paved incline and 300 steps of Uncle Tom's Point. It you are able to make the steps up and back it is worth seeing Uncle Tom's Point. It was very pretty."

"The South Rim and Artist's Point is probably the most breathtaking, but don't miss the North Rim where you can walk right down and get a close up of the falls. "

"When viewing Lower Falls, the overcrowded Uncle Tom's Point, despite being closest, is not actually the best view. Instead try the hike down from Lookout Point for a gorgeous view of Lower Falls, or Artist Point to take in both the falls and the canyon in a spectacular vista."

" Drive around to the south rim and go to Artists Point, amazing view along the canyon and the falls. Then head back to the north rim where you can walk right to where the water tips over."

Info about Brink of the Lower Falls: 
"The trail to the top of the Falls (3/4 of a mile roundtrip, but steep with many switchbacks) is a must, as the experience of standing atop the Falls is one of the most breath-taking experiences in the entire Park." "Set out from the well-marked trailhead and follow the leftmost fork. You will descend a series of innumerable, paved switchbacks bordered by railing. About 0.15 miles into the route you will pass a small spur to your left. Unfortunately, this spot provides limited views of the canyon and little if any view of the falls; it serves mostly as a convenient pull-off for tired hikers on the way back up.
Your descent will conclude 0.25 miles later at a viewing platform that extends to the very edge of the falls, affording a nearly vertigo-inducing overhead view of the tremendous cascade as it plunges 308 feet. Watch for rainbows glittering in the spray, and soak in the magnificent views of the rugged canyon. Across the way, you will see the arcing metal stairs of Uncle Tom’s Trail, another well-known descent into this stunning gorge.
When you are ready, retrace your steps to your starting point. The return trip is inevitably strenuous"

Info about UNCLE TOM'S TRAIL: 
"Offers the best views of the Upper and Lower Falls" " The end of the trails is not at the river but on a platform suspended about 4/5 of the way down." " I made the round trip from the parking area down to the bottom of the trail and back up in about 30 minutes and that was with 5 to 10 minutes at the bottom" "this was one the best stops we made at the falls" "I thought the view from the bottom of the steps is just as good as the view from the top. It wasn't worth the climb back up the steps." " It only took me 4 1/2 min to go down but 20 to climb back up it is very steep but the view of the falls are worth the pain" "Best view for the lower falls. You will get a real close view. Amazing opportunity for taking pictures." "Uncle Toms trail is pretty for sure, but given the other features near by (Lower Falls, canyon etc.) we felt we would not have regretted skipping it. " "There are 352 steps you have to climb down and back up, but if you can do it, do it! This offers an amazing view of the falls the whole way down and back up." "My family of 9 &12 yo boys, my hubby & I (40 yo) ventured down Uncle Tom's Trail - we were not disappointed. The 328 steps down were not overly difficult unless you have a fear of heights. I do. But I was not going to let that stop me from what is one of the most breathtaking (literally) views I have ever seen. "
Tower Roosevelt area and tower falls:

Tower Falls: If you stop at the place where it says "tower fall", you're at the wrong place. It doesn't offer you a great view, not good at all. You should rather keep your eyes alert when driving past tower - Roosevelt and stop onto the side wherever you see a great view. 

Firehole Canyon: 

There is a sign for the turn onto Firehole Canyon Drive,if you get to Madison Jcn, you went too far.  30 min, 17.9 mi from Grand Prismatic Spring parking.  "We took this one-way road, and weren't disappointed. This drive is only 2 miles long but you get great views of the Firehole falls and there is a great swimming area"  "There is also a place where you can park, go down a staircase and swim in the river." "Really unique wonder of nature . Beautiful canyon with rapids . The geological area very interesting to behold" "The firehold canyon drive is a picturesque and hilly (paved) road that leads to the swimming spot. There are a couple of basic toilets you can get changed in. A set of stairs leads you down to a small 'beach' area and some rocks where there is a natural pool of water you can swim in. If you are a strong swimmer (and/or willing to climb over the rocks) you can get upstream and then ride the current back, or go a little higher to jump in front of a small cascade which will similarly push you back down to the pool area. Would recommend sandals for the rocks. " "it was still cold at first. I took my six and eight year old up stream a hundred yards or so and floated down. It was a blast. My daughter couldn't get enough. We floated multiple times. It's great on a hot day " "Take the "Canyon Loop Drive", you'll need to go to the north end as it's One-Way, is the answer. drive slowly and keep a sharp watch on your right. You'll see parked cars pretty soon, where the Firehole widens out into a slow, flat run."