Yellowstone National Park is a popular vacation destination in the summer. Families flock to the beautiful park to enjoy the wildlife and the famous geyser, Old Faithful. Vacationers find that there is a lot to do at the park. The park website (yellowstonepark.com) has information about the top ten things to do in the park. Following is a condensed version of the list, gathered from the Yellowstone Park website.
1. Watch the geysers, including Old Faithful, erupt in the mud volcano region: Yellowstone is a super volcano with the world’s largest active geyser field. There are over 10,000 geysers, mud pots, steam vents and hot springs. about 250-300 geysers erupt yearly. Some of the geysers are predictable and other erupt unexpectedly. Old Faithful is the most famous of the geysers. The geyser was discovered in 1870 by the Washburn expedition. Yellowstone became the world’s first national park in 1872.
Old Faithful has erupted more then one millions since the park opened. Old Faithful erupts about every 92 minutes, shooting water 135 feet into the air. The water comes fro deep within the earth. Other geysers at Yellowstone include: Castle Geyser, Riverside Geyser, Midway Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Spring, Lower Geyser Basin, Norris Geyser Basin, Echinus Geyser, Mud Volcano, Dragon’s Mouth Spring, and Mammoth Hot Springs.
2. Enjoy the Yellowstone Wildlife. The park is full of wildlife, include gray wold, buffalo bison, bears and more. Some of the park’s more popular include the following: Trumpeter Swans, bears, bison, elk, moose, pelicans and wolves. The animals are wild and should not be approached. If the wildlife is not visible on a particular day, there is a good chance of seeing them in the park’s vicinity.
3. See the breathtaking Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The canyon is 4,000 feet wide and 1,200 feet deep. From the canyon’s vantage point the Yellowstone waterfalls are visible.
4. Take a whitewater rafting trip. Cool off in the rapids of Yellowstone River All ages can explore the beauty of Paradise Valley on a scenic float with opportunities to take wildlife photos.
5. Take a hike of some of the park’s 1,300 miles of trails. Hike in the back country of the park. There over 1,300 miles of trails with glacial lakes, wildflowers, fossils and wooded area with large trees. The entire forests contain over 100 different types of vegetation.Fossilized trees include walnuts, magnolias, maples, oaks, redwoods, dogwoods, and pines.
6. Horseback riding on the scenic trails. There are several companies that offer horseback riding tours through th scenic trails.
7. Rodeos. There are cowboy and rodeo shows throughout the summer.
8. Indians. Learn about native American history and watch Indian pow wows during the warms months.
9. Explore a history museum. Check out some of the museums in Yellowstone, including Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Idaho Museum of Natural History, Museum of Idaho, Museum of the Mountain Man, National Museum of Wildlife Art, T-Rex Natural History Museum, World Living Museum, Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum.
10. Go camping. An excellent way to enjoy the Yellowstone National Park is to spend some time camping outdoor in the quiet back country.
Yellowstone National Park is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming. From Yellowstone, there are other regions that are a pleasure to explore, including Jackson Hole Wyo9ming, Cheyenne Wyoming, Cody Wyoming and the Grand Teton National Park. Enjoy the opportunity to explore the wide open spaces at Yellowstone National Park.
