Yellowstone Park History
On March 1, 1872, Yellowstone became our country’s first national park. It still feels like one of the wildest, most surprising places in America.
Yellowstone spans 2.2 million protected acres. It is a living showcase of steaming geysers, colorful hot springs, bubbling mudpots, deep canyons, thundering waterfalls, wide valleys, alpine lakes, and roaming wildlife. In fact, Yellowstone contains well over 10,000 hydrothermal features. With more than half of the world’s active geysers, every boardwalk stroll feels like a walk across another planet.
Old Faithful may be the most famous stop, but it is only one part of the story. Mammoth Hot Springs builds terraces of white and gold. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone cuts a dramatic path through glowing rock. The park’s open meadows give visitors a chance to spot bison, elk, birds, and other wildlife in a landscape that still feels wonderfully untamed.
Yellowstone magnitude
The park’s vastness is overwhelming in the best possible way. We planned six full days in Yellowstone and still knew we would have to make choices. Before we arrived we built a wish list of all our “must-see” stops, plotted them on Google Maps. We grouped the park into manageable sections so we weren’t crisscrossing those long park roads any more than necessary.
Even with careful planning, Yellowstone surprised us every day. One moment we were walking past steaming vents and bubbling pools that made the ground seem alive; the next we were driving through huge open valleys, watching for wildlife, or stopping at overlooks where waterfalls and canyon walls looked almost too dramatic to be real. We managed to see almost everything on our bucket list, though there were far too many highlights to describe here.
The video and photo links below tell that story much better. My personal favorite was Mammoth Hot Springs, with its shifting terraces, warm mineral colors, and ghostly steam drifting across the boardwalks. Pete’s favorite was Lamar Valley, not just because of its immense size and sweeping views, but because it is one of the best places in the world to watch wolves. Photographing them in that wild, open landscape made the whole trip unforgettable.
You’re off the grid at Yellowstone!
Yellowstone gives you choices from the moment you arrive. There are five different entrances that each create a slightly different kind of trip. You can build an itinerary around a historic lodge, a campground, a backcountry backpacking route, or even a long day of driving. No matter how you visit, it helps to plan ahead and stay flexible.
The park is enormous. The roads take time. Every direction seems to tempt you with another geyser basin, overlook, waterfall, or wildlife stop. Fortunately, there are ten visitor centers scattered throughout the park. The rangers we met were wonderfully friendly, patient, and full of useful advice.
Because this was our 50th wedding anniversary, we decided to splurge and stay at two classic park lodges: Old Faithful Inn and Canyon Lodge. Both were beautiful and unforgettable in their own way, especially being so close to the scenery, but “splurge” is definitely the right word. You are paying for location, location, location—not luxury. The rooms were small and simple, with no TVs, refrigerators, microwaves, Wi-Fi, or dependable cell service. In other words, Yellowstone makes sure you are truly unplugged. It turned out to be part inconvenience, part blessing, and part of the adventure.
Last Thoughts
One last thought: with 4–5 million people visiting Yellowstone each year, pack your camera, your sense of wonder, and a triple dose of patience. The crowds can be every bit as wild as the wildlife.
We saw the usual “touron” behavior—people inching far too close to bison for selfies, blocking walkways, ignoring signs, and acting as if common courtesy had been left at the entrance gate. While I was filming at Yellowstone Falls, one young international tourist actually walked straight up, shoved me out of the way, and claimed the spot for a selfie. It was so rude it was almost impressive. But those moments were only one side of the trip. We also met plenty of thoughtful, friendly travelers who were just as amazed by the park as we were.
Yellowstone is absolutely worth seeing at least once in a lifetime, but it is not a theme park, and it is not a private wilderness retreat. It is big, busy, beautiful, unpredictable, and unforgettable. If you go expecting a few delays, a few clueless people, and a few moments that test your patience, you will be better prepared to enjoy the geysers, waterfalls, wildlife, valleys, and wide-open views that make the park so extraordinary.
Until next time….
Pete & Lori (and Romin)
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