We had a chance to visit Yellowstone National Park in mid-September and are so glad we did!
If you remember my post from last year, we drove through the park on our way back to North Dakota to avoid a snowstorm that was pushing east over the mountains. This year we took an afternoon to drive through parts of the park and stop to see the geysers and other features of the park.
Once we set up camp in the forest outside of Henry’s Lake State Park, we headed to the west entrance of Yellowstone NP and made our way to Old Faithful. Our first stop was at the Fountain Paint Pot Trailhead. We got to witness the bubbling (and unique odor) of the mudpots and the spewing action of a couple geysers. The easy half-mile walk around the features was the perfect activity for our family.
After leaving Fountain Paint Pot we headed to the Old Faithful Visitor Area. Almost all of the buildings here were closed, but a helpful park ranger was available outside of the visitor center to answer questions and give the kids an activity book. Junior Ranger booklets here are $3.00 each, but you can complete them online and the park will mail your kids their badges for free. You can also download the Yellowstone National Park app to take guided tours, see a map of the park, and get all sorts of other information about the area.
We arrived at the Old Faithful geyser a few minutes before it erupted. We weren’t able to get real close because of the crowd but that didn’t stop us from watching it!
Since we only had a few hours to spend in the park, we decided to head back out to our campsite once we left Old Faithful. The kids were so glad we finally had time to visit, and we adults were, too! If you get a chance to visit Yellowstone National Park I highly recommend you do.
Have you visited Yellowstone National Park? We’d love to hear about your visit! Please drop us a comment below, email us at alicia@simplejoyfuljourney.com, catch up with us on Facebook and Pinterest @simplejoyfuljourney, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page! Have a great week!
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