The lower loop is home to most of Yellowstone’s geothermal areas, while still providing great wildlife viewing opportunities. This extended trip also includes Mammoth Hot Springs, the historic Roosevelt Arch and Fort Yellowstone. Starting at your Bozeman hotel or Bozeman airport hotel, we will head south through Big Sky and into West Yellowstone. The tour follows the Madison and then the Firehole Rivers to the Lower, Midway, and Upper Geyser Basins. It then continues around to West Thumb Geyser Basin on Yellowstone Lake, up through Hayden Valley and on to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone before stopping at Norris Geyser Basin and then Mammoth Hot Springs, before returning to Bozeman.  A skilled driver/guide accompanies you all the way, offering insights on the latest park updates and ecological studies. A sack lunch is provided today.

Hayden Valley and the areas along the rivers are home to some of the park’s most iconic animals. With any luck and depending on the season, you may find yourself within feet of elk, bison, bears, trumpeter swans, osprey and maybe even otters or wolves! Red bison calves (also referred to as red dogs) and migrating sandhill cranes are a springtime treat not to be missed!

The first major stop on our adventure is the Lower Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pot. We will get up close to all four geothermal features in the park, (hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots, and geysers) from the safety of an easy to navigate boardwalk.

Moving on we will stop and see Grand Prismatic Spring and the now dormant Excelsior Geyser at the Midway Geyser Basin.

We then make the short drive to the home of Old Faithful, the Upper Geyser Basin. While Old Faithful is the most well-known feature, this area is a cornucopia of springs, geysers, and historical buildings. We will stay long enough to watch Old Faithful erupt, explore the Old Faithful Inn and, time allowing, wander the boardwalks to see some of the other features.

Moving along we will cross the Continental Divide twice to reach beautiful Yellowstone Lake and explore the boardwalk at West Thumb Geyser Basin. We will then travel north through Hayden Valley, along the Yellowstone River, and stop to view the Lower and Upper Yellowstone Falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

From here we make the short drive to Norris Geyser Basin where we will walk a portion of the most geothermally active part of the park, before heading on to Mammoth Hot Springs, the park headquarters, and home to Fort Yellowstone.