Old Faithful
Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168
307-344-7381
Established on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone National Park is the first and oldest national park in the world. Preserved within Yellowstone are Old Faithful Geyser and some 10,000 hot springs and geysers, the majority of the planet’s total. These geothermal wonders are evidence of one of the world’s largest active volcanoes; its last eruption created a crater or caldera that spans almost half of the park. An outstanding mountain wildland with clean water and air, Yellowstone is home of the grizzly bear and wolf, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk. It is the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact temperate zone ecosystems remaining on the planet. The human history of the park dates back 12,000 years. The events of the last 130 years of park history are reflected in the historic structures and sites associated with various periods of park administration and visitor facilities development.
If you’ve seen the park in the summer and always wondered what it was like during the winter, then consider a snowmobile trip into Yellowstone. In the winter, Elk and other animals come down into the valley to avoid the deep snows. For this reason it’s is an excellent time to view the wildlife. The geyser at Old Faithful is also super heated and is a much more dramatic display during the colder months. We entered the park from the northwestern corner, but there’s a number of outfitters at various locations that will rent you a snowmobile for the day. Allow for the entire day to ride to Old Faithful and back.
- click for more photos from this hike in Yellowstone: February 17, 1998
- click for a Daytimer report from this trip to Old Faithful: February 17, 1998 (password required)
- click for a park map of Yellowstone National Park
- click for a topo and profile map for this hike on the Geyser Loop Trail (password required)
- click for a road map of Yellowstone National Park
- click for another winter hike to Old Faithful in February 2005
- click for a summer hike to Hellroaring Canyon in Yellowstone in June 1998
- click for the guidebook Hiking Wyoming with more hikes in the State
- click for a guidebook for Yellowstone National Park
- click for more hikes in the State of Wyoming