While Yellowstone National Park is most famous for its many geothermal sites and wonders, it’s hard to ignore its beauty. Within the park there are a number of locations with amazing landscapes and scenery to enjoy. With mountains as a backdrop, its rivers and lakes create some stunning vistas. When visiting in the autumn months, one has an opportunity to enjoy even more intense beauty from the fall colors.
One of the most beautiful locations in the park no matter the season is Artist Point. It is said to be the most photographed location in Yellowstone. It was certainly the busiest location that we visited. There is just one main viewpoint so one has to wait to get the opportunity to take a photo. Social distancing was most challenging at this spot.
Artist Point is in the region known as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. There is a deep canyon cut by the Yellowstone River. The river flows next to the main road from Yellowstone Lake before plunging into the canyon. The canyon has steep jagged sides in some places and colorful walls in others. From Artist Point looking north one can see the canyon walls with a beautiful array of colors layered throughout. To the south, at the beginning of the canyon is the Lower falls waterfall. It really is a breathtaking spot. I took the following video which is noisy due to the wind.
There are some other viewpoints to check out on both sides of the canyon as well as hikes to enjoy. Besides the Lower Falls, there is also the shorter Upper Falls, which is visible from Uncle Tom’s Point on the same road as Artist Point. You can get up even closer to the Upper Falls on the opposite side of the canyon. This is certainly an area to explore if you have the time.
Because much of the forests here are evergreen forests, it is sometimes necessary to leave the main roads to see the beauty of the autumn colors. Taking the road less traveled sometimes yielded some beautiful photo opportunities.
When we first arrived in Yellowstone, I had the idea that I would see every nook and cranny available to me. Time wise that later proved to be impossible. However, on that first day I saw a sign for Firehole Canyon Drive, and I took it. It led us through the canyon created by the Firehole River which included a small waterfall. The most intriguing part was the people fishing in the river, even in the steep canyons. While I am sure hunting is not allowed in the park, fishing is apparently permitted and popular. The river eventually came out to a wide meadow area and more fishermen in a beautiful autumn colored meadow.
Another canyon we enjoyed was created by the Lewis River coming into the park from the south. There were turnoffs along the main road that allowed us to look down into the canyon. Eventually we came to river level and discovered autumn beauty along the river’s edge, especially the reds.
Coming into the park from Cody a few days later, we stopped at a small lake called Sylvan Lake. Here the autumn colors in the underbrush around the lake were really pretty.
We had been told by a local in Cody to be sure to stop at Lake Butte Overlook. We did. This is a spot where you have a wide view of Yellowstone Lake, and apparently on a clear day one can see the Tetons. We couldn’t. This is an interesting spot as it is surrounded by the remains of a forest fire so there are a lot of burned trees. It has a sad beauty to it, but it was worth a stop.
Yellowstone Lake provided a wonderful photo opportunity the evening we drove by it. The sunset over the lake was absolutely spectacular. It wasn’t the strong orange colors we often thing of, but it was more pinks. After the sun set the pale colors were really nice. The spot on the lake where we stopped looked out over an interesting narrow band of land with some trees on it. This made for a unique backdrop for the sunset colors and reflections. I took over 40 pictures, but I’m only sharing five.
I ventured onto another short drive called the Virginia Cascade Drive just east of the Norris Geyser Basin. This drive follows along the Gibbon River. It leads through a meadow with wonderful autumn color. It was so peaceful. I told my wife I would like to have a cabin right there.
While much of the park is forests, coming in from the northeast entrance, one encounters wide valleys. The terrain feels a little different here, more open. The nearby mountains provide a great backdrop for the valleys below. Coming this way I had hoped to see the waterfall called Tower Fall. Unfortunately the road to the fall was closed. We did make a brief stop to see a petrified tree. It wasn’t that interesting, but the valley it was in was another beautiful spot with autumn colors.
There is beauty in every season, but since I love the colors of autumn, I’m glad my first visit to Yellowstone was in the autumn. Perhaps my next visit will be in the spring. So do you have a favorite location in Yellowstone, one that’s off the main roads? Feel free to share your spot in the comment section below. Also don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t done so already. Next week will be a beastly post.
The Yellowstone River, Snake River and Clark Fork River are some of the BEST fly fishing rivers in the country! George loved every moment he spent fishing them!
I have never tried fly fishing. I did fish as a kid, but I never liked it that much. I could never catch anything. Everyone else caught fish but me.😢