*I listed the areas to visit in the order in which you should visit them, based on their location and the best route for you to take from the south entrance.
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Upper Geyser Basin: This is where you’ll find the Old Faithful Geyser. It is such a remarkable thing to witness! The park is able to predict the eruptions of most of the geysers. The Castle Geyser blows every 12 hours, but we were not able to witness it erupt. Click here to see the most recent updates on Geyser predictions.
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Lower Geyser Basin: You’ll wind along the pathways to see bubbling hot springs, mud spots and more geysers! The Great Fountain is the only predicted geyser in this area.
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Grand Prismatic Spring: This natural spring is located just off the road, but we found ourselves in a long line of traffic waiting to score a parking spot. We inched into the parking lot and were finally able to get a space as someone backed out. You can access the spring within a short walk from the parking lot. You’ll follow the wooded pathway along the edge of the rainbow colored spring. The vivid colors are truly breathtaking and totally worth the wait to get a parking spot!
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Upper and Lower falls: We walked along the easily accessible pathways to several viewpoints to take in the spectacular views of the Lower waterfalls. The river flowing from the falls throughout the canyon is a beautiful sight to see. We even spotted a bald eagle flying out of its nest from our lookout point. This stop was an unforgettable part of our trip to Yellowstone. The overlook trail to the Upper Falls was closed when we visited.
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Mud Volcano: This was our last stop before heading back to our campsite at the Grand Tetons National Park (if you don’t count the many times we pulled over to view bison, bears, and other wildlife of course)! As you approach the Mud Volcano you’ll notice a strong odor of rotten eggs, caused by the hydrogen sulfide gas that comes from the ground. Trust me, the Dragon’s Mouth Spring is worth seeing, despite the bad odor! It’s only a short, quarter of a mile walk from the parking area. The steam rising out of the cave is really fascinating and you can continue on past the Dragons Mouth to explore the hydrothermal features to add an additional .7 miles to your hike.