Yellowstone Tours:  Tour of the lower loop of Yellowstone
Cost:  $70 per person, including lunch.  Please order online here

This tour runs every day of the season.  It leaves West Yellowstone in between 6.15 a.m. and 8 a.m. and returns seven to eight hours later.  The tour itinerary can be found here, the cost can be found here, and the tour can be ordered online here.  Please check out the upper loop tour.

The roads running through Yellowstone make up a massive figure of eight (see the map to the left).  The lower loop of the figure of eight comprises most of the thermal features that are to be seen in Yellowstone, including, of course, Old Faithful! 

From West Yellowstone we'll follow the Madison River to Madison Junction, where we'll turn right, or south.  Depending on the time of the year, this area is often teeming with wildlife.  With any luck you will see bison, elk, deer, Trumpeter Swans and other animals and birds.  A special treat in the spring is the baby bison calves.

After Madison Junction the tour turns down Firehole Canyon Drive, a side road that follows the Firehole River.  The Firehole River runs through the thermal areas of Yellowstone northward, to join the Gibbon River and form the Madison River.  The Firehole is world famous amongst anglers for its pristine beauty and selection of brown, brook and rainbow trout.  The road takes guests past 800 foot thick lava flows.  Firehole Falls is a 40 foot waterfall.  There is an unstaffed swimming hole here.

The first main thermal area we will be visiting is the Lower Geyser Basin, and Fountain Paint Pots.  There is a boardwalk system running around and through the Fountain Paint Pots area, and it is a great place to go for a stroll, if the bison haven't got there first!  Apart from the paint pots, there is also a selection of other thermal features in the area, including a number of geysers, one or other of which almost always seems to be erupting.

The next stop is the Midway Geyser Basin, home to two of the largest hot springs to be found anywhere in the world, as well as Excelsior Geyser, now dormant, but discharging thousands of gallons of water every minute.           

It is a short drive to the Upper Geyser Basin, home of Old Faithful, the world's best known and most reliable gusher. There is also so much more to the area than just Old Faithful.  Old Faithful Inn, a wonderful old building - recently renovated - is located there, and a system of boardwalks will take you around the various other geysers in the area.  We provide a sack lunch today, and you may like to enjoy it at Old Faithful.

The road from Old Faithful passes over the Continental Divide twice, on its way to West Thumb, a geyser basin right on the shores of the incredibly blue Yellowstone Lake.

Yellowstone Lake is off to the east as we make the trip up to Fishing Bridge.  From there we head through the Hayden Valley, following the Yellowstone River, up to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.                                               TOP

The Hayden Valley is known for its wildlife, particularly large herds of bison at certain times of the year. It is also an excellent location to look for grizzly bears, especially in the spring and early summer when they may be preying on newborn bison and elk cubs.   There will also be the opportunity to view the Mud Volcano and Sulphur Caldron areas.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is an unexpected treat amongst the thermal wonders.  The Yellowstone River has carved an impressive canyon through the rocks, over which two falls drop.  The Lower Falls is over twice the size of Niagara Falls!  It is in this area that you can catch a glimpse of the yellowish tinge to the rocks, from which the Yellowstone River got its name, but at a different location.  We'll check out the canyon and falls from a number of different locations.  You get so close to the Upper Falls that you almost feel like you can reach out and touch the thundering water.  Don't!

Most of our tours of the Lower Yellowstone Loop do not take in the Norris Geyser Basin.  Norris is generally done on our Upper Yellowstone Loop tour.   If, however, we have a group of people who will not have the opportunity to see it, and if there is still time after a fairly long day, we will try and squeeze it in. 

Although not as well known as the other geyser basins, Norris is the most thermally active part of Yellowstone.  It is divided into two separate areas:  Porcelain Basin and Back Basin.  You will have the opportunity to stroll around both, enjoying the pristine beauty.  Back Basin is home to Steamboat Geyser, the highest geyser in the world.

It is now time to go back to West Yellowstone.  Please check out the upper loop tour.

This tour costs $70 per person, including lunch.  Please let us know if you do not want lunch, and you will be refunded $10.  Lunch includes a freshly made sandwich with your choice of meats, a soda, cookie, fruit and a bag of chips.   There are places on the route where you can buy food if you do not want the lunch. 

Park entry is $12 per person, and is not included.  If you have already paid for the park entry on one of our other tours, you do not need to pay it again.  That charge is good for unlimited entries over a seven day period.  If you have a National Parks pass, the entry fee will be waived.    

You can order the tour online here.

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