Posted by Mark McBeth on August 13, 1997 at 13:28:35:
In Reply to: Re: Top 10 Hikes in Yellowstone/Tetons posted by Dave on August 11, 1997 at 17:04:38:
: : : : I'll be visiting Yellowstone/Tetons in a few weeks and would like suggestions for the top 10 spots to hike. Moderate to difficult hikes would be my speed and beauty/wildlife counts as well. Any suggestions? Thanks.
:
: : Thanks for the info
John. I already printed out the Day Hike page to bring with me. I was hoping to find out if other hikers stumbled upon some interesting hikes that the general public wouldn't know about.
: Finding a trail in Yellowstone that no one knows about is almost impossible but fortuantely, most people don't hit the trails so you won't see many people even on the popular trails.
: As for trails I've enjoyed, I think my current favorite (of course it is also the one I just hiked so that may have something to do with it), is the Clear Lake/Lily Pad Lake/South Rim of the Canyon loop trail. I recommend taking the longer option and starting from the trailhead just after you cross the Yellowstone river on the South Rim Drive. Take the trail in the counter-clockwise direction. The trail is farily easy, the only problem being the 8000' elevation. The trail leads past veiws of Hayden Valley, through trees to Clear Lake, past some smelly but interesting mud pots, past Lily Pad Lake and then to an overlook of the most colorful portion of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The trail then leads upstream along the canyon with great views of the canyon, both water falls and the rapids above the canyon. If you are lucky, you may also get to see some wildlife along the trail.
: Another trail I've liked is the Mystic Falls, Basin Overlook Trail behind Biscuit Basin (near the Old Faithful area of the park.) This is a moderate 3 mile loop hike that leads past many interesting sights. You start the trail by walking the boardwalk through Biscuit Geyser Basin. There are some pretty pools and frequent, if small, geysers here. Stop at Jewel Geyser on your way through and you will quickly be rewarded by an eruption. The trail leaves the boardwalk at the back of the geyser basin and then leads through forest that was severly burned in the 1988 fires. It is interesting to see how the forrest is recovering. The trail leads to 70' Mystic Falls then swithbacks to up to the geyser basin overlook. If you're lucky you may even get to see a distant eruption of Old Faithful. The trail then loops back to the starting point.
As for the Tetons, almost any trail that leads into the mountains is worth the effort. If you decide to hike up Cascade Canyon, get there early and catch the first boat across the lake. We did this and saw almost no one as we hiked up the canyon. We couldn't believe the number of people we saw when we hiked back down. What ever you do, don't just hike up to Hidden Falls and Observation point and then turn around. After observation point, the trail flattens out and the scenery gets spectacular. You only have to go about 1/2 mile past observation point to get to some really great views. Try this Grand Teton Hiking Page for more information about hikes in Grand Teton NP.
: Dave
I concur with the two hikes. On the Clear Lakes
hike we saw a one year old black bear by Lily Pad
Lake. It is a great hike. The Mystic Falls hike
is equally fun. I would also add
that the Fairy
Falls hike (go all the way to Imperial Geyser) is
an enjoyable 6+ mile roundtrip hike. In addition,
I recommend that Mallard Lake trail that starts
near Old Faithful it is around a 6 mile round trip and
is very enjoyable par
ticularly in the fall. See John's
hiking page for details.