10 Yellowstone National Park Mistakes You Don't Want to Make!

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most visited national parks in the country with an average of over 4 million visitors per year and unfortunately some of those visitors will make some big mistakes when it comes to planning their Yellowstone trip in today's video I will be sharing 10 mistakes you don't want to make when you visit Yellowstone National Park the first mistake is an extremely common one and that is not spending enough time at the Park Yellowstone National Park covers over 2.2 million acres of land and while not all of that is accessible to the public there are over 460 miles of roads that can take you close to 15 miles of boardwalks and 92 different trailheads in the park well you could likely spend weeks here without exploring everything I highly recommend spending at least five to seven days there to take in as much as you possibly can trust me when I say Yellowstone National Park is much more than Old Faithful Geyser and some bison this brings me to mistake number two which is coming to the upper geyser Basin watching Old Faithful Geyser and then leaving as a geyser gazer I'm a bit biased when I say that I think the wide variety of geysers in Yellowstone is the best part of of the park even if you disagree with me on that front there are so many geysers that are still relatively predictable that put on much more of a magnificent show than Old Faithful does if you have a bit of patience I recommend downloading the geyser Times app on your phone to see the latest eruption predictions and then try to catch one of the Magnificent geysers in the Basin such as Castle geyser which is my personal favorite Grand geyser which is a spectacular Fountain type geyser Riverside geyser that gives you a great view of the fire Hole River as you wait Daisy geyser which is actually the most predictable Geyser in the park and beehive geyser which is a spectacular cone type geyser but be aware that depending on how the wind is blowing you might just end up taking a geyser water shower oh yes by the way if this does happen to you make sure you clean off your glasses and your camera lenses as fast as you possibly can as this water has silica on it and can leave mineral deposits that are difficult to get off once dry now I know I just shared all the amazing geysers that are available to see in the park but mistake number three is so many visitors don't enjoy the small thermal features along the boardwalks whether these are small thermal pools or teeny tiny little geysers these thermal features are also part of what makes Yellowstone so unique not to mention that some of these features have connections to larger geysers that help you predict when they will erupt such as beef hive's indicator which only erupts at six to ten feet but serves as a 15 minute or so warning for an upcoming beehive eruption and even if they aren't connected to another major geyser they can be fun to watch [Laughter] this is Aaron's favorite it doesn't Splash he just comes up and goes back down man as you've probably already noticed there's a lot to see in Yellowstone and most people don't have very much time so mistake number four is not renting a bike if you're able to get on a bike and go whether it's your own or one that you rent you're going to be able to see so much more in a day than you would if you were just able to walk around the boardwalks you can rip bikes for an hour a half day which is four hours or a full day which is eight hours and whether you're looking for a more efficient way to catch all the geysers at the upper geyser Basin or maybe you want to take a trip from Daisy geyser to biscuit Basin maybe you want to Journey out to Lone Star geyser to catch one of the more unique and secluded geyser experiences in the park or just want to hike and bike your way through some of Yellowstone's beautiful waterfalls renting bikes can definitely be worth the money with all the time you save if you were to hike around all day since I just mentioned waterfalls let's talk about mistake number five which is not adding waterfalls to the agenda the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone has to be at the top of the list of the must-see waterfalls since these are the largest waterfalls in the park and are framed beautifully with the colorful Canyon walls both the upper Falls which is a 109 foot Cascade at the head of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone as well as the lower Falls which is larger at 308 feet tall they are both the sight to see and worth the stop I highly recommend spending some time here and checking out the mini Vistas offer as well as heading to the brink of both Falls as that is an experience that is just truly amazing another mistake you don't want to make is skipping out on the tour of Old Faithful Inn built right next to the Old Faithful Geyser between 1903 and 1904 the seven story high-end happens to be the world's largest log structure that still serves as the most requested lodging facility in the park even if you don't stay at the lodge stepping inside the lobby to take in the massive stone fireplace in the center of the room as well as the handcrafted copper clock that sits upon it is truly worth your time also take a moment to admire the woodwork throughout the end as it is magnificent especially when you think that that construction started nearly 120 years ago if time allows you can also grab dinner at the Old Faithful dining room and enjoy the beautiful paintings hanging in the room or just get a drink at The Bear Pit Lounge where you can find the famous glass etchings behind the bar this area does offer a bit of a getaway from The Busy Lobby and is really really cool to look at the different etchings just make sure when you go you check out all those little details they're definitely worth your time for the best chance to enjoy the Inn it might be best to take your tour early in the morning or late at night when other visitors are in bed as it can get quite busy midday during peak season mistake number six is stepping off the trail you may see bison tracks in the thermal features but you are a bison so don't try it well the ground may look sturdy where you're stepping the ground is incredibly thin and many of these guys are basins which can put you in hot water very quickly and literally to go along with this mistake don't put your fingers or other body parts or personal items into any of the thermal features many of these pools are just extremely hot but also acidic which can lead to severe injuries another way to get severely injured in Yellowstone is my next mistake that you don't want to make and that is getting too close to the wildlife bison may look fat and slow but they can run up to 35 miles per hour so keep at least 25 yards between you and the Bison but if you could stay even further away especially during rut AKA Mating Season which typically occurs between July and August that's definitely recommended it's also recommended that you stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and at least 25 yards away from all other animals including elk if you're looking to see wildlife Yellowstone is a great place but so is Grand Teton National Park which brings me to the next mistake which is not visiting the Grand Tetons during your Yellowstone trip only a few miles away in less than an hour long drive separates these two parks even if you choose to take the time to drive past the mountains and not dedicate an entire day to this park it is a breathtaking view from nearly every angle the Teton range includes eight different Peaks that are all over 12 000 feet tall including the Grand Teton which has an elevation of 13 775 feet which gives a beautiful backdrop for special occasions or maybe just those wonderful family vacation pictures the last mistake people make when visiting Yellowstone is they don't enjoy the journey there and back it is not easy to get to Yellowstone which means it can take several days of travel just to make it to that view of Old Faithful so make sure you take the time to make some stops along the way we personally stopped at the Wyoming dinosaur Center in Thermopolis Wyoming which has one of the best fossil collections in the world we also spent a couple of days exploring the historic area near Cody Wyoming and did some kayaking on the Shoshone River we stopped in Jackson Hole on our way out of the Grand Teton National Park to see the antler arches and make a quick Loop through Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge before heading to the airport to catch our flight out of Denver and got to see a lot of wildlife to finish out those last moments of our vacation these stops just added to the trip and made it even more memorable than it already was well there you have it 10 mistakes you don't want to make when you go to Yellowstone if you enjoyed this video give it a thumbs up and make sure you check out my other Yellowstone videos thank you all for watching and I will see you next time bye 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Channel: Happy Pharm Life

Views: 88,244

Keywords: yellowstone, yellowstone national park, yellowstone geysers, old faithful, old faithful geyser, old faithful inn, yellowstone national park tips, yellowstone national park travel tips, visiting yellowstone national park, yellowstone mistakes, yellowstone national park video

Id: kT9urToqa1g

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 15 2023