Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Firehole Canyon Drive in Yellowstone National Park

This is part three of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

After visiting Old Faithful and The Grand Prismatic Spring, we then headed back on the road and we saw a little sign that read "Firehole Canyon Drive".  Hubby then made the impulsive decision to turn left and I am glad he did, because it ended up being one of my favorite spots in Yellowstone National Park.


If you're following along on our little map, we arrived early in the morning on Day One through the East Entrance.  Our goal was to see all the highlights on the figure eight loop in three days.  We Stopped at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center & Museum, drove past Yellowstone Lake, hiked around Old Faithful, then again at the Midway Geyser Basin, and then took a scenic drive in Firehole Canyon.  The drive is right before you reach "Madison Junction"



Photo Credit




After battling the crowds at Old Faithful and The Grand Prismatic Spring, this little drive was a much needed respite.  It was so peaceful, there were hardly any cars on this drive.  It's like most tourists didn't seem to know about it, but I guess the word will get out now after this post because it is AMAZING!


The drive takes you down into the canyon of Firehole River where you will see amazing waterfalls, tall rock formations, and wildlife.  It is a two mile, very narrow one-lane road, but there are a few spots where there is enough room to pull your car over, get out, and enjoy.  We stopped almost immediately when we saw a sandy bar right by the river.  Right away, I saw this amazing large bird on top of a tree. According to my iPhone, it is an Osprey.


I can't tell you enough how peaceful this place is.  Oh, it felt so good to get away from people and just enjoy the water and all the surrounding beauty...and silence.



The  cliffs above the river are huge! To give you an idea of the scale, in the two pictures below there is a person sitting against the rocks in the lower left corner and another person standing in the next photo.


The water was shallow enough you could take your shoes off and wade if you liked.


We got back in the car at this point and continued our drive.  It just was one sweeping, scenic view after another.


We saw our first waterfall on the drive.


And a horse shoe bend view of the river and canyon.


Of course we had to get out and take more photos here!



Back in the car, and we see another water fall!



We were blown away to discover an Osprey's nest. They actually had the right side of the road closed to give this Osprey more privacy;  like the road wasn't narrow enough already.


The Osprey picked a good spot for her nest:  nice views of the canyon!



Found another waterfall!



The drive was a little scary when you got to the top as the road was so narrow and there was just this little brick wall to keep your car from driving over the edge.




When you reach Firehole Falls there is a large parking lot.  Here we saw a tour group stop and get out to take a photo and get a better look.  When we were there, the parking lot was virtually empty, but by the size of the lot, I have to think this road is a lot more crowded during the busy tourist season.


And the very end of the road, is a short little hike you can take to the river.  This spot is very close to the main road, so you will hear traffic.  


We were surprised to find a family of ducks swimming in the strong current.



Firehole Canyon Drive is a MUST-SEE if you ever visit Yellowstone.  It takes you off the busy road and highly trafficked main features, and gives you a tranquil Yellowstone experience.

And now, here are a whole bunch of little videos we took on our drive.  Most are under a minute long or less.  I highly encourage you to watch at least one to hear the sound of the moving water that photos can never provide.

 Water Feature #1 on Firehole Canyon View Drive




 Ducks Swimming on Firehole Canyon View Drive




     Close Up of Ducks Swimming on Firehole Canyon View Drive




 Water Feature #2 on Firehole Canyon View Drive




 Water Feature #3 on Firehole Canyon View Drive




       A Horse Shoe Bend View on Firehole Canyon View Drive




       Water Feature #4 on Firehole Canyon Drive





For More Information on Yellowstone, Check Out these Posts:


Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

26 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post. Yellowstone is a park I always wanted to visit. It's on my list and your photos are so beautiful it makes me want to visit sooner. What a fabulous experience.

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    1. You're welcome. I hope you get there soon. It's amazing. It's the most diverse NP I've ever been to.

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  2. Sometimes these more hidden spots are the prettiest, so glad your husband decided to take the road. You got such amazing pictures and I love the sounds of the water. I feel like it's just a completely different experience when there aren't any crowds. People can make so much noise!

    PS: Off topic but I just saw your comment on the post on my blog, the "Close to Nature" theme is for "Allsorts challenge" and we have a designated blog just for that craft challenge: https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/

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    1. Absolutely! It was one of our favorite experiences in Yellowstone. Thanks for letting me know where the "Close to Nature" link up is.

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  3. Beautiful shots of Yellowstone. I'm going to get there one day.

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    1. Thank you. I hope you do. It took me a long time to get there.

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  4. That does look like such a pretty scenic drive! I like finding things off the beaten path to enjoy too.

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    1. It was! We enjoyed getting off the beaten path.

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  5. It's hard to find secluded places in Yellowstone and you succeeded in escaping the hordes with their selfie sticks. My sister was a seasonal ranger at the West Yellowstone entrance. She took me on a tour of Yellowstone several years ago.

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    1. Yes, even in the off season it was hard to get away from the crowds. That is so cool your sister gave you a guided tour.

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  6. Oh yes this IS a great turn off! How breath taking and love all the photos. How did you get the one with the nest? So cool!

    Allie of
    www.allienyc.com

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    1. It was! Thank you. The nest was right in a tree next to the road. I just zoomed in with my iPhone.

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  7. We love venturing off and discovering treasures to explore and it looks like you found a beauty! Thanks for sharing it with us all!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed. Unexpected adventures are the best. Thanks so much.

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  8. Stunning as always, Amy. The waterfall snapshots remind me of a picture of a completely frozen waterfall I saw this week. It was awesome and almost a bit unreal. Thanks for keeping us connected to this big beautiful countryside.

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    1. Thank you. Oh, how pretty a frozen waterfall would be.

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  9. Absolutely amazing, been to Yellowstone but that was yonks ago, and now unable to remember if we visited the firehole canyon.
    Thanks for participating and sharing your post at ES #WW #60 (Words welcome). See you again Wednesday at #61 https://esmesalon.com/tag/wordlesswednesday/

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    1. Thank you. I don't think a lot of people know about Firehole Canyon as there weren't many people there in comparison to the other park highlights.

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  10. Ooh! look at that nest! I'm sure the views are great, too!
    And Firehole Canyon looks gorgeous! It looks and sounds very peaceful. I'd love to see it sometime.
    Thank you for this virtual tour of the area.
    Have a great week, Amy. :)

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  11. Your visit to Firehold Canyon is beautiful with your wonderful photos and decriptions. Thanks for taking us with you!

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  12. A beauty like no other. So very nice.

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