Grand Prismatic Spring - Yellowstone NP, WY
Oh, Yellowstone. There’s SO MANY gems inside of the park that it’s honestly overwhelming so I’m breaking down the places I visited into separate posts! The spotlight is on the Grand Prismatic Spring in this post!
I’ve been wanting to visit Yellowstone since I saw the Yogi bear cartoons as a kid. Its the polar opposite of the desert landscape I was raised in. It was the last stop on my road trip and I spent two days there. Honestly, it wasn’t long enough but I was able to pack at lot into the two days by getting an early start.
Luckily the first day was clear and sunny because the rest of the trip was overcast and rainy.
Grand Prismatic was the spot I was most excited to visit & she did not disappoint. We had visited a few other spots before arriving at a traffic jam at the turn in for the springs. Up to that point, we hadn’t experienced a wait of any kind, but these springs demand a lot of attention. We waited in the line for about 15 minutes before we were able to secure a spot, which I’m sure is nothing on a normal summer day. The parking lot is quite small and it’s situated along the river. It’s a place you’d want to get to early during the busy season.
From the parking lot, you cross a bridge across the river and there’s a stunning view of a little waterfall from a hot spring flowing into the river.
From there, you walk up a boardwalk that circles you around some crystal blue hot springs. They’re so blue from the reflection of the sky.
They built the boardwalk so you can literally walk up to the edge of the GP, its wild. The wind was blowing the steam in our faces as we walked by, so we didn’t have the best view from there but it was still an unforgettable experience. The warmth of the steam mixed with the cool air of the forest, it was incredible.
Important to note some of the facilities were closed / limited because of COVID, like the ranger station was closed so I couldn’t get my passport stamp. The bathrooms and the gift shops were still open, but with limited capacity due to social distancing, so there was a long line / wait time to get in some of the buildings.
Photos honestly don’t do it justice. She’s very grand indeed, being the largest hot spring in the US & the 3rd largest in the world. Approximately 370 feet wide by 160 feet deep, she’s best viewed by air. For those that don’t have immediate access to a helicopter, there’s thankfully a hiking trail that will take you to a good viewpoint. If you exit the parking lot, take a right, and turn into the next parking lot a mile or so down the road. This lot was also quite full as it leads you to a waterfall hike as well. Getting out of the van, we were greeted by another mini hot spring right in the parking lot. They’re literally everywhere, its insane. The hike is 1.2 miles roundtrip and it’s a pretty easy one. The trail gradually climbs 105 feet over 0.6 miles from the Fairy Falls Trailhead to a view looking down on Grand Prismatic Spring.
Grand Prismatic gets the name from the rainbow of colors surrounding the spring. The colors are a result of bacteria, temperature and the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids present in the water.
The center of the spring is too hot for bacteria to survive, with the temperature gradually dropping towards the edges. This explains why the dazzling bright yellows, fierce oranges and deep reds only appear around the edges while the deep blue remains confined to the centre. All of the bacteria works together to create a beautiful. giant, natural rainbow that is jaw-dropping.
The entire area is geothermic so there’s also hundreds of more hot springs and other geothermal features. Boardwalks built over them allow you intimate access, you can literally walk on top of them or at least get as close as possible. Get super careful, because the water is extremely hot & you would damage the ecosystem if you stepped off the boardwalk too. Pets aren’t allowed on the boardwalks either because of the obvious dangers.
Stay tuned to see where I end up for part 2!
