Yellowstone National Park: Mammoth Hot Springs & Lamar Valley
Before you can see Mammoth Hot Springs, you will probably smell it! The stench of sulfur permeated the thick fog on our third morning at Yellowstone and clung to our nostrils as we drove up to check it out. We woke up very, very early this morning (I think it was 4:45am!) so that we could try and see as much wildlife as we possibly could. We were told that early mornings were the time to see bull moose active but unfortunately we were never able to see one! We made our way from our hotel having checked out early and headed out to explore the top loop of Yellowstone. This would include stops at Mammoth Hot Springs and Lamar Valley.
Mammoth Hot Springs was very different from the other thermal geysers and springs we had seen thus far. Where the ones we had previously seen were mostly thermal pools and geysers, Mammoth Hot Springs stood out as a giant monolith of limestone with stamping pools of water. It looked as if it was a cave turned inside out. If you are visiting, make sure you don’t go too early as the steam is heavy in the morning especially on cooler days and will obscure your vision. There is a nice, easy to navigate boardwalk that makes its way around the springs and boasts great views of the springs as well as Mammoth Hot Springs Village down the hill below. There, you can stop for snacks, gas, a meal, and also see plenty of elk and chipmunks wandering around the staff housing there.
Our next stop would be our favorite which was unexpected. We were told that if you wanted to see predators in Yellowstone (like coyotes, bears, wolves), that Lamar Valley was the place to go. One thing to know for Yellowstone: if you see a group of vehicles pulled off to the side of the road, pull over with them! Usually this means that there is some animal activity. We experienced this quite often and were treated to 5 different bear sightings in one day including grizzlies and black bear. One one occasion we pulled over to witness a coyote going after a baby badger. We heard the yelps of the baby as the coyote was carrying it off but then the mother badger came rushing out of the tall grass to scare off the coyote. The predator dropped the prey and what ensued was a 20 plus minute back and forth battle between mother and predator. It was truly jaw-dropping and was something we made sure to describe to all our friends and family when we returned. Lamar Valley is the place to see wildlife so if you decide that geysers and waterfalls are just not your thing and you’d rather check out some bears and wolves, head straight to Lamar Valley. You can easily spend a whole day there!
After this exciting day, we left through the north entrance of the park and drove to Big Sky, MT where our final hotel would be before we headed out to Missoula, MT to visit some friends and check out Glacier National Park!
