From Yellowstone National Park where the hills
are emerald green and full of wildlife This is
that Scott guy you know and love with a brand
new episode of this week in Yellowstone What's
up everybody this week in Yellowstone National
Park from June 11th to June 17th 2026 I hope
to convince you to set an early morning alarm,
tell you to take those side roads, and let you
know why moose are so tricky to find in Yellowstone.
I'll also give you the complete weather forecast,
a cool trail to hike, the wildlife report, and
everything else you need to have an incredible
time this week in Yellowstone. standard disclaimer
I'm gonna miss a few details here and there so
if there's something that you need more information
on reach out to me I also mentioned park locations
very casually so again if you're unfamiliar a
quick search online can help or just reach out
to me you can text me 406 -589 -1873 also This
podcast is a passion project of mine. I do not
get paid for this. I am not sponsored. So if
you enjoy it, I'd love a review or a quick email.
If you want to support my work, you can check
out my hiking and wildlife watching guidebooks,
or you can join me for a guided hiking tour in
Yellowstone's backcountry. For more information
on all of that, you can contact me directly at
that phone number I just gave or go to outdoor
-society .com. This week's Yellowstone news.
So the main news that happened today in the park
on Wednesday June 10th was that we had some snow
in the park Couple roads were closed for a little
bit and now the roads are open Snow in June is
actually pretty common. There are a lot of people
I don't want to say freaking out but I can't
think of a better word off the top of my head
right now so there are a lot of people reacting
to this snow that we just had is like they can't
believe it happens all the time happens almost
every June one year on June 21st which was the
solstice to start summer I went on a hike and
I got snowed on You're at elevation in the Rockies,
so expect snow every month. It may not happen,
especially July and August. It rarely happens
then, but it can snow every month, and we're
just seeing that right now. So roads are open
again. Doesn't look like there's another storm
coming in, so it shouldn't happen again in June,
but it might, so be ready. Otherwise, the only
other news story really worthy of talking about
right now is that the May 2026 visitation statistics
came out, and visitation in May of 2026 was the
busiest on record for the month of May, and it
showed a 20 % increase from May of 2021, which
was Yellowstone's most busy year. However, this
is only up 1 % from last year's May visitation.
In May of this year, we saw 773 ,653 visitors.
That's about 11 ,000 more visitors than came
in May of 2025. So visitation is up. However,
it's just one of those, you know, parks popular.
A lot of people came out. We had a low snowpack,
so that really helped get more people in. I threaten
this every time I talk about park statistics.
I love park statistics. I can do a deep dive
into this. If anybody is really interested in
a deep dive in park statistics, reach out to
me. Happy to just jump in and do just a full
standalone episode. I will dive into this a little
more next week's episode, but this week is pretty
busy. So we're just going to jump right into
the experience of the week. My experience of
the week is embrace the early mornings now most
people don't associate Vacations with alarm clocks
or waking up early for most of us We wake up
pretty early when we're working and then we're
on vacation. It's kind of nice to sleep in especially
if you're away from home There's not as many
responsibilities like sleeping in is great I
love sleeping in but if you do sleep in in Yellowstone
National Park You're going to miss some of the
most exciting moments in the park Some of the
park's most memorable moments happen before breakfast
right after sunrise, and visitors who embrace
the early mornings often see a side of Yellowstone
that many others will never experience. The first
thing you're going to notice when you're up way
too early, or the right amount of early, is you're
going to notice how alive the park feels at dawn.
While most visitors are still tucked away in
lodges, campgrounds, cabins, and hotels out of
the park, Yellowstone's wildlife is already active.
National Park Service after all recommends dawn
and dusk as the best time for wildlife viewing
and it's easy to understand why. Cool morning
temperatures encourage animals to move, feed,
and travel before the heat of the day sets in.
Mid -June is an especially exciting time because
many young animals are still visible across the
park. Bison calves are going to be dotting the
valleys with their reddish coats. Elk cows are
going to be you know, protecting their newborn
calves, and bears are spending long hours foraging
for food or moving their cubs around. In places
like Hayden, Lamar, even out in SLU, Little America,
all those places, you are going to have some
really good wildlife viewing very early in the
morning. The scenery itself also seems to come
alive in a different way during the first hours
of daylight. Yellowstone's geothermal features
never stop working. but they often put on their
most dramatic displays when the morning air is
still really cool. Overnight temperatures in
June can still dip into the 20s, 30s, and that
can create ideal conditions for thick steam to
rise from geysers, fumaroles, and hot springs.
As sunlight begins filtering across the landscape,
enormous clouds of steam can be seen drifting
through the geyser basins, creating scenes that
feel almost otherworldly. Places like old faithful
Norris upper geyser basin can look completely
different But also just all of those little thermal
areas that you drive by and don't think much
of are all going to be steaming in the morning
and Just with that soft morning light creates
an atmosphere that is just perfect The sunrise
itself is worth seeing and so by mid -June the
sun's gonna rise around 6 a .m. and the light
just starts peeking over the mountains and across
Yellowstone's rivers, forests and valleys and
lakes, transforming the landscape just into this
beautiful glowing golden early morning view.
Yellowstone Lake often lies really calm in the
early morning hours reflecting the surrounding
mountains and sky. Mist can rise from rivers
and wetlands while the first sunlight illuminates
distant peaks. The famous viewpoints, they're
all going to be extremely gorgeous. Being in
the Grand Canyon at sunrise, really cool. But
those little roadside pullouts that barely earned
a glance the day before can suddenly become one
of the most memorable stops of an entire trip
when you see it at sunrise. There is another
practical benefit to getting an early start.
As we know Yellowstone is one of the most visited
national parks in the US and June marks kind
of that beginning of the really busy summer season.
During the day parking lots fill, traffic backups
develop, and popular attractions become crowded
as the morning progresses. Visitors who begin
early before sunrise or right at sunrise often
enjoy several hours of relative solitude. They
find easier parking, quieter boardwalks, and
less congestion on the road. There's something
special about standing near Old Faithful or walking
to the Grand Prismatic Overlook when there's
only a handful of other people around. These
moments become increasingly difficult to find
as the day unfolds, and that's why it's even
better to have those. The atmosphere of Yellowstone
also feels very different in the early morning.
The air is going to be really crisp and cool,
birdsong carries across meadows and forests,
the sound of rushing river and bubbling thermal
features seem more noticeable when there's fewer
people around and less road noise. Instead of
rushing from one famous attraction to another,
the early hours invite visitors to slow down
and appreciate the park itself. Yellowstone has
always been a place of grand scenery and iconic
landmarks, but it's often the quieter moments
that leave the strongest impressions. Perhaps
the greatest reward for getting up early is that
the day is still ahead of you. By the time many
visitors are finishing breakfast and waiting
in line at West Yellowstone, you've already seen
wildlife in the valleys, you've seen geothermal
basins have steam rising from them and the steam
vanishes as it gets warmer, you've seen the sunrise,
and you've visited some of the park's most famous
attractions without anybody else there. Rather
than losing sleep, you've gained access to a
more dramatic peaceful version of Yellowstone
that just feels more connected to the rhythms
of the park itself. I do want to say that when
you do enter in the morning, and if you're thinking
about hiking it early in the morning, don't start
hiking right at sunrise. Wait a little bit. Sunrise
is a really good time, you would think, to go
out. However, This is the time where bears are
really active where you may also come across
Sleeping bison that you don't see below the stage
So give the day a little bit of time to wake
up before you hit the trails Use those really
early morning hours around sunrise to drive around
go to the more populated or popular boardwalk
areas and That way you can be safe and not be
in the backcountry where it's a little more dangerous
really at that dawn time So next time you're
tempted to hit the snooze button when you're
visiting Yellowstone, consider what you're gonna
be missing. The wildlife is already gonna be
moving around, the thermal features are gonna
be sending clouds of steam into the morning air,
the first sunlight's gonna paint the landscape
in gold, and long before the crowds arrive, Yellowstone
is waiting for you and wanting to put on one
of its best shows of the day just for you. My
tip of the week. Take the side roads. If you
want to experience Yellowstone a little differently,
there's an easy way to do it. Most visitors stick
to the main roads, rushing from Old Faithful
to Canyon to Mammoth to Lamar and back. What
many don't realize is that some of Yellowstone's
most memorable moments happen just a few miles
off the main route. There are some short scenic
drives that offer a slower, quieter side of the
park, where wildlife sightings, waterfalls, rivers,
and wide -open landscapes often outshine the
more famous attractions. One of the classic side
roads is Virginia Cascades Drive, a narrow one
-way road just east of Norris. The 2 .5 mile
drive follows a given river through dense lodgepole
pine forest before arriving at Virginia Cascades,
which is a 60 -foot waterfall. Waterfall is not
quite the right word. It's a cascade, right?
It tumbles over volcanic rock and it's like a
giant water slide. The road itself feels like
stepping into an older less hurried Yellowstone
and since RVs and buses aren't permitted traffic
is usually light making it peaceful and a much
better way to avoid that busy highway. It's also
that stretch is not the most exciting stretch
in the park from Norris to Canyon so having these
two and a half miles really helps break it up.
This is also a really cool area to have a picnic
midday. A little farther south, the Firehole
River Drive offers another worthwhile detour.
Running alongside the Firehole River near Madison
Junction, this short one -way route reveals the
side of Yellowstone many people just speed past
again. The road traces the river, which cuts
through a dramatic canyon with overlooks of waterfalls,
river scenery, and just a great way to enjoy
Yellowstone, right? This is what Yellowstone
used to be. There used to just be narrow roads
and a slower pace of travel. Firehole River is
one of Yellowstone's most unique waterways because
it's warm by the park's geothermal activity upstream.
So it creates landscapes unlike anywhere else
in the park. Along this road though, this is
a great place to see the water features, look
around, look for birds. The osprey have a nest
there. I usually see eagles. There's sometimes
bison just walking down the road. It's a gorgeous
drive that really should be experienced. In fact,
I take this every time I drive by it, so I think
you should too. Near Yellowstone Lake, Goal Point
Drive offers a completely different experience.
The seasonal road meanders through lakeside forests
and then drops down the shoreline where the viewpoints
of the lake and the surrounding area are unrivaled.
The drive is especially rewarding for bird watchers
and photographers with opportunities to enjoy
sweeping views across North America's largest
high elevation lake, a chance to just see some
wildlife as they're walking along the shoreline.
I've seen elk out here and bison and again, as
I mentioned, lots of good birds. So this is also
a really good place for a lunch spot, so when
you're driving by the lake and you need something,
go down Gold Point Drive, have a lunch, take
in the views, wade in the water a little bit,
and just enjoy the lake. Now for wildlife enthusiasts,
Blacktail Plateau Drive is one of Yellowstone's
most underrated roads. This about six mile one
-way gravel route between Mammoth and Tower winds
through open meadows, forests, and high ridges
that provide excellent habitat for wildlife.
I just drove this the other day and I saw three
bears in one mile. So definitely go up there.
The National Park Service really highlights this
as the drive that gives you a more rustic alternative
to the Grand Loop. You may see elk, you're probably
gonna see bears there, there's bison, and there's
other animals, as well as wildflowers are starting
to pop off right now, and sweeping views of the
northern range. Early mornings and evenings are
usually the best here, but I drove it in the
middle of the day when I saw my bears, so you
just never know what you're gonna do. Again,
do not skip Blacktail Plateau Drive, especially
early morning or the evening. Now, if your goal
is spotting predators, Slough Creek Road deserves
a place on your itinerary. Located just west
of Lamar Valley, this gravel road leads to one
of Yellowstone's most celebrated wildlife watching
areas. I think I've talked about this before,
but a lot of people just lump in Lamar Valley
as that whole northern range as soon as you leave
Tower Roosevelt Junction and go all the way to
Cook City, that's Lamar Valley. Technically,
that is not true, but... you know it's easy to
lump it in there however slew creek is its own
unique area and it is one of the better places
that's why i'm mentioning it it's a short out
and back road when you drive it i usually see
coyotes bears uh there's some badgers out there
there's some cool birds there's a wolf den that
was out there i'll talk about that in a little
bit probably and then you know there's just Big
big views with bison with pronghorn with elk
all of those also There's a mountain nearby there
that has some mountain lions, so maybe you'll
get lucky and see one of the elusive mountain
lions The road itself is short But it is one
of those places where it opens the door to one
of the richest wildlife habitats in the entire
Greater Yellowstone ecosystem If you're driving
over Dunraven Pass, there's Chittenden Road which
is just a branch off of Dunraven Pass. While
many visitors know Mount Washburn as one of Yellowstone's
premier hikes, fewer take the spur road that
climbed toward the mountain's trailhead. Even
if you're not planning a hike, when open, the
drive up Chittenden Road rewards visitors with
sweeping mountain views and excellent opportunities
to spot bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, black bears,
marmots, all sorts of wildlife. It's often really
windy up here, but on clear days you're going
to have an amazing opportunity to take in Yellowstone's
immense scale from up above. There's also a side
road heading back to West Yellowstone that I
highly recommend. It's a one -way road heading
west that skirts along the river and allows you
a chance to slow down and enjoy a few more moments
in the park before you exit. Sometimes there's
bison down there, sometimes there's elk, usually
there's some birds. and it's just not that popular
of a drive so if you're like battling crowds
in West Yellowstone like heading back in the
afternoon and everybody's stopping for a bison
one last time and you don't want to deal with
that take the side road for a mile or so and
just have it to yourself it's great there are
a couple other side roads that i could mention
here but part of the reason i'm telling you just
a few of them is you have an opportunity to look
at a map and say i want to drive this other road
Drive that road, see what's down there. Worst
case is you drive a couple more miles. Best case
is you have an opportunity to drive somewhere
that you didn't know existed and have a new memory
of the park that rivals any other memory. Yellowstone
side roads aren't just shortcuts or alternative
routes. They're invitations to slow down. They
encourage you to trade the rush of seeing everything
for the experience of truly seeing something
unique. While everyone else is rushing back and
forth between the park's headline attractions,
these quieter roads offer a chance to discover
the Yellowstone that many people miss. A place
of hidden waterfalls, wildlife filled meadows,
peaceful lakeshores, and unexpected moments of
solitude. My random Yellowstone fact of the week.
Why are moose so hard to see in Yellowstone?
If you ask visitors what they hope to see in
Yellowstone, Most are going to mention bears,
wolves, bison, or elk. If you start prying, most
people want to see a moose. Now if you talk to
the people that have been in the park a lot,
what's an animal they haven't seen? A moose.
This can be a little surprising. Moose are huge.
They can weigh almost a thousand pounds, and
they can stand six feet tall at shoulder. You
would think something this large would be easy
to spot. Yet many people spend days in Yellowstone
without seeing a single moose. and the reason
has less to do with the animal itself and more
to do with what happened to Yellowstone about
four decades ago. For much of the 20th century,
moose were far more common in Yellowstone than
they are today. According to the National Park
Service, Yellowstone's moose population reached
roughly a thousand animals in the 1970s. Today,
fewer than 200 remain in the park. The northern
Yellowstone population has declined by at least
75 % since the 1980s. One of the biggest turning
points came during the historic fires of 1988.
Those fires affected about 36 % of Yellowstone
National Park, transforming hundreds of thousands
of acres of forest. While many Yellowstone species
quickly recovered, the moose did not. National
Park Service notes that moose were the only native
ungulate in Yellowstone whose population declined
after the fires. Elk, deer, bison rebounded,
but moose numbers continued to fall. So why were
the moose hit so hard? The answer lies in the
type of habitat they depend on. Unlike many moose
populations elsewhere in North America, Yellowstone's
moose rely heavily on mature spruce and fir forests
for winter survival. The 1988 fires burned large
areas of those older forests, removing important
winter habitat and reducing available browsing.
After the fires, deeper snow accumulated in places
where those protective forest canopies had been
lost, making survival even more difficult. The
winter of 1988 -89 was very harsh, and many older
moose died during that period. In a sense, many
moose didn't simply disappear. They lost the
habitat that made portions of Yellowstone attractive
to them in the first place. The fires weren't
the only factor, however. The MPS points to combination
long -term moose decline including habitat loss,
predators, hunting pressure outside the park,
and changes to the surrounding ecosystem. Moose
reproduce more slowly than elk and are naturally
less numerous, making population recovery a much
slower process. Another challenge for visitors
is that Yellowstone isn't necessarily the best
moose habitat in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem
anymore. Many of the region's moose are found
in areas outside the park, particularly in wetter
habitats and drainages that provide the food
and cover they need year -round. Within Yellowstone,
moose are now often found in the park's northeastern
corner near Cook City and Silvergate, or the
southeastern corner, which is the side of the
lake that no one can get to. Now this isn't to
say that you're not going to see a moose There
have been more moose hanging out the last couple
of years by like floating Island Lake Even out
by Indian Creek campground by Swan Lake flats
that area is rebounding But the numbers of moose
that are around still are not that high if we
think that there's about 200 250 moose in the
park There are about 80 to 90 wolves in the park.
So there's only two and a half times more moose
than wolves in the park, and wolves are still
one of those very rare things to see, and so
moose need to be treated that way as well. Moose
are also pretty solitary. They don't like to
be by the roads, and when you have a landscape
the size of Yellowstone, they have a lot of places
to go where they aren't gonna ever see a person.
That's why Yellowstone visitors can always see
hundreds of bison, dozens of elk, a couple bears,
some wolves, and still go home without seeing
a moose. Ironically, that rarity is part of what
makes a moose sighting so memorable. When one
finally steps out along a willow -lined creek
or appears beside a quiet river at dawn, you're
looking at one of Yellowstone's most elusive
success stories and one of its most challenging
conservation puzzles. The next time someone tells
you they didn't see a moose in Yellowstone, it
isn't because they weren't looking hard. It's
because they're searching for an animal whose
numbers have never fully recovered from a dramatic
shift in the park's landscape that began with
the fires in 1988 and continues today. Now, if
you do want to see a moose, what I always tell
people, go to the Tetons. There's a lot more
moose down there. There's also a lot of moose
out by Big Sky, that whole Gallatin Gateway along
the Gallatin River. There's even a lot of moose
in Paradise Valley if you go into the Absaroka
Beartooth Wilderness. There's a couple drainages
that I hike at near my house, and there's moose
there all the time. We even have a resident moose
near Livingston that comes into town sometimes.
But in the park, it's just a lot more rare. So
if you're looking for moose, best of luck, and
if you don't see one... Now you at least know
why. It's not you. It's the moose. The weather
for the coming week. So as always, this is the
best forecast for the week at the time of recording.
It is 4 p .m. on Wednesday, June 10th, so this
is going to change a couple times depending on
what day you're around. Forecast always changes,
but this should be within the ballpark of what
you'll experience. So let's start with Lamar
Valley. where right now it's currently 40 degrees.
On Thursday, it's going to be much warmer. 62
is a high, 33 is a low, no real rain. Friday,
69 and 37. Saturday, 57 and 31 with a 24 % chance
of rain, largely in the morning and evening.
Sunday, 65 and 32 with early morning chance of
rain. Monday, 70 and 39. Tuesday, 76 and 45.
And Wednesday, 75 and 40. The weather for Gardner,
Montana Thursday Highest 67, Low of 37 Friday
Highest 74, Low of 40 Saturday Highest 60, Low
of 34 30 % chance of some rain Sunday 67 and
36 with a 13 % chance of morning rain Monday
74 and 43 Tuesday 81 and 49 Wednesday 80 and
43 In West Yellowstone, Montana, Thursday Highest
61, Low of 30, Friday 69 and 33, Saturday 60
and 29, Sunday 66 and 31, Monday 72 and 38, Tuesday
76 and 43, Wednesday 76 and 38. In Cody, Wyoming,
a high of 72 and 48 for Thursday. Friday will
be 79 and 45. Saturday will be 58 and 42 with
a 33 % chance of some rain. Sunday, 68 and 45.
Monday, 76 and 50. Tuesday, 87 and 58. And Wednesday,
85 and 52. And finally, we end the weather with
Cook City, where it's currently snowing and should
continue to snow through the night. On Thursday,
high of 58, low of 35. On Friday, high of 64,
low of 37 with some rain in the evening. Saturday,
high of 52, low of 30 with a 31 % chance of rain
throughout the day. Sunday 59 and 32 with some
rain in the morning, Monday 65 and 40, Tuesday
71 and 46, and Wednesday 71 and 40. Now obviously
these temperatures and this forecast can change
a bit, but it's gonna be cold in the morning,
hot in the daytime. By the way, 70 in the park
will feel like 80 or 90 even if there's no humidity.
Please take the warmer days seriously, wear layers,
and be ready to shed layers when needed. So the
road conditions road should be opening up in
the morning as I was recording. There's another
alert that A couple of the roads are closed again,
so check the roads before you go into the park.
They should be open Thursday morning and shouldn't
have any problem throughout the week. Beartooth
Highway may be closed, so we're just going to
see what happens there. If you do want up -to
-date information, you can call 307 -344 -2117
for recorded information from the park, or you
can sign up to receive Yellowstone Road Alerts
on your mobile phone by texting 82190 to the
number 888... 777 Camping information. Mammoth
is open, Madison is open, Fishing Bridge is open,
Bridge Bay is open, Tower is open, Canning is
open, Indian Creek opens on the 12th, Slough
Creek opens on the 15th, and Lewis Lake also
opens on the 15th. That's pretty much all of
the campgrounds that are open. The only one that
is not going to be open for a little bit longer
is going to be Grant, which is closed until June
26th. The wildlife watching update so I teased
this earlier. It's not is it teasing if it's
not good news It looks like distemper has run
rampant through the wolf packs again The wolves
in the den apparently all the pups have died
If not all of them most of them because of distemper
is the rumor it looks like this is another very
bad Puppy year for the park wolf populations
will continue to drop. It's currently in the
80s right now Probably will drop much lower by
next year, so we will continue to monitor that.
That is something I wanted to mention right off
the bat in case you're going and you're wanting
to see pups. It's not gonna happen this year,
unfortunately. Very sad, but there's not much
we can do about it. The one thing we can do about
it, continue to support places that support wolves.
If you're active voting and you care about wolves,
maybe don't vote for people who are super anti
-wolf. That's all I'm going to say about that.
It's a very complicated issue. So right now,
wolf populations struggling in Yellowstone. All
right, positive wildlife watching news. Right
now, Lamar Valley is absolutely popping off with
activity. This last week has been insane. There's
been grizzlies on carcasses getting chased off
by wolves. Everybody's been chasing the coyotes
off the carcasses. There's been a bison funeral,
which I'm going to talk about in a couple of
weeks. There have been all of these things in
Lamar Valley that you definitely need to get
out there and see. Will they continue through
this coming week? Who knows, but Lamar Valley,
Little America, that whole north eastern side
of the park, definitely very good. there's mountain
goats up on baronet peak people are seeing i
mentioned moose earlier people are still seeing
some moose out by cook city so hit that up i
also heard like i mentioned there's some moose
that are hanging out by floating island lake
every so often so that's good Pronghorn are gonna
start having their babies. Best place I usually
see them is Little America by the Specimen and
Ridge West trailhead, so by the Yellowstone River
picnic area. There's usually a field that they
have their babies out there. There's been lots
of black bears all around the Bermuda Triangle,
which I've recently talked about. And then when
you dip into Hayden, you're gonna see lots of
wildlife out there. It's really starting to pick
up in Hayden as well. Heading out the east entrance,
bighorn sheep, grizzly bears all over. It's a
good place to go. Just make sure you keep your
distance. Big horn sheep are also visible from
calcite springs. There's babies still running
around out there, so check that out. There's
some badgers out by Slough Creek and out by the
petrified, not the petrified tree area you're
thinking of, but the petrified forest trail just
near Slough Creek. There's a couple out there
as well. Other than that, I didn't see a lot
driving up from West to Mammoth the other day.
Maybe it was just my timing, but saw a couple
bison, one elk. But that doesn't mean there's
going to be nothing there. Just know that that
may not be the most active place. You may see
some bison in the thermal areas as well down
around Old Faithful. And then as you get further
south, wildlife activity is really just going
to be hit and miss. Your main corridors, the
Northern Road from basically hell roaring up
to Tower, then out to Soda Butte or Round Prairie,
Pebble Creek area by Lamar, that's gonna be that
main corridor. Take those side roads, take everything
you can, and you should have some good luck.
Obviously mornings, evenings, cooler weather,
really gonna help. Saturday could be very good
based on that cold weather. I could, again, I
love talking about where the animals are, but
also there's, you know, that worry that I'm gonna
tell everybody to go to the same spot. If you
need more information, reach out to me. I have
a really good wildlife watching guidebook that
I wrote based on my entire lifetime of visiting
the park. If you pick that up, guarantee you're
going to have better success than if you just
wing it. Trail alerts and updates. The most interesting
trail alert I saw the other day was that the
trail heading out of Mammoth that goes around
Beaver Ponds or up Sepulcher Peak. I know everybody
pronounces that word different. I say Sepulcher.
Sepulcher. Say it how you want. I did sepulchre
and the other day by myself, 12 miles round trip,
3 ,500 feet of gain, and on the way back I...
Check the signs and there's a mountain lion warning
out there. So that was a pretty cool sign Didn't
see anything saw lots of bear scat lots of bear
prints bears are everywhere right now carry bear
spray I'm gonna have a link in the show notes
to the conditions page for the backcountry Use
that if you're in mammoth and you want to know
specific trail conditions beyond the easy trails
Go down to the backcountry office. The people
working down there are awesome They gave me a
lot of information, which is why I did the hike
that I did. So, you know If you're hiking, carry
bear spray, have it readily accessible and not
in a backpack, and know how to use it, you may
only have two or three seconds. Also, if you've
made it this far and you're still listening,
I know what to do obviously, but do you know
what to do if you encounter multiple bison on
a trail while hiking? If you do, message me.
If you don't already have it and you message
me, maybe I'll send you a guidebook or something
because I love interactions. But I'm just curious
what you think you do if you encounter bison
while hiking. There's more than one correct answer,
but I'm curious what most people think. All right.
That leads me to my Trek of the Week, which I
was going to. say to do the hike that I just
did but that seemed lazy. Instead I'm going to
tell you to do a hike that I think is perfect
for this time of year and that is the seven mile
hole trail in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
So the following is an excerpt from a hiking
guidebook that covers 50 of my favorite trails
in and around Yellowstone National Park. So if
you like what you hear and you want to know more,
pick up my hiking guidebook and it basically
is descriptions just like this. So, starting
at the end of the most dramatic sections of the
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, this trail is
largely overlooked. No boardwalks are found,
nor are there any amenities you find when driving
and hiking along the north rim of the canyon.
Instead, what you find here is a long and wonderful
trail along the canyon rim where sweeping views
of the treeline cliffs continue to leave one
in awe. While the rest of the views of the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon often leave people speechless, the
subtle beauty along this trek makes the canyon
and river feel more approachable and gentle,
welcoming you as you hike downriver. Across the
way, keep an eye out for Silver Cord Cascade,
a waterfall that is most impressive after heavy
rain or during the early summer months, like
now. The hike is honestly a spot in the canyon
area where one can truly take a deep breath and
relax in nature. The first half of the trail
is in the woods with minimal views, but once
you do get views, they'll be etched in your mind's
eye forever. With the added bonus of being able
to walk directly through a thermal area before
reaching the Yellowstone River, this trail could
become a yearly tradition for you. The important
thing to know about this trail is that you get
what you want out of it. Hike here with an open
mind and lowered expectations. Not because they
won't be met, but because this trail will reward
you well. All you have to do is be open to its
wonders. For the first 1 .3 miles, the trail
runs parallel to the canyon rim with great views
every so often. The path meanders in the woods
a bit, but the canopy is welcomed, absorbing
the sounds of the nearby infrastructure of Canyon
and replacing it with the sounds of wind in the
trees and the river below. The next mile of the
trail is well maintained single track, passing
through part of a forest that is now home to
grizzlies and black bears as well as bison and
elk. The path rises and falls in manageable sections,
never really climbing steeply. At 2 .4 miles,
you'll reach a clearing slash seasonal pond.
Be aware that this is the one section of the
trail that may have some mosquitoes, and they
are aggressive mosquitoes, so come prepared.
For this entire section, you'll have gained around
400 feet in elevation. If you look north in the
clearing, you'll see Mount Washburn rising in
the distance. If you feel called to summit the
mountain from this trail, please contact me or
pick up this guidebook. There's also a hidden
and overlooked thermal area on the spur trail
that is the Washburn Hot Springs. It is one of
the smelliest hot springs. I'm going to talk
about smelly hot springs later a couple weeks
from now, but... This is a fantastic side trek.
It adds, you know, four miles, but Washburn Hot
Springs, if you love the smell of, like, acidic
awfulness and thermal basins, you will love Washburn
Hot Springs. If you want more and you want to
summit Washburn, it is a serious day. It's a
fantastic hike, but it's better to do as a point
-by -point with two cars. So, beyond the clearing
on the main trail of 7 mile hole, the trail continues
to pass through the forest, with minimal views
emerging until 3 .3 miles from the trailhead.
Here you'll see the forested canyon walls, as
well as all the way down to the Yellowstone River
below. From this point on, you'll be descending
down to the Yellowstone River 1 ,200 feet below
you. At the 4 mile mark, 700 feet away from the
aft room engine overlook at 3 .3 miles, one of
the hidden gems of this hike emerges, an area
with small bubbling pools, fumaroles, and other
unique thermal features scattered throughout.
There's a well -worn footpath that should be
visible to maneuver through this area. Do not
deviate from this, as the ground may not be reliable
or firm. Don't let this scare you away though,
this area is a great spot to look around and
enjoy, especially knowing that not many visitors
will ever see this. The next mile of the trail
continues to descend down to the river, passing
through a forest, past a backcountry campsite
spur trail, and then onto the rocky shore of
the river. If you've brought a fishing pole and
have your permit, enjoy your time here. If you
want to dip in the water, it's going to be very
cold and it's pretty fast moving. And if you
came empty handed, just sit back and enjoy the
view. The trek out is the tough part of this
hike, so really take your time down by the river.
Enjoy it. Soak it all in. The trail will climb
out of the canyon for the next two miles with
a gain of about 1 ,300 feet. You know, that same
thing you dropped down. It's gonna more than
likely feel way more steep than that and you're
probably gonna be tired, but that's gonna be
fine. You're gonna be okay. Take your time. then
you're going to get back up top and the remaining
few miles are going to feel much easier and should
pass quickly with canyon views emerging once
again for those last 1 .3 miles and those last
1 .3 miles there's a few like boot paths to the
canyon room itself that uh didn't mention on
the way out take your time there really enjoy
those this is a beautiful hike seven mile hole
canyon area i love it i think you will too that's
it for this week In next week's episode, I'll
return with all the information you need to have
a good week in the park, including the wildlife,
weather, and trail updates. Until then, pick
up a guidebook of mine, tell your friends, tell
your family about this podcast. Thank you so
much for listening, and happy trails. This week
in Yellowstone is brought to you by the Outdoor
Society. That's my company. It's just me. I do
this. It's a labor of love. If you like it, tell
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to see you in Yellowstone. Copyright 2026, baby.