Firehole Lake Drive: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Firehole Lake Drive in Yellowstone National Park is a three mile, one way scenic road featuring additional boardwalk-accessible geysers and hot springs, right off of the Grand Loop Road. For some reason, not a lot of people take this short, scenic detour – so if you do decide to do this drive, you’ll feel like you have the place to yourself.
This is a one-way drive, and it’s right along the way if you are headed north, in the direction of Mammoth Hot Springs. If you’re southbound, you’ll have to do a little backtracking once you come out of this drive.
Firehole Lake Drive in Yellowstone National Park – Details
Location: Firehole Lake drive is located about 7 miles north of the Old Faithful geyser area, right in between the Midway Geyser Basin area and the Fountain Paint Pots.
Time Commitment: Granted, the drive is only 3 miles, but you’ll want to make stops along the way to see the thermal features, so give yourself at least 30 minutes to get a quick look at the pullouts.
Firehole Spring
Firehole Spring is the first thermal feature pullout you’ll roll up to – and it’s a beauty! The striking colors of this hot spring will leave you mesmerized.
Surprise Pool
Next up is Surprise Pool – another geothermal feature. Surprise Pool has a deep blue color and was given its name from park visitors who would toss sand into the pool to watch it boil (please don’t do this.)
Great Fountain Geyser
The Great Fountain Geyser is said to erupt every 10-14 hours, and a nearby sign will tell you an ETA (though don’t count on the rangers to keep this up-to-date, as seen in my photo!).
White Dome Geyser
I have really good luck with seeing White Dome Geyser erupting. Every time I do this drive, I’ve seen it erupting – and you probably will too, as it’s erupting every 15-30 minutes. You’ll have to act fast if you see it erupting, as eruptions only last about a minute.
Pink Cone Geyser
Even though Pink Cone Geyser erupts roughly every 6 hours, you still have a decent chance of seeing an eruption, as eruptions can last up to two hours at a time!
Firehole Lake
Firehole Lake is the largest hot spring along the drive. There are boardwalks in this area to explore the spring closer.
Black Warrior Lake and Other Thermal Features
Across the road from Firehole Lake is Black Warrior Lake and other thermal features. Other named thermal features along this drive that you’ll see are the Young Hopeful Geyser, Artesia Geyser, Steady Geyser, and the Hot Cascades.
After this point, there are no more pullouts along the drive – just make your way to the exit.
Firehole Lake Drive – Final Thoughts
Pros:
Fun detour off the main Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone.
Not crowded! You can relax and enjoy visiting the thermal features without standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other tourists
Cons:
It’s a one way drive, so you might have to backtrack depending on what way you’re traveling.
The Fountain Paint Pots are located in-between the entrance and exit of this drive, so if you’re coming from the South, you’ll have to backtrack (turn left) once you exit the drive, or you will miss them.
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Ooo! I cannot wait to get to Yellowstone. We were planning a trip right when things shut down!! Cannot wait to be able to re-plan and get there!
It’s crazy that this is not busy! Is it just that there are so many amazing places in Yellowstone, that people skip some of the cool places? The Firehole Lake drive looks great! I would be tempted to cycle it, to see views the whole way (as it is so short anyway…)
Fab post!
Yellowstone is on my travel bucket list! Not sure when I’ll get to go there but definitely hoping to at someee point. Your photos are beautiful!
Wow the landscape here is incredible! I would love to go for a walk here and see this in person – so beautiful!
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