#010 - Yellowstone, Part 2: The Visit | Lamar Valley, Grand Prismatic & the Geyser Basins

Yellowstone covers two and a half million acres — bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined — and most visitors see a fraction of it from the Old Faithful parking lot. This is how to actually move through the park: where to go, when to be there, and what you're really looking at when you arrive.

Host Shawn Spainhour, a former Army officer, walks you through the whole park. The thermal features: Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin, why Grand Prismatic demands the overlook trail rather than the boardwalk, the mud pots at Fountain Paint Pot, and the hot, dynamic Norris basin most people skip. The wildlife: Lamar Valley at dawn — America's Serengeti — and the honest odds on seeing wolves, plus the September elk rut in Hayden Valley. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Artist Point and the soaking roar at the Brink of the Lower Falls. The best day hikes from Mount Washburn to Fairy Falls, and a route into the most remote country in the lower 48. Plus the safety that matters — bear spray on your hip, stay on the boardwalks, give the bison room — when to go, and a full three-day itinerary.

This is Part 2 of the Wildlands Yellowstone series. Part 1 covers the deep history; Part 3 covers where to stay.

Wildlands — know the land before you reach it.