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Published: March 25th 2008
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Distance: Mammoth Hot Springs ~ 1 mile, Hellroaring Creek - 4 miles
Rating: Mammoth Hot Springs - easy, Hellroaring Creek - difficult
For day two in Yellowstone, we decided to head to the northern part of the park, just south of the Montana border. We visited a couple of popular areas and did our first legitimate trail hike of the trip. The northern section of Yellowstone is outside of the volcano’s caldera and tends to be more mountainous.
Our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs, one of the most unique thermal areas in the park. Unlike the geyser basins within the caldera, Mammoth has formed on a slope, which has resulted in the unique terraced formations that the area is best known for. It is believed that Mammoth’s water source is connected to Norris Geyser Basin to the south. As the superheated water from Norris flows towards Mammoth, it collects calcium carbonate, which hardens into travertine. As the water bubbles to the surface and flows downhill, the travertine is deposited along the slope. The area’s ethereal moonscape appearance comes from thousands of years of deposits. Over time, some of the springs have shifted or dried up, leaving large, dry
portions of the overall travertine structure. Where active springs still exist, our friends the thermophiles have colored the runoff with oranges, yellows, and browns. The lower part of Mammoth, dominated by the Minerva and Jupiter terraces, are less active than the higher regions. A series of boardwalks and paved paths wind around the lower terraces and tend to see the most foot traffic. At the moment, only Palette Spring along the north side of Minerva Terrace, and a small spring on Jupiter Terrace are active.
A short drive to the west from the parking area brings visitors to the more active upper terraces. Perhaps the strangest formation in this area is the Orange Spring Mound. Resembling an elephant covered in a sheet, this formation owes its unusual looks to slower water flow out of the central spring. Continuing around the loop, visitors come to a slightly longer boardwalk area that leads down to the terraces below the large and active Canary Spring. The runoff from this sizable spring creates some nice waterfalls and is one of the most colorful parts of the Mammoth area.
After finishing at Mammoth Hot Springs, we took a quick lunch, and then headed
to the Hellroaring Creek Trail. This hike gave us an opportunity to get away from the throngs of tourists in the more popular areas. The Hellroaring Creek Trail explores the hilly region along the northern stretches of the Yellowstone River. The trail eventually ends at the banks of the Hellroaring Creek, which feeds into the Yellowstone. This hike is approximately 4 miles roundtrip.
From the parking lot, the trail descends through open fields and the occasional patch of pine forest. The first mile or so is spent along steep switchbacks that wind down towards the Yellowstone River, which is easily visible from the trail. After the switchbacks, the trail flattens out and crosses a stable suspension bridge over a gorge created by the Yellowstone. From here, the trail climbs a bit into a more densely forested area before entering the valley of Hellroaring Creek. Rolling hills and sage meadows dominate the land surrounding the creek. A few tenths of a mile from the creek, the trail forks and heads north to the creek’s bank or northwest to the confluence with the Yellowstone.
I am forced to assume that Hellroaring Creek must be much louder and stronger during other
times of the year. “Hellroaring” seems like something of a misnomer for this broad but shallow creek. After we took some time to rest and wade in the water, we made our return trip. As I suspected, this is the difficult part of the hike. Logically, as most of the outbound portion is downhill, one must climb back up. The last mile of the hike (on the other side of the suspension bridge) is quite steep, which is why I rate the return trip as difficult. Overall, this was a very pretty and worthwhile hike.
Our final stop for the day was Tower Falls to the southeast. Along with the Upper and Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower Falls is another very popular tourist stop. A steep paved path usually leads down to an observation deck below the falls, but it was under construction when we were there. So, while Christy and Robbie attempted to get closer to the falls along a social trail, I headed back up and rested near the Visitor Center.
Directions: From Canyon Village inside the park, take Norris Canyon Rd west for 12 miles to the Norris area. Turn
right at Norris and follow Grand Loop Rd north to Mammoth Hot Springs. From Mammoth/Fort Yellowstone area, head east along Grand Loop Rd for about 9 or 10 miles to the trailhead for Hellroaring Creek (along the north side of the road). Continue east along Grand Loop Rd past the Tower-Roosevelt area to Tower Falls. (For directions to Yellowstone, see my entry titled “The Yellowstone/Grand Teton Trip”)
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