The Golden Gate of Yellowstone, Mud Volcanos, and the Fishing Bridge

This is part seven of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

On Day Two in Yellowstone, after visiting  Mammoth Hot Springs it was late afternoon and we knew it was a long drive back to our cabin, so we started heading back.  Now, if you're following along on our trusty little park map I've been showing in every Yellowstone post (photo 3), we are at the very top of the figure 8 loop and we need to end up by Yellowstone Lake at the end of the day.  We start to head down the upper loop on the West side, planning to hit any attractions on the way to our cabin.  We didn't drive long, before we came to the scenic pullover "The Golden Gate".

The Golden Gate

The Golden Gate is a "must stop" if ever in Yellowstone.  The photo above does not do it justice.  It is so beautiful in person and the photo below will explain its significance. 

The Golden Gate isn't pictured on the map below but it is on the Yellowstone map provided for you when you enter the park.  If you look at the top of the map below you will see "Mammoth Hot Springs" and slightly below it is "Bunsen Peak", The Golden Gate pullover is slightly below "Bunsen Peak".

Photo Credit

Now there is another main attraction on the figure 8 loop that we did not stop at called the Norris Geyser Basin. It is Yellowstone's "oldest, hottest, and most dynamic of Yellowstone's thermal areas". We didn't stop at the one for two reasons.  Number one, it was getting late and frankly, I was kinda growing tired of hot springs at this point.  There are so many hot springs in Yellowstone, it can get old really fast.  I would recommend if you're short on time like we were, to just go to the thermal areas that interest you the most.  For us, it was "Old Faithful" (although I wouldn't spend too much time walking around Old Faithful looking at all the other thermals in the area), Grand Prismatic Spring,  Mammoth Hot Springs, and the West Thumb (to be shared in next week's post).  The second reason we didn't go to the Norris Geyser Basin was that there was a warning that your car could be damaged by the water sprays in the parking lot.  We have a fairly new car, and weren't willing to take the risk.   However, if we ever have the chance to go back to Yellowstone, I would try and see this area because they also have a cool museum there.

So we passed the Norris Geyser Basin by and were now back in the center of the figure 8 loop.  We had already stopped at the Virginia Cascades the day before, and there is really nothing else to see in the center so we continued driving east, then took the bottom of the figure 8 loop down heading towards Yellowstone Lake.

Sulphur Caldron

Since we were closer to the cabin now, I felt more secure about getting there before dark, so we decided to hit an area in Hayden Valley that we passed by in the early morning.  When passing through this area at dawn, there was so much steam it was eery, and at dusk, there was still a lot of steam.  I was curious about it so we pulled over.  The Sulphur Caldron was just a pullover on the side of the road, and a little bit further is the Mud Volcano area.  We stopped at the Sulphur Caldron first, it is one of the most acidic hot springs in Yellowstone.  This pullover also has a nice view.

Be sure to watch the video below, the sounds of this spring are unbelievable.

Mud Volcano 

Our next stop was the Mud Volcano Area.  If ever there was a place that could give me a glimpse of what hell would be like, it is this place.  The stench of sulphur overwhelms you the second you step out of your vehicle.  The area is a 2/3 mile loop trail.  We had the time to walk the whole trail, so we did.  Here are the highlights:

Most of the area is of bubbling, boiling pits with lots of steam and mud, but you do get the background views of the beautiful Hayden Valley too.
 

You see a lot of dead trees in Yellowstone because of all the hot springs.

The Churning Caldron

The Churning Caldron was the most interesting, and scary thing to see in the Mud Volcano area.  You really have to watch the video to experience this.  The water was almost deafening in person.  It sounded like you are standing on a beach listening to ocean waves; it was so powerful. 

The steam that this area produced was incredible too.  You can see the steam from the road.

This next photo and video is very representative of the entire area:  bubbling mud!

And finally, our second favorite part of this area:  Dragon Mouth Spring.  It really did sound like a dragon!  Be sure to watch the video.

After finishing up at the Mud Volcano Area, we got back in the car to head to our cabin for the night.  I did ask my husband to stop at the Fishing Bridge, so I could take a few photos.  We did drive across this bridge on our way into the park, but we didn't stop for photos.

The Fishing Bridge

This is such a pretty area.  The bridge spans Yellowstone Lake and is called the Fishing Bridge because people use to fish from it.  There are many old photos on line showing people back in the day fishing from this bridge.  Sadly today you are no longer allowed to fish from this bridge.  It was closed to fishing in 1973 due to the decline in the cutthroat population due in part to fishing from this bridge. 

There are steps down from the bridge that leads to a trail around the lake but obviously we didn't take it because now it was dusk.

In the pictures below you can see a bit of the lake trail on the lower left side. 

This really is a very pretty area and a nice peaceful stop if you visit Yellowstone.  Also in this area is a museum, RV park, an automobile repair shop, and a grocery store.  Yellowstone has it all!

Next week I will finish my series on Yellowstone with one final stop on the way out:  West Thumb.  That was cool to see.  Then I will continue on sharing more of our trip out west sharing some western town experiences like Jackson Hole and Cody, along with our visit to The Grand Tetons.  Stay Tuned, there is so much more to come!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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For more information on Yellowstone, please check out these posts:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch

Mammoth Hot Springs