Mammoth Hot Springs, located in the Northern section of the Park, near historic Fort Yellowstone, features terraced hillsides of silica based tavertine created over thousands of years by 170 degree hot springs running over the limestone, leaving white, chalky calcium carbonate deposits behind. Algae living in the heated waters add a multitude of colors to the scene. The view changes daily depending on the flow of the waters.
Travertine Minvera Terrace in the Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs area
This is another in our ongoing series describing out Top Ten activities for families visiting Yellowstone National Park with teens and tweens. Click the link to learn about the rest of our list.
Go Early or Late to Avoid the Crowds
Mammoth Hot Springs is almost 50 miles from the Old Faithful area. We took most of a day making the drive because we stopped along the way to see the Norris Geyser Basin. Many people either skip Mammoth Hot Springs or make a day trip and it is popular with tour buses. We recommend staying a night or two in this area so that you can experience another piece of the Yellowstone magic, i.e. the Mammoth Hot Spring terraces at twilight or early morning without crowds to distract you from the surrounding beauty. Although we hadn’t exactly planned it this way, we arrived at the terraces with just enough time to explore the 1 mile lower terrace trail and boardwalk system as well as 1.5 mile upper terrace drive before sundown. Particularly on the upper terrace there few other people on the trails or lookout points and our teen and tween could explore to their hearts’ content. The quiet plus the subdued lighting and lack of crowds allowed us to really take in in and appreciate just what a unique place this is.
Mammoth Hot Spring terraces are magical at twilight
By staying at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel we were able to really explore the northern area of the park including the Beaver Pond loop trail which leaves from the Terraces parking area. Like most of the park lodgings there is no internet or air conditioning but we found that the 6,000+ foot elevation of the area made for cool nights and had us looking for our sweatshirt in the evening and early mornings. The elk on the front lawn more than made up for the lack of TV. Cabins are also available in this area. It was also a good jumping off point for exploring the Hayden Valley and the Tower Falls areas.
