Picnic area · Yellowstone National Park
Nine tables make this a useful break between Norris and Mammoth.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this area
Teeth That Keep Up with the Work“A beaver's front teeth keep growing throughout its life. That's useful for an animal that spends so much time gnawing wood. Daily chewing wears the teeth down, while continued growth replaces what gets worn away.”
Plays near Beaver Lake Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Guide
Beaver Lake Picnic Area is a developed picnic stop between Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs, tucked into pine woods near Beaver Lake. It suits a sit-down meal when that stretch of the park is already on your route. The site has nine picnic tables and one vault toilet.
Plan this as a bring-your-own picnic. The confirmed setup is tables and a vault toilet; site-specific details for drinking water, food service, parking layout, accessibility, and seasonal availability aren't established, so don't count on them from this stop alone.
Keep food, trash, coolers, and cooking tools in a bear-proof container unless you're actively using them. Camp stoves and self-contained charcoal grills are allowed at picnic areas; campfires are allowed only where a fire grate is provided. Overnight camping isn't allowed in picnic areas.
Wildlife
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateGrizzly Lake Trail4.2 mi · 3 hr · 1.1 mi awayA creek bridge, steep fire-scarred climb, and lake between ridges.
ChallengingMount Holmes Trail21.6 mi · 11.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA full-day climb from Winter Creek meadows to a 10,336-foot summit.
ChallengingTrilobite Lake Trail15.6 mi · 8.5 hr · 1.9 mi awayA long climb to a quiet lake beneath Mount Holmes.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayObsidian CliffA brief roadside stop for 11,000 years of toolmaking history.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayRoaring MountainA quick pullout for Yellowstone's steam-vented chalky hillside.
Picnic area · 2.2 mi awayApollinaris Spring Picnic AreaSix picnic tables make an easy lunch stop between Mammoth and Norris.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
