Picnic area · Yellowstone National Park
Five tables beside Lava Creek; two trails start across the road.
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 place
Lava Creek Picnic Area“You’re coming up on Lava Creek Picnic Area, a small creekside lunch stop near Mammoth. There are just five tables, so it’s a simple place to eat outside if you’ve brought food and drinking water.”
Plays as you drive up to Lava Creek 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
Lava Creek Picnic Area is a five-table picnic stop beside Lava Creek near Mammoth Hot Springs. It is a useful place to take a break or eat outside, not a major attraction on its own. I would use it if you are already in this part of the park or pairing lunch with the trails across the road.
There are five picnic tables, one vault toilet and parking. There is no food service here, and Yellowstone lists potable water at Madison as the only picnic-area drinking water, so bring what you need. Parking can be limited at times. Accessibility details are unclear; check ahead if you need a step-free route or accessible toilet.
The Lava Creek Trail and Blacktail Ponds Spur trailheads are across the Grand Loop Road, with parking at the picnic area. Lava Creek Trail is a moderate 4.2-mile one-way hike between separate trailheads, so arrange a vehicle or shuttle at the far end, or turn around and walk back.
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
ModerateLava Creek Trail8.4 mi · 5 hr · At the trailheadA creek canyon leads to a 60-foot waterfall and river junction.
EasyWraith Falls Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 0.5 mi awayA short meadow walk ends at a 79-foot waterfall viewpoint.
ChallengingBlacktail Deer Creek to Yellowstone River Trail7.4 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayGrassy hills lead down to a river bridge, then back up.
ModerateRescue Creek Trail8 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA Northern Range crossing through meadows, forest and sagebrush.
EasyBlacktail Ponds Spur Trail2.2 mi · 1.1 hr · 2.2 mi awayEasy 2.2-mile connector between Blacktail Deer Creek and Lava Creek trails.
EasyForces of the Northern Range Self-guided Trail0.5 mi · 45 min · 3.5 mi awayEleven exhibit stops on an easy half-mile boardwalk walk.
ModerateSnow Pass Trail3 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.1 mi awayA steep, forested climb to a 7,450-foot pass.
ModerateMammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces Trail1.8 mi · 1.3 hr · 4.1 mi awayWalk boardwalks past colorful travertine shelves that keep rebuilding.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayUndine FallsA 60-foot waterfall breaks into three drops just off the road.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayWraith FallsA short climb to a 79-foot cascade on Lupine Creek.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayOsprey FallsA hard hike to a 150-foot waterfall in Sheepeater Canyon.
Sight · 2.6 mi awayMount Everts ViewpointA 37-day survival story above layers separated by 60 million years
Campground · 3.9 mi awayMammoth CampgroundA base where elk sometimes wander among the campsites.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayMammoth Hot Springs Lower TerracesHeat-loving microbes tint travertine orange, green and brown.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayFort YellowstoneAn easy walk through the Army post that became park headquarters.
Visitor center · 4.1 mi awayAlbright Visitor CenterA practical Mammoth stop for trip planning and Fort Yellowstone history.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
