Sand Point Picnic Area

Sand Point is a day-use picnic area on Yellowstone Lake, with 16 tables tucked among trees and four vault toilets. A paved loop serves the table area, with parking beside the tables. A short woodland path leaves the loop and crosses a small stream to the beach, about a three-minute walk. It’s a useful place to eat and stretch your legs; leave a little time for the lake shore too. There’s no potable water here, so bring your own. Yellowstone’s picnic areas are day-use only.

Follow the path through the forest to a broad sandy beach and sandbar. For a photo, include some of the gray sand in the foreground and the lake beyond; the far shore and mountains show how open the view is. The beach is the part that makes this more than a table stop.

Yellowstone Lake sits at 7,733 feet, and its average water temperature is just 41°F. It freezes over in late December or early January and usually thaws in late May or early June, so plan this as a lakeside stop rather than a swim. The lake supports North America’s largest wild cutthroat trout population, while introduced lake trout threaten the native fish. Its name has changed over time: an 1826 fur-trapping party that included Daniel Potts, Bill Sublette, and Jedediah Smith called it Sublette Lake; by 1831, Warren Ferris was using Yellow Stone Lake.