Sight · Yellowstone National Park
A sweeping look across a 30-by-45-mile caldera.
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
Washburn Hot Springs Overlook“Washburn Hot Springs Overlook is ahead, a quick roadside stop for Yellowstone’s caldera.”
Plays as you drive up to Washburn Hot Springs Overlook 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
South of Dunraven Pass, this roadside overlook is the strongest place to see the rim of Yellowstone's caldera. It's a brief drive-up view, not a walk into the hot-spring area or the Mount Washburn summit trail. The namesake hot spring can be hard to pick out, so come for the broad landform and landscape.
Yellowstone's caldera formed in a massive eruption about 631,000 years ago. Later lava flows filled much of its depression; today it measures roughly 30 by 45 miles. From here, the rim reads as a long landscape feature rather than a single volcanic bowl.
The overlook sits on the high-elevation road between Canyon Village and Tower Fall. Dunraven Pass closes seasonally, and weather can shift those dates, so check current road status before driving this section. A vault/composting toilet is listed at the overlook.
Use a wide frame from the overlook to hold the rim, forest and canyon together; that broad view makes the caldera's scale easier to read. The thermal feature is not consistently visible, so don't build the stop around photographing the spring.
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
ChallengingDunraven Pass–Mount Washburn Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.2 mi awayA high climb to a working lookout and wide Yellowstone views.
ChallengingObservation Peak Trail9.6 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayMeadows and a lake lead to a fire lookout above the valley.
EasyCascade Lake Trail4.4 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayFollow open meadows to a lake edged with lily pads.
ChallengingSeven Mile Hole Trail10 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.8 mi awaySilver Cord Cascade first, then the steep drop to the river.
ChallengingMount Washburn Spur Trail16.2 mi · 9 hr · 2.8 mi awayFrom canyon rim to Washburn Hot Springs and a 10,219-foot summit.
EasyCascade Creek Trail3.4 mi · 2 hr · 3.3 mi awayAn easy creek-and-meadow walk to the Cascade Lake Trail junction.
ModerateHoward Eaton Trail: Canyon to Ice Lake10.7 mi · 5.5 hr · 3.3 mi awayA long one-way traverse past four lakes, meadow, and marsh.
ModerateArtist Point–Point Sublime Trail3 mi · 1.8 hr · 3.5 mi awayThe canyon views begin before you reach Point Sublime.
Picnic area · 0.9 mi awayDunraven Road Picnic AreaA useful lunch stop on the seasonal road over Dunraven Pass.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayDunraven PassHigh-elevation wildflowers, wide views, and a Mount Washburn hike.
Picnic area · 1.9 mi awayCascade Lake Picnic AreaA picnic-table stop beside the Cascade Lake trailhead.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayMount Washburn Summit and Fire LookoutClimb high for Yellowstone views and a working fire lookout.
Campground · 2.8 mi awayCanyon CampgroundA 273-site, pine-wooded campground near Canyon Village.
Gas station · 2.8 mi awayCanyon Gas and Service StationFuel, snacks and vehicle help for the Canyon drive.
Lodging · 2.9 mi awayCanyon Lodge and CabinsA handy in-park base near the Grand Canyon and both loops.
Visitor center · 2.9 mi awayCanyon Visitor Education CenterA room-size map makes Yellowstone's scale click before you head out.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
