Picnic area · Yellowstone National Park
A meadow-side picnic break where bison sometimes pass.
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
A Research Boat on Grand Prismatic“Grand Prismatic once had a research boat. In the early nineteen nineties, park geologist Rick Hutchinson worked with a Montana boatbuilder to create Little Dipper, a tiny craft for studying hot springs.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from Whiskey Flat 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
Whiskey Flat is a picnic area in Yellowstone's Midway Geyser Basin area, a handy place to eat between geothermal stops. It's a practical meal break rather than a major attraction, so bring your own food and water.
The area has picnic tables, fire grates and a wheelchair-accessible vault toilet. There is no potable water here, so fill up before you stop.
The picnic area sits among trees beside an open meadow. Bison sometimes wander through, and spring flowers add seasonal color; treat both as a bonus rather than a sure thing.
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
EasyMidway Geyser Basin Trail0.7 mi · 45 min · 0.6 mi awayA compact boardwalk loop to a giant spring and a blue crater.
EasyGrand Prismatic Overlook Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA short climb to see Grand Prismatic from above
EasyFairy Falls Trail4.5 mi · 3 hr · 1.1 mi awayAn easy forest walk to a 200-foot waterfall.
EasyImperial Geyser Trail6.6 mi · 4 hr · 1.1 mi awayA forest walk to a 200-foot waterfall and two active geysers.
EasyFountain Paint Pot Trail0.6 mi · 38 min · 1.5 mi awayMud bubbles, geysers and steam, packed into one short loop.
ModerateMallard Creek Trail8.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayBurned woods, rocky climbs, and a high outcrop above Mallard Lake.
EasyThree Senses Nature Trail0.2 mi · 12 min · 2.2 mi awayA quick boardwalk stop beside Artesia Geyser
EasySentinel Meadows & Queen’s Laundry Trail3.8 mi · 3 hr · 2.2 mi awayA meadow walk to Queen’s Laundry and its 1881 bathhouse
Sight · 0.7 mi awayGrand Prismatic SpringThe overlook turns a vivid close-up into a full ring of color.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayWhite Dome GeyserThe cone is the main show; an eruption is a bonus.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayGreat Fountain GeyserIts long, multi-burst eruptions reward a flexible wait.Sight · 1.7 mi awayFountain Paint PotThe mudpot is the star; the boardwalk adds three more thermal types.Sight · 2.2 mi awayFairy FallsA 200-foot waterfall rewards a longer walk beyond Midway.Sight · 2.5 mi awayImperial GeyserThe blue geyser pool adds 1.2 miles beyond Fairy Falls.
Picnic area · 3.3 mi awayNez Perce Picnic AreaA shaded riverside picnic stop near Old Faithful.
Sight · 3.4 mi awayBiscuit BasinA short loop of colorful springs and a geyser that erupts often.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
