Parking
North-end parking on Fountain Flats Drive is limited but often less crowded. The south end at Fairy Falls Trailhead can be difficult in summer; leave a pickup there if walking one way.
Overview
About Fountain Freight Road Trail
Why go
- Mostly level old-road walking across the geothermal flats.
- Ojo Caliente Springs, the Firehole River, meadows and Goose Lake break up the route.
Heads up
- No loop: a pickup is needed for a one-way trip, or walk 8 miles round trip.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,178–7,267 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
5 active Yellowstone alerts
- ClosureBiscuit Basin closed after hydrothermal explosionBiscuit Basin’s parking lot, boardwalk, and Firehole River are closed to all travel.Official details
- ClosureMost Yellowstone roads close to regular vehicles November 1Most Yellowstone roads and the West, South, and East entrances are scheduled to close to regular vehicles November 1, 2026, as the park prepares for winter operations.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Hear Yellowstone as you drive it.
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 trailhead
Fountain Flats Freight Road0:00 / 0:21
“You're coming up on the end of Fountain Flats Drive, the start of a mostly level old freight road through open thermal country. For a short walk, Ojo Caliente Springs is about a third of a mile along.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Specks That Jump on Snow
- The Flies Beside the Hot Springs
- Fountain Paint Pot
- A Research Boat on Grand Prismatic
- 243 audio storiesacross Yellowstone’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Bison, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 167 trails, 192 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Fountain Freight Road Trail
The old road across Fountain FlatsFountain Freight Road Trail is a mostly level, 4-mile point-to-point walk through Yellowstone’s…
Fountain Freight Road Trail is a mostly level, 4-mile point-to-point walk through Yellowstone’s Lower–Midway Geyser Basin, from the north end of Fountain Flats Drive to the Fairy Falls parking area. It’s a good pick if you want a longer walk through open geothermal country; the draw is the stretch across the flats, not a climb to one big viewpoint. The old road is closed to cars but open to bikes.
What’s along the wayOjo Caliente Springs is about 0.3 mile from the north access.
Ojo Caliente Springs is about 0.3 mile from the north access. Farther along, the route crosses the Firehole River, passes open meadows and reaches Goose Lake before ending at the south parking area. The Fairy Falls Trail branches off near that end; the waterfall itself is a separate hike and isn’t included in this route.
Plan the returnThe four miles are one way.
The four miles are one way. Arrange a pickup at the other end, or make it an 8-mile out-and-back on the same corridor; there’s no loop. Allow about 2½ hours for the one-way walk with short stops. The road is mostly level, but its aging surface is described as both gravel and crumbling pavement, so expect a rough old road rather than a smooth path. Bikes share the corridor, and the park recommends mountain bikes.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yellowstone
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.
