Parking
Use the Fountain Paint Pot parking lot on Grand Loop Road in Lower Geyser Basin; the boardwalk begins at the lot. The first designated accessible parking space has no curb cut.
Overview
About Fountain Paint Pot Trail
Why go
- All four hydrothermal feature types in one short circuit
- Boardwalk access makes the basin easy to explore
Heads up
- Steep boardwalk and steps beyond the accessible opening
- Pets are not allowed
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,283–7,313 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 Paint Pot0:00 / 0:33
“Fountain Paint Pot is ahead, and I'd keep this stop if you want a lot of thermal variety in a short walk.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- White Dome Geyser
- Great Fountain Geyser
- A Research Boat on Grand Prismatic
- Artesia Geyser Boardwalk
- 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 Paint Pot Trail
All four hydrothermal features in one loopFountain Paint Pot Trail is about 0.
Fountain Paint Pot Trail is about 0.6 mile for the full boardwalk circuit from the Fountain Paint Pot parking lot, including a short access stretch that you retrace on the way back. It is a compact tour of hot springs, geysers, mudpots and fumaroles in Lower Geyser Basin. Allow 30–45 minutes if you stop to watch the activity.
The easy start has a steeper finishThe opening stretch is level and wheelchair accessible as far as Silex Spring.
The opening stretch is level and wheelchair accessible as far as Silex Spring. Beyond it, the boardwalk climbs steeply between Silex Spring and Fountain Paint Pot, with steps near Twig Geyser. If you need to avoid stairs, the accessible opening works as an out-and-back; the full circuit includes the climb and steps.
Four different kinds of hot groundHot springs and geysers have plenty of water; mudpots and fumaroles have much less.
Hot springs and geysers have plenty of water; mudpots and fumaroles have much less. That gives you a blue pool at Silex Spring, bubbling mud at Fountain Paint Pot, and steam vents among the other features. The point of this short walk is the variety: you can see all four hydrothermal types without committing to a longer hike.
Getting around the basinStart at the Fountain Paint Pot parking lot on Grand Loop Road.
Start at the Fountain Paint Pot parking lot on Grand Loop Road. The first designated accessible parking space has no curb cut. Stay on the boardwalk throughout; thermal ground can be dangerously unstable. Pets are not allowed. In winter, this area is reached by snowmobile or snow coach.
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.
