Yellowstone National Park, WY · MT · ID
A 13.9-mile one-way walk through Yellowstone’s open creek valleys.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
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
The Quake That Changed the Geysers“An earthquake can change a geyser basin long after the shaking stops. The Hebgen Lake earthquake struck just west of the park in August nineteen fifty-nine.”
Plays on the road 0.9 mi from the trailhead 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.”
Trail guide
Gneiss Creek Trail is a 13.9-mile point-to-point walk across Yellowstone’s open western valleys, linking the Gneiss Creek Trailhead on US 191 with Seven Mile Bridge on the West Entrance Road. The grade is mostly gentle; the distance, several creek crossings and the vehicle shuffle are the real commitment. Allow about seven hours on foot, plus stops and the trip between trailheads. It is a full-day choice for hikers looking for a long walk through creek country rather than a steep climb to one viewpoint.
From US 191, a grassy two-track heads through aspen and pine, then rolls along a ridge above Duck and Richards creeks and past forested Sandy Butte. The route drops to Campanula Creek before continuing southeast across open valley along Gneiss Creek, crossing several smaller creeks on the way to the Madison River bridge. Expect changing meadow and water views, with distant mountains on the horizon, rather than one single overlook.
If the whole crossing is too much, a commonly walked 3.6-mile round trip from the US 191 trailhead turns around at Campanula Creek, with roughly 300 feet of gain. That is a separate out-and-back; the route mapped here continues to Seven Mile Bridge. The northern access has an information kiosk, but no food or water service is listed there, so bring what you need for the day.
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
EasyRiverside Ski Trail7.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 9.4 mi awayTwo loops, a forest approach, and open Madison River meadows.
ChallengingBighorn Pass Trail19.4 mi · 10 hr · 9.5 mi awayCross the Gallatins from willow creeks to an open pass.
EasyTwo Ribbons Trail0.7 mi · 30 min · 10.6 mi awayAn easy river loop with a close look at postfire recovery.
ChallengingFawn Pass Trail21 mi · 12 hr · 10.9 mi awayA 21-mile crossing over Fawn Pass into the Gallatin Range.
ModerateFan Creek Trail9.6 mi · 6 hr · 10.9 mi awayMeadows and creek bends make this long backcountry walk worthwhile.
ChallengingBacon Rind Trail14.1 mi · 8.5 hr · 11.1 mi awayA creekside meadow leads to a long climb and alpine views.
ChallengingCrescent Lake–High Lake Trail21.7 mi · 12 hr · 15 mi awayA 21.7-mile loop to two alpine lakes and a high ridge.
Visitor center · 9.5 mi awayWest Yellowstone Visitor Information CenterMaps and local route advice before the park entrance.
Sight · 9.5 mi awayMuseum of the YellowstoneThe 1909 depot still tells the story of arriving by rail.
Sight · 9.7 mi awayGrizzly & Wolf Discovery CenterMeet grizzlies, wolves and otters, then hear why they live here.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
