Parking
Use the signed Upper Terrace Overlook & Trailhead access off the one-way Upper Terrace Drive. Trailers, buses and motor homes cannot use the drive; park them at its entrance.
Overview
About Mammoth Hot Springs Upper Terrace Boardwalk Trail
Why go
- A close look at two springs on a sub-mile walk.
- A short out-and-back through active travertine terraces.
Heads up
- Stairs, steep grades and pavement-to-boardwalk changes limit access.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation6,549–6,594 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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
Mammoth Upper Terraces and Orange Spring Mound0:00 / 0:35
“Mammoth's Upper Terraces are coming up, with a short boardwalk walk to Canary Spring's pale and orange tiers. Allow about half an hour for the little over half-mile round trip from the upper overlook.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces
- Fort Yellowstone and Mammoth Village
- Terraces Tumbled Down the Mountain
- The Shock Behind Electric Peak
- 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 Mammoth Hot Springs Upper Terrace Boardwalk Trail
The short upper terrace walkThis is a 0.
This is a 0.55-mile out-and-back from Upper Terrace Overlook & Trailhead to the boardwalk viewpoint beside Canary Spring. Start on pavement, then follow the wood boardwalk toward the spring and return the same way. Cupid Spring sits near the start; at the far end, you look across the pale and orange travertine tiers at Canary. Allow about 30 minutes, plus time to linger at the pools. Other boardwalks connect onward through the Lower Terraces, but this short line stays with the upper walk.
A living mineral staircaseMammoth’s terraces are made of travertine, the chalky rock left behind as hot spring water…
Mammoth’s terraces are made of travertine, the chalky rock left behind as hot spring water deposits calcium carbonate dissolved from limestone. Water brings the mineral to the surface; as carbon dioxide escapes, the calcium carbonate settles into thin layers. The process can build quickly, so channels and pools shift and reshape over time.
Color comes from heat-loving lifeThermophiles are microscopic organisms that live in the springs.
Thermophiles are microscopic organisms that live in the springs. They form visible mats: yellow and colorless in the hottest water, with orange, brown, and green in cooler areas. The color bands are a clue to changing temperatures, not paint on the rock.
People have used these terraces for centuriesShoshone and Bannock people collected minerals from the terraces to make white paint.
Shoshone and Bannock people collected minerals from the terraces to make white paint. It is a striking bit of human history to keep in mind while looking at a landscape that is still being built by spring water.
Access and safetyThe wider terrace network mixes asphalt, boardwalk, stairs, and steep grades; some sections are…
The wider terrace network mixes asphalt, boardwalk, stairs, and steep grades; some sections are wheelchair accessible, but access varies. Most boardwalks are not maintained in winter. Stay on designated walkways because hydrothermal ground is unstable and the water can severely burn. Pets are not allowed on the Mammoth Hot Springs trail network.
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.
