Parking
Start at the large Divide Trailhead pullout on the Old Faithful–West Thumb road, just west of Craig Pass. Spring Creek and Divide share the access.
Overview
About Spring Creek Trail
Why go
- A quiet creekside route ends at a bridged Firehole River crossing.
Heads up
- Eight miles means retracing the gradual descent as a long climb back.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,654–8,130 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 area
Trout Across the Continental Divide0:00 / 0:31
“Yellowstone Lake's native cutthroat trout likely arrived by swimming across the Continental Divide. South of the park, at Two Ocean Pass, a broad meadow separates streams flowing toward different oceans.”
Plays on the road 0.3 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Isa Lake and Craig Pass
- The Roots Behind the Red
- DeLacy Creek and Shoshone Lake
- When Trees Grew on Old Faithful
- 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 Spring Creek Trail
The creek walkSpring Creek Trail is an 8-mile out-and-back from Divide Trailhead, following the creek along…
Spring Creek Trail is an 8-mile out-and-back from Divide Trailhead, following the creek along an old stagecoach road to the Firehole River and the Lone Star Geyser Trail junction, then back the same way. The park calls it easy; allow about four hours. The path gradually drops roughly 400 feet on the way out, so the return is a steady climb. It suits a half day when you want a longer creek walk rather than a short geyser stop.
Follow Spring CreekThe route heads south from the pullout, crosses Spring Creek, and turns onto the creekside…
The route heads south from the pullout, crosses Spring Creek, and turns onto the creekside track. Around 1.6 miles in, it enters a shallow canyon. Near mile 2.2 it briefly climbs above the creek; look left for Turtle Rock, a pointed pinnacle close to trail level. Farther on, the path crosses Spring Creek repeatedly before reaching the Firehole River bridge.
Where the walk endsThe 8-mile figure turns around at the Lone Star Geyser Trail junction just beyond the Firehole…
The 8-mile figure turns around at the Lone Star Geyser Trail junction just beyond the Firehole bridge. Lone Star Geyser is just under a mile farther along that separate trail, so adding the geyser and walking back to the junction adds nearly two miles to the outing. The old road gives the walk a bit of Yellowstone's stagecoach history without taking you away from the creek.
Access and wildlifeStart at the large Divide Trailhead pullout on the Old Faithful–West Thumb road, just west of…
Start at the large Divide Trailhead pullout on the Old Faithful–West Thumb road, just west of Craig Pass. Spring Creek and Divide share the access. Yellowstone does not allow pets on hiking trails. Bison and elk use the area; stay at least 25 yards from wildlife and 100 yards from bears and wolves. Spring Creek is also a winter ski route, but ski itineraries can continue beyond this summer hiking turnaround.
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.
