Parking
Access is off Firehole Lake Drive. Dedicated trail parking was not established; check the park map for the nearest legal place to stop.
Overview
About Three Senses Nature Trail
Why go
- A close boardwalk view of Artesia Geyser with almost no climbing.
Heads up
- The park does not confirm whether the historic trail name or interpretation remains in use.
- Dedicated parking for this spur was not established.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,372–7,375 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
Artesia Geyser Boardwalk0:00 / 0:19
“You're nearing the short boardwalk to Artesia Geyser on Firehole Lake Drive. It's a quick look at bubbling thermal water just beyond the rail, with almost no climbing.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Great Fountain Geyser
- White Dome Geyser
- 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 Three Senses Nature Trail
A tiny thermal-area walkThree Senses Nature Trail is a short boardwalk out-and-back from Firehole Lake Drive to a…
Three Senses Nature Trail is a short boardwalk out-and-back from Firehole Lake Drive to a rail-side view of Artesia Geyser. The mapped path is about 0.075 mile each way, or about 0.15 mile round trip when you retrace it; allow roughly 10–15 minutes with a look at the feature. It is a brief stop for a close view of a bubbling thermal feature, not a longer hike.
Along the boardwalkThe footway leaves Firehole Lake Drive, crosses a short raised bridge and bends beside the…
The footway leaves Firehole Lake Drive, crosses a short raised bridge and bends beside the thermal water. The route is nearly level and stays close to the feature; follow the boardwalk back the way you came. The view at the end is small in scale but unusually close: Artesia Geyser bubbles just beyond the wooden rail.
The idea behind the nameOlder trail material describes hearing, touch and smell as the walk's interpretive themes.
Older trail material describes hearing, touch and smell as the walk's interpretive themes. The trail was certified as a National Recreation Trail in 1981. The current park visitor information does not confirm whether the historic name or its interpretive panels are still in use, so treat this as a very short thermal-boardwalk walk rather than counting on a particular set of exhibits. The sensory idea does not mean touching the water or runoff.
Stay on the treadThermal ground can be a thin crust over superheated water.
Thermal ground can be a thin crust over superheated water. Stay on the boardwalk and designated path, and do not touch the features or runoff. Pets are not allowed in thermal areas or on boardwalks; trained service animals are allowed. Dedicated parking for this spur was not established in the sources, so check the park map for a legal place to stop before you set out.
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.
