Two Ribbons Trail

Two Ribbons Trail is an easy 0.7-mile boardwalk loop through conifers and sagebrush beside the Madison River. Allow about 30 minutes, longer if you stop at the benches or read the interpretive signs. It makes a good short stop just inside Yellowstone’s West Entrance: the river meadow and the contrast between older and younger pines give the walk more to notice than its length suggests. It is a gentle nature walk, not a workout or a long river hike.

Start at the East trailhead. A short shared approach reaches the loop; the meadow branch opens toward the river, while the inland side runs closer to the road through younger lodgepole pine. The two sides meet again, and the mapped loop retraces its short approach to the East access. The same trail is also reachable from its West trailhead.

The river-side boardwalk gives the clearest opening across the Madison to the southern Gallatin Range and Mount Holmes. Waterfowl and raptors, including osprey and bald eagles, may be along the river. For a photo, frame the boardwalk and river with the mountains beyond; binoculars help pick out the small lookout on Mount Holmes.

The west-side approach passes older lodgepole that survived Yellowstone’s 1988 fires. The road-side branch passes younger trees, a visible reminder of how the forest has returned. Interpretive panels explain the area’s natural history, and benches give you places to pause along the boardwalk.

Use the signed East pullout just inside the West Entrance on the north side of West Entrance Road; the West trailhead is an alternate access to the same loop. Pets, including carried pets, aren’t allowed on boardwalks or hiking trails. Trained service animals are allowed and must be leashed.