The Short Hike That Leads To One Of The Most Underrated Natural Attractions In Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park is built around the natural wonders Wyoming has to offer, and that includes abundant geothermal features throughout the area. With a boardwalk system that covers a lot of the park, it’s easy to get up close and personal with many of the attractions such as Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring. If you’re willing to take a short hike off the beaten path, however, you’ll be rewarded with witnessing one of the most underrated natural attractions in Yellowstone.
Hiking and viewing the awesome natural attractions are all part of the adventure in Wyoming's most popular national park.
Many visitors stick to the boardwalks to take in the easy-to-access attractions, but they miss out on some of the coolest features in the park, like the Lone Star Geyser.
The trail to the geyser is only about 2 1/2 miles long, and it's pretty level the entire way, making it a great hike for people of all skill levels.
Making the trip to see Lone Star is well worth it. It's one of the largest cones in the park. It has earned a reputation for being more reliable than Old Faithful, and it puts on quite a show.
Lone Star goes off full-blast about every 2 to 3 hours, but about an hour to 90 minutes after the last eruption, it starts a splashing phase that signals another one is coming on. When the main eruption hits, you'll know it. Steam and hot water will shoot about 35 to 40 feet into the air, and the show lasts for around 30 minutes.
Often, there are one or more small eruptions between the splashing phase and the next major eruption, but they last only a few minutes and may not shoot up as high.
You can check with the Old Faithful Visitor Center to try to time your arrival at Lone Star in time to see it go off. If you just want to wing it, though, there's plenty of beautiful scenery to take in while you're waiting for the next big show.
There's a log book near the geyser that can help you figure out when the next big eruption might occur. Visitors are encouraged to log in any eruptions they witness to assist the park in tracking the Lone Star eruptions as well as help future spectators calculate when it might go off again.
There are some smaller thermal attractions along the way to Lone Star, and even some excellent camping spots, too.
With no barriers, you can get pretty close to Lone Star, but be sure to maintain a safe distance. All in all, the experience is an amazing payoff for venturing off the boardwalk.
