Yellowstone National Park is filled with breathtaking landscapes and incredible wildlife making it the perfect destination for photographers. From geothermal features that shoot high into the air, to deep canyons with waterfalls, to herds of bison, there is nowhere like Yellowstone.
In this Capturing Yellowstone post, we will explore 9 stunning places to photograph as well as highlight the best photo subjects in each location. These 9 locations offer their own unique view of the park ensuring you come home with a range of images that encapsulate Yellowstone.
This post, paired with my Yellowstone photography itinerary, linked below, takes the guess work out of trip planning. You will not only know where to visit each day but also what to photograph.
So let’s take a virtual photo trip through the world’s first national park.
Overview of Yellowstone Photography
As I have previously noted, Yellowstone National Park is a very diverse landscape offering a multitude of photography opportunities. These opportunities include photographing the largest collection of geysers in the world to so much wildlife that Yellowstone is known as America’s Serengeti.
Not only are Yellowstone’s photo spots located in a variety of different types of terrain but their elevations vary significantly along with their year round accessibility.
Below are the different subjects within each location.
Yellowstone -BEst Photography Stops
Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin
The Upper Geyser Basin is one of the most popular destinations in Yellowstone National Park since almost every park visitor wants to see Old Faithful Geyser erupt. Sadly many visitors only stop long enough to see Old Faithful erupt and never explore the rest of the basin.
Old Faithful is, of course, a must photograph geyser but it is not the most photogenic geyser in the basin. Among Yellowstone’s major active geysers; I consider Grand Geyser, Castle Geyser, Riverside Geyser and Daisy Geyser to be more photogenic.
If you only have time to photograph one geyser besides Old Faithful, capture Grand Geyser. If you have more time, include Castle Geyser if possible.
Interestedly, the Upper Geyser Basin encompasses not only the Old Faithful area but also nearby Black Sands and Biscuit Basin.
Within all these basins, there are so many amazing thermal features to photograph that the area required 2 separate posts to cover their photo opportunities. (linked below)
The first guide focuses on the Old Faithful area of the basin including details about the major geyser eruption patterns. The second guide focuses on Black Sands and Biscuit Basin. I also threw in Midway Basin since it is so small.
Update: Biscuit Basin is currently closed for the remainder of 2024 due to an eruption
Midway Geyser Basin
Midway Geyser Basin is a small basin 10 minutes north of Biscuit Basin that is the home of two of the largest hot springs in the world.
Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States and third largest in the world and Excelsior Geyser, once the largest geyser in the world, is now a very prolific hot spring that pumps out over 4000 gallons of boiling water a minute.
The basin has a .8 mile boardwalk past Excelsior Geyser to Grand Prismatic Pool before winding back by Turquoise Pool and Opal Pool.
To learn more about photographing the Midway Basin and Grand Prismatic Geyser, especially from Fairy Falls trail, be sure to read the Midway Geyser portion of the Black Sands link above.
Norris Geyser Basin
Norris Geyser Basin is located on the Grand Loop Road about 14 miles north of the Madison Campground and is the hottest and oldest basin in Yellowstone.
It is comprised of two distinct areas: Porcelain Basin and Back Basin with Porcelain Basin having the most photogenic features in Norris, with the rare exception of Back Basin’s Steamboat Geyser when it erupts.
Since I have yet to write a blog post photo guide for Norris Basin, let you take you on a quick tour of Norris.
Map courtesy of NPS.
Porcelain Basin, as you can see from the above map, is the smaller basin in Norris containing many colorful photo subjects along its 3/4 mile boardwalk. In fact, if you love abstract photography, you could stay here all day.
I find it best to visit Norris in the early morning hours to photograph the entire basin when the colors can appear surreal. If that does not work on your schedule, don’t worry, the basin is full of colorful thermal features that make great photos through out the day.
The National Park Service site lists most of the features you will see in this basin along with picture links at: Porcelain and Back Basin.
One of my favorite features in the basin is Hurricane Vent, shown below, which was not included in their links.
The Back Basin is home to a number of geothermal features that can be toured from a 1.5 mile combination boardwalk and trail.
The star attraction in the Back Basin is Steamboat Geyser, the tallest active geyser in the world. Don’t visit the basin expecting to photograph it, however, as it is very unpredictable with eruption intervals ranging from 3 days to 50 years.
Even when Steamboat is in a period of regular eruptions it takes a tremendous amount of commitment to capture it. In 2019, I spent a total of 9 days within a 12 day period doing nothing but sitting from sunrise to sunset at the geyser to capture it erupting.
The Back Basin also has a number of other thermal features that, in the right light, are worth photographing with my favorite being: Emerald Springs.
To view more images of Steamboat Geyser and other Norris features, please visit my Yellowstone Geyser gallery at Yellowstone Geysers.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs is located in the northwest corner of the Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone National Park. Like Norris Geyser, Mammoth Hot Springs has two distinct sections: the Lower Terrace Boardwalks and the Upper Terrace Drive.
Although Mammoth Hot Springs may not initially appear to be spectacular for photography; don’t let it fool you. Some of my very best Yellowstone landscape images were created here.
Canary Springs from Upper Terrace Drive
Lower Terrace Boardwalk Palette Springs
You should be aware that visiting portions of the Lower Terrace involve a lot of stairs but they will take you to many great limestone terraces including popular Palette Springs. This area is also great for abstract photography.
The Upper Terrace Drive is a 1.5 mile one way drive through travertine formations, forests, and hot springs. This drive takes you to one of my favorite photo spots in all of Yellowstone National Park; Canary Springs. If that’s not enough, the drive is also a great sunset destination but beware parking is very limited.
To learn all about the best photography locations in Mammoth Hot Springs be sure to read:
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone contains some of the best waterfall scenery not only in Yellowstone, but in any national park in the United States. For visitors, this is a must photograph location with numerous viewpoints on two different rims: the North Rim and the South Rim.
Two popular waterfalls are in the Canyon, Upper Falls at 109 ft and Lower Falls at 308 ft with Lower Falls being to most photographed and prettiest fall.
Tip: There is also a third little known waterfall called Crystal Falls that is only visible from the South Rim east of the Uncle Tom Trail that is worth photographing.
Like Norris Geyser Basin, a separate photo guide for this area in being created. Until I have it completed, let me list my top overlooks in Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon area.
Artist Point -Located on the South Rim, this is the most popular overlook for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Waterfall and a place you will definitely want to visit. The point includes a large parking lot with restrooms and a short and easy walk to the overlook.
Lookout Point– Located on the North Rim, this is one of my favorite locations for photographing the Lower Falls. Not only is it easily accessible, but the compositions with the surrounding landscape are great.
Lookout Point
Canyon Overlook– Located by the Uncle Tom’s parking lot in the South Rim, this overlook offers a view of the Upper Falls with the road in the background providing a unique setting for the falls. Yes, a road will be in the distant background but it works.
There are other good overlooks although some involve steep paths and/or stairs. Overall, plan on spending several hours in the Canyon area if you wish to visit both the Upper and Lower Falls from its many overlooks.
Note: This area is around 8000 feet in elevation so, as mentioned earlier in this post, please use caution if you are not acclimated to higher elevations or have health issues.
Tower Falls and Calcite Springs
Tower Falls and Calcite Spring –Tower Falls is a beautiful waterfall with very unique rock formations at the top of the falls.
The falls are 132 feet tall and can only be photographed from a high observation point with limited options for compositions. I sure wish there were more places to photograph this stunning waterfall.
Despite these limitations, this is worth making the time to photograph. Also this is a great area to see black bears.
Years ago a side trail led to the bottom of the falls but the last part of the trail is now closed with no plans to rebuilt it. I still have images of the falls on slides somewhere that I need to scan.
Calcite Springs– This is an area just north of Tower Falls with amazing deep canyon views looking north. This is not an easy place to photograph due to lighting no matter what time of day you are there but the unique landscape makes it a must stop.
The view below was created from the main overlook that is an easy and short walk from the parking lot.
Plan on spending about an hour between both of these destinations unless you encounter on of the frequent black bears that visit this area, then stay as long as needed.
Lamar Valley
Lamar Valley is located off the northeast corner of Yellowstone’s between Roosevelt and Cooke City and is known as Serengti of America. Having traveled the U.S. extensively, I don’t know of any better place to photograph wildlife.
Predominate wildlife in this area include coyotes, wolves, pronghorn, bears, elk, birds, and bison, with occasional sightings of deer and badgers. I have never seen moose in the valley on any of my 20 visits, not to say they are not there.
The best places to see wildlife in Lamar Valley are in the area between Slough Creek to a little past Pebble Creek Campground both in the early mornings and late afternoons. An area called the confluence where the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek come together is a prime location for both wolves and grizzly bears. It won’t be on a map, but easy to find if you just follow all the spotting scopes.
Plan to spend at least three hours in Lamar Valley as spotting wildlife and also photographing wildlife can be quite time consuming. For those who have the time, I recommend bringing a picnic lunch and spending the entire day from early morning to almost sunset in the valley.
Lamar Valley Wildlife
Lamar Valley is not just a great place to photograph wildlife but also landscapes.
Slough Creek Lamar Valley
Hayden Valley
Hayden Valley is located about 9 miles or 20 minutes south of Canyon Village and is another premier location for photographing wildlife including wolves, grizzly bears, elk, bison, coyotes and birds. Its rolling hills, rivers, lakes, lush meadows along with the wide assortment of wildlife can keep you busy for days.
For photographers who wish to capture wildlife and landscapes without having to spend hours in the car driving between destinations, Hayden Valley is hard to beat. The only issue I have with the valley is that many of the photo spots are up high looking down on wildlife.
Here are just a few of the many subjects you will find in Hayden Valley:
Birds
Bison Herds and Rolling Hills
Different Landscapes
Note-From late July through August, Hayden Valley is one of the park’s best places, besides Lamar Valley, to photograph the bison rut.
Yellowstone Lake Area
The Yellowstone Lake area is massive encompassing over 130 square miles and is the largest high altitude freshwater lake in North America. For purposes of this post, we will be looking at these two Yellowstone Lake areas: Fishing Bridge east to Lake Butte Overlook and Fishing Bridge south to West Thumb Geyser Basin
Please zoom into the following map to see each location I cover below.
Fishing Bridge East to Lake Butte Overlook
Traveling east on Highway 14 from Fishing Bridge you will encounter a number of good views of the Lake as well as plenty of wildlife including an area frequented by several popular Yellowstone grizzly bears.
If you have time take the easy Storm Point Trail by Indian Pond as it will take you to a point with very good photographic potential.
Be sure to travel east 9 miles to Lake Butte Overlook and head up to the overlook to capture distance Teton mountains views and if you are lucky foxes. For those of you who have time, the drive all the way to Cody is scenic including the Buffalo Bill Reservoir just before Cody.
The area from Fishing Bridge to a few miles past Lake Butte Overlook is a prime summer wildflower location.
Fishing Bridge South to West Thumb Geyser Basin
As you head south on the Grand Loop Road from Fishing Bridge, you will come to Bridge Bay Marina area.
Bridge Bay Marina
The area by Bridge Bay Marina offers wonderful views of Yellowstone Lake and is one of my 2 favorite Yellowstone Lake sunrise locations. Additionally from Bridge Bay, there is a great easy 2.5 mile round trip hike to an arch called Natural Bridge that is well worth photographing.
Other Lake Yellowstone View Points
Heading south from Bridge Bay Marina, there are a few side roads that take you closer to the lake, the first of which is Gull Point Drive. If you don’t have time to take any other turnoffs, be sure to drive Gull Point Drive as it is a good place to photograph birds, landscapes and an occasionally bear.
Another stop along the drive south is a small pulloff called Pumice Point that can be a great place to photograph, especially in the late afternoon light.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
West Thumb is the last basin in Yellowstone before heading south to Grand Teton National Park. It is a small basin located directly on Yellowstone Lake which makes a perfect backdrop when photographing its thermal features.
Although one can visit the basin for sunrise images, most of its features are best photographed in the afternoon light. Warning: this basin is frequented by elk who love its boardwalks so caution is needed at all times.
Plan on spending an hour or more here and be sure to photograph Abyss Pool, Fishing Cone, and Lakeside Geyser along with other thermal features.
final thoughts
If a trip to Yellowstone National Park is on your bucket list, I hope you find this top places to photograph post helpful. If so, comments are greatly appreciated.
If you need additional resources, be sure to check out all my Yellowstone area posts. Lastly, prints and products from all my Yellowstone images are available for purchase at:
All Yellowstone Resources
