I have read that it is easy to spend a week touring Yellowstone, and if you did you would still never see all the features that combine to make the world’s first national park. About 70% of the famous features lie along the lower loop of the Park’s figure-8 road system, and the best way to spend one day taking in all you can on this route is on the Circle of Fire tour. This is the Park’s senior (and signature!) tour, being offered for decades longer than any other. We had the opportunity to take this tour on our first full day in Yellowstone - and we absolutely recommend it - especially for the first-time visitor.
Our driver/tour guide - Jackie - was phenomenal. She packed out day full of all of Yellowstone that she could, including showing us Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley (with stops for wildlife as available), the Upper and Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail (where all four types of Yellowstone’s thermal features may be seen).
After spending the better part of a week there, we can to appreciate that Yellowstone is incredibly easy to navigate. There is one main road in the park and it's a figure 8. To make the figure 8, there's an upper loop and a lower loop. You can start at any point of that loop and drive and eventually loop back to where you started. The other roads on the map are the five roads that head out to the five entrances. The main thing to remember is...it's big. It's a big figure 8 and there can be unplanned stops - either due to animals in the road or road construction. So, whether you take a tour or head out on your own, you need to allow for plenty of time.
Mary, Bill, Pam and I really enjoyed this trip. The bus was very comfortable - even had a rest room in the back. Jackie made a number of stops - including one for lunch at Canyon where the four of us ate at the diner there. As for animals, we saw a lot of bison on the trip. They are everywhere in the park - even at the Inn! On one of the other adventures, we did see a brown bear, but only for a quick moment as he scatted into the brush.
Enjoy the pictures and videos of this great tour!
 Our driver and guide, Jackie. |
 This is our bus |
 BBill and Mary sitting in front of us |
 Leaving Old Faithful Inn |
 Beginning our tour on the way to Madison |
 Check out the steam from geysers and steam vents! |
 Look at all of the trees down! |
 Coming up to the lake |
 Pretty scenery with snow on our trip |
 Heading to Grant Village |
 Stop for the rest room and to stretch - Pam by our bus |
 Back on the road again |
 Yellowstone Lake in the distance |
 Yellowstone Lake |
 Arrived at Yellowstone Lake Hotel |
 View of Yellowstone Lake from the Hotel |
 Gift Shop at the Hotel |
 Heading to Canyon Village |
 This way to the Fishing Bridge |
 Bison just outside the window of our bus! |
 More bison by the river with steam in background |
 Some mud pots we stopped to see |
 We are out of the bus checking out the mud pots |
 Pam checking out the mud pots |
 Pam and Bill checking out the scenery |
 Heading back to our bus |
 Bison on the edge of the highway |
 Oops - bison on the road! Better give him right-of-way! |
 Lots of Canadian Geese by the river |
 Wow - he is one big fella!!! |
Cool river we passed |
We have arrived at the Falls |
Sign discussing this well-known tourist stop |
The lower falls |
Closer view of the falls |
Never made it to this lake |
Last look at the lower falls |
Approaching Canyon Lake - our next stop |
Heading into Canyon Lake |
Heading into Canyon Village |
Visitor Center |
General Store |
Where we had lunch in Canyon Village |
Waiting for our food - nice place, but crowded |
Menu for lunch |
Pam and me overlooking Gibbon Falls |
Pretty picture of Pam with Gibbon Falls in background |
On the road again heading to Madison |
Cool scenery and more bison!! |
Beautiful park - lush with trees and vegetation |
Getting off the bus to check out the cool river |
Our bus in the parking area for the river view |
Arriving at Madison and the "Paint Pots" |
Info about this favorite tourist stop |
More info about this area |
Warning about this area |
Off the bus and starting the walk around the Paint Pots |
On the boardwalk for the 2/3 mile trek |
The pools (paint pots) have been named |
The Celestine Pool |
Another warning to be careful |
Check out the colors - this is scalding water - hot and acidic |
Notice the deep blue color - really something to see in person! |
More info about the paint pots |
Steam rising from a boiling pool |
More info about this fascinating place |
Red Spouter |
Another beautiful blue pool |
On the board walk |
Here comes the bacteria mat - get on has-mat suit! |
The bacteria mat - scary stuff |
Heading back to Old Faithful Lodge after a great tour!!!!! |
VIDEO CLIPS