Rustic Falls

Leaving the Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone National Park and heading south on the west side of the upper loop of the main road one climbs steeply through a canyon known as the Golden Gate. In the canyon there is a small parking area for Rustic Falls, shown here. Rustic Falls is on Glen Creek and drops 47 feet over a basalt cliff.

There is not a lot to see on this west side of the upper loop nor many places to stop besides some trailheads. There is Obsidian Cliff, an old obsidian flow, but no place to stop there. There is also a short side road to Sheepeater Cliffs, with their columnar basalt formations but I have no photos of them and have not been there for several years.

The first inset here shows the Gallatin Range of Mountains to west with Mount Holmes the highest peak and the second inset shows Roaring Mountain, an area of volcanic activity that was largely quiet when the photo was taken. There is a parking area at Roaring Mountain but no opportunity to explore the area further - no trails or boardwalks.

There is a possibility of seeing wildlife along the road but we have seen very little in this area. There is also a campground at Indian Creek, but little else until one comes to Norris Junction where the road continues south into the lower loop of the main road or east to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and then back north through Dunraven Pass.

Norris Geyser Basin is at this junction as is the Norris campground. The geyser basin is one of the most active areas in Yellowstone and one of our favorite places. We'll be seeing it in the next set of posts. It is 21 miles from Mammoth and the road is closed in the winter. There has been a lot of work on the roads there recently with long delays.