The Grand Loop Road is a historic district which encompasses the primary road system in

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

. Much of the system was originally planned by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

in the early days of the park, when it was under military administration. The Grand Loop Road provides access to the major features of the park, including the Upper, Midway and Lower geyser basins,

Mammoth Hot Springs Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the ...

Tower Fall Tower Fall is a waterfall on Tower Creek in the northeastern region of Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Approximately upstream from the creek's confluence with the Yellowstone River, the fall plunges 132 feet (40&nbs ...

, the

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is the first large canyon on the Yellowstone River downstream from Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The canyon is approximately long, between deep and from wide. History Althoug ...

and

Yellowstone Lake Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park. The lake is above sea level and covers with of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is , its greatest depth is at least . Yellowstone Lake is the largest fre ...

. A number of other historic districts adjoin the Grand Loop in Yellowstone, including

, North Entrance Road, Roosevelt Lodge, Lake Fish Hatchery and

Old Faithful Old Faithful is a cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to be named. It is a highly predictable geotherm ...

historic districts A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

. Grand Loop Rd. includes unsigned portions of

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

US 89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern section ...

US 191 U.S. Route 191 (US 191) is a spur of U.S. Route 91 that has two branches. The southern branch runs for from Douglas, Arizona on the Mexican border to the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. The northern branch runs for from the nort ...

and

US 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and A ...

, all of which traverse the park. The road was named by Harry W. Frantz in 1923, who served as the park's publicist before beginning a long career as a journalist.

Route

Beginning at the junction of the North Entrance Road and Grand Loop Rd. at Yellowstone National Park headquarters at

Fort Yellowstone Fort Yellowstone was a U.S. Army fort, established in 1891 at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was designated in 1872 but the Interior Department was unable to effectively manage the park. Administration was transfer ...

near Mammoth Hot Springs , the road travels south, passing through Golden Gate Canyon on a viaduct and ascending the

Gallatin Range The Gallatin Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, located in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming. It includes more than 10 mountains over . The highest peak in the range is Electric Peak at . The Gallatin Range was named after ...

, crossing Kingman Pass near Bunsen Peak. From the pass, the road descends into the

Gardner River The Gardner River (also known as the Gardiner River) is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long, in northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana in the United States. The entire river is located within Yellowstone National P ...

valley. At the south end of the valley, the road passes Sheepeater Cliff, a prominent columnar basalt cliff. After crossing the Gardner River, the road follows Obsidian Creek into Obsidian Canyon, passing Obsidian Cliff about halfway through the canyon. From Obsidian Canyon, the road continues south into the Norris Valley and the Norris Geyser Basin (). Here, the road meets the Gibbon River and follows it into the Gibbon Geyser Basin and Gibbon Canyon. Emerging from the canyon the Gibbon River merges with the

Firehole River The Firehole River is located in northwestern Wyoming, and is one of the two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Junc ...

to form the

Madison River The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana forms the Missouri River. Th ...

. At this point—Madison Junction (), the road junctions with West Entrance Road which follows the Madison River west out of the park and to

West Yellowstone, Montana West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,272 at the 2020 census. West Yellowstone is served by Yellowstone Airport. It is part of the Bozeman, MT Micropoli ...

. Grand Loop Rd. continues to follow the Firehole River south and east. In a relatively short distance, the road travels through the three most notable geyser basins in the park: Lower Geyser Basin, Midway Geyser Basin and Upper Geyser Basin. The

Old Faithful Historic District The Old Faithful Historic District in Yellowstone National Park comprises the built-up portion of the Upper Geyser Basin surrounding the Old Faithful Inn and Old Faithful Geyser. It includes the Old Faithful Inn, designed by Robert Reamer and ...

is located on Grand Loop Rd. adjacent to the Upper Geyser Basin. Turning east from

the road crosses the Continental Divide over

Craig Pass Craig Pass (el.), is a mountain pass located on the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The Grand Loop Road crosses the pass approximately east of Old Faithful Geyser Old Faithful is a cone geyser in Yellowstone Nati ...

, and descends to the West Thumb Geyser Basin on the shore of

. West Thumb () is the southernmost point on Great Loop Rd. Here the road junctions with South Entrance Road which continues south to

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton ...

. Grand Loop Rd. continues north along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Near the northern end of the lake it passes the Lake Hotel and the Lake Fish Hatchery Historic District. Just past the Lake Hotel area (), the East Entrance Road turns right and crosses the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains a ...

over Fishing Bridge and continues east to

Cody, Wyoming Cody is a city in Northwest Wyoming and the seat of government of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Colonel William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896. The population was 10,066 at th ...

. Grand Loop Rd. follows the western side of the Yellowstone River north into the

Hayden Valley Hayden Valley is a large, sub-alpine valley in Yellowstone National Park straddling the Yellowstone River between Yellowstone Falls and Yellowstone Lake. The valley floor along the river is an ancient lake bed from a time when Yellowstone Lake wa ...

and past upper

Yellowstone Falls Yellowstone Falls consist of two major waterfalls on the Yellowstone River, within Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States. As the Yellowstone river flows north from Yellowstone Lake, it leaves the Hayden Valley and plunges first ov ...

near the mouth of the

(). The road then crosses

Dunraven Pass Dunraven Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass on the Grand Loop Road between Tower and Canyon in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. History In 1874, just two years after the park's creation, The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, an Anglo-Irish ...

near Mount Washburn and descends to

and Tower Junction () where it intersects with the Northeast Entrance Road to

Cooke City, Montana Cooke City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Park County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 75. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Cooke City-Silver Gate CDP. The community si ...

. From Tower Junction, the road travels north and then west through the Gallatin Range to complete the loop at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Major junctions

Counterclockwise (CCW) reads down; clockwise (CW) reads up.

References

External links

*
Grand Loop Road Historic District
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office *

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation filed under Lake, Teton County, WY, except as noted below: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Yellowstone National Park Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Transportation in Teton County, Wyoming Transportation in Park County, Wyoming Tourist attractions in Teton County, Wyoming Tourist attractions in Park County, Wyoming Historic American Engineering Record in Wyoming Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Park County, Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Teton County, Wyoming

Route

Major junctions

See also

References

External links