Guide to Grand Prismatic Spring and Grand Prismatic Spring Outlook

Safety at the Spring

Before continuing with the guide, we must first discuss some very important safety information.

1. Stay on boardwalks and trails.
2. Do not be fooled by seemingly stable footing. In thermal regions, the ground may only be a thin crust above boiling hot springs or boiling mud.
3. It is impossible to guess a safe path outside of a boardwalk or pre-established trail. Hazards can show up literally overnight.
4. Do not assume it’s just hot water. Some pools are acidic enough to burn through clothing and leather. People have been burned to death or scalded horrifically.

Just look at this hat; it is all that remains of someone who was once not dead.

Okay, I’m just kidding. It’s just a random hat someone lost. But think about it: they abandoned their cool hat because they didn’t want to risk getting killed. You can never tell if the ground is as stable as it looks. The hat was hot, but the spring was hotter.

Prime Time View

Grand Prismatic Spring looks its grandest and prismatic-est during a sunny day. As previously mentioned in the table, the best time to visit is from 12 to 3 pm when the sun is at its highest and brightest.

When it comes to Grand Prismatic Spring, I cannot emphasize the importance of lighting enough. If you arrive at a nonoptimal time, then the difference will be tremendous. The spring might look just like a normal pool of water.

If you’re wondering, “Did this dude arrive at different times during the day to prove a point?” The answer is yes. Yes, I did. Not all heroes wear capes.

Unfortunately, the best season for optimum sunlight is during the summer (June to August). Although summer is a pain due to the tourist crowds, Grand Prismatic Spring will make it all worth it—maybe.

On a final note, arriving earlier than 12 (at 10 or 11 am) is a viable option as well since finding parking later in the day can be an issue. Although the sun won’t be at it’s highest, at least it will continue to rise—so your view can only get better. If you arrive during the sunset, then the view will gradually get worse.

If you want more color, try dropping the exposure compensation of your camera to -1 or -2 to make things less bright. But, as long as you arrive around the ideal time range of 12 to 3 pm, the lighting should work wonders.

Why So Grand and Prismatic?

There are mineral particles in the water. These particles scatter sunlight and emit a brilliant blue color. There is often a blue haze hovering above the water surface as well. This is caused by the steam reflecting the blue from the water.

Thermophiles—heat-loving bacteria of various colors—populate the outer perimeter of the spring. It’s the microbes themselves that contain colorful pigments. They use the pigments to make energy from sunlight and survive in such intense conditions.

Two Ways to Visit Grand Prismatic Spring

There are two ways to visit Grand Prismatic Spring: via the ground level or via the overlook. For a complete experience (and very awesome photos), I recommend both vantage points.

If you’re reluctant to lose a parking spot, then you can walk from one parking lot to the other. This takes approximately 30 minutes one way.

Grand Prismatic Spring: Ground Level

The Grand Prismatic Spring Parking Lot can be extremely crowded around noon, so you might have to make several attempts.

A good strategy is to arrive earlier (11 am or so) and explore the scenery a bit. 11 am has relatively good lighting as well.

If you are with one or more people, a good last-resort strategy is to have one person drop the others off. If the driver is unable to find parking, then simply swap out with someone who’s already seen the spring.

At the ground level, the spring is up close and personal—not to mention massive in scale. You will be able to thoroughly survey the landscape and possibly feel the intensity of the surrounding heat.

Excelsior!

While Grand Prismatic Spring is no doubt the main attraction, the nearby Excelsior Geyser is often completely neglected in favor of its grander neighbor.

The Excelsior Geyser Crater—created by a massive geyser eruption—preserves a record of life from the distant past as massive communities of microbes were buried alive in the eruption. The microbial lifeforms found in Yellowstone help scientists understand the life that likely arose and diversified billions of years ago on Earth.

Interestingly, formations that entomb microbes—like that of Excelsior Geyser Crater—may “offer clues in the search for life in other worlds.” This is due to the fact that volcanic hot spring systems are believed to have existed on other planets. By simply finding similar formations, evidence of life on other planets might be discovered.

So, while less grand in appearance, Excelsior Geyser is very scientifically grand. Fun Fact: Excelsior is Latin for “ever upward.” “Excelsior!” is also Stan Lee’s favorite catchphrase.

Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook

A good strategy would be to arrive at 11 am to find parking. Fairy Falls Trail Parking Lot tends to be less busy. The hike can take 20 to 30 minutes one way, and and you can easily spend 1 hour enjoying the view. There’s also the Fairy Falls Trail nearby to explore.

The Overlook does not connect to the ground level access area itself. You can only walk to Grand Prismatic Spring from the Grand Prismatic Spring Parking Lot while Grand Prismatic Spring Outlook can only be accessed via the Fairy Falls Trail Parking Lot.

Once at the Fairy Falls Trail Parking Lot, simply follow the trail to Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook.

The stunning scenery on the way to Grand Prismatic Spring Outlook is certainly worth the effort.

There will be random smaller hot springs in the area as well.

You will cross a bridge hovering over the Firehole River.

If you’re lucky, there might be bison in the area. The bison love their hot springs.

You’ll know that you’ve arrived when you see some railings. Do note that you can miss this and walk past it, so pay attention.

Enjoy the view and take some amazing photos!