Yellowstone River & Uncle Tom's Trail in Yellowstone National Park

Day One of our trip to Yellowstone National Park was absolutely gorgeous. We drove up from our camp site at Madison to see the Yellowstone River and its waterfalls. The sun was shinning and as you can see the Park was overwhelmingly beautiful. It is no wonder that this place became our nation’s very first national park.

We pulled off the main road and looked over the edge and this is what we saw. A beautiful cascading waterfall in which its river flows through the green valley you see above.

We hiked a little ways which brought us to a spectacular view of this magnificent waterfall known as The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. After pouring over the Lower Falls, the River makes its way through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone which you see here.

We got a good picture with the Lower Falls before we started making our way over to the other side. We wanted to get up close to where the water falls over the crestline. This makes for a close up view of the Lower Falls and a better view of the Canyon. After a short drive and hike, we were standing just beside the very top of the Lower Falls. At 308 ft high we could look down and watch the water pour into the river below.

Here is my favorite view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Towards the bottom of the picture you can also see the mist rising from the waterfalls below.

Next, we would be taking Uncle Tom’s Trail to the base of the Lower Falls. First built in 1898, Uncle Tom’s Trail is a strenuous walk into the Canyon that drops 500 ft. with more than 300 stairs and paved inclines.