A 10-minute drive from Fountain Paint Pots brings you to the famous Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the US and the third-largest in the world. It measures 75–91 metres wide, 49 metres deep, and releases about 2,000 litres of 71°C groundwater every minute. A standout of Yellowstone’s hot springs, it spans over 100 metres in diameter, with vivid blue, green, yellow, orange, and red hues radiating outward from its centre. It is the largest and most colourful thermal feature in the park.

A 15-minute drive leads to Yellowstone’s largest visitor centre and iconic landmark: Old Faithful. Old Faithful was the first named geyser in Yellowstone National Park and remains its most famous attraction. It erupts approximately every 90 minutes, shooting water up to 40 metres high in a spectacular display. Here, you’ll find a visitor centre for learning, shopping for souvenirs, and watching park-related films.

After a 30-minute drive, a mirror-smooth lake comes into view: this is the West Thumb Geyser Basin on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Formed by a volcanic caldera collapse 150,000 years ago, this area creates a magical scene when hot springs meet the lake. Steam from the geysers drifts through the air, blending with the lake’s green waters and the blue sky above, creating a landscape unlike any other thermal area in Yellowstone. Acting as a cove on Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb hosts numerous geysers with strikingly varied hues—some clear green, others dark black like wet cement—each vent offering a beautiful, otherworldly sight.

After a one-hour drive, we arrive at the canyon section of Yellowstone National Park. Over millions of years, the Yellowstone River carved the dramatic, towering Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Artist Point, located at the top of a cliff on the south rim of the canyon, directly opposite Yellowstone Falls, is the best spot to view both the canyon and the falls. This is where painter Thomas Moran depicted Yellowstone Falls in 1872, hence the name “Artist Point.” The canyon stretches about 20 miles long and reaches depths of up to 1,000 feet. While the canyon’s depth, shape, and the rushing deep green river are impressive, the most unforgettable sight is the dazzling, multicoloured volcanic rock. The canyon walls glow with brilliant hues—white, yellow, green, blue, crimson, and countless shades in between—making the entire scene look like a living oil painting. Millions of tonnes of these rocks hold their vivid colours firmly, neither washed away by the river nor faded by wind and sun.