Yellowstone NP - Storm Point Hike

Hi Blog!

After finishing our hike to Avalanche Peak, we drove further into Yellowstone National Park to the trailhead for Storm Point on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. After seeing the lake from high above on Avalanche Peak, we wanted to take a closer look.

We started our hike on the Storm Point Trail alongside Indian Pond. The trail guide said, "this is a good, short, early or late day stroll to a vantage point overlooking Yellowstone Lake. Mornings and evenings generally are calmer, as mid-afternoon winds from the southwest race across the lake unabated, producing choppy water with frothy white caps." No kidding.  Undaunted, we continued our trek out to the point.

Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake in Yellowstone National Park, covering 136 square miles and boasting 110 miles of shoreline. For its elevation, it is the second largest freshwater lake in the world. The region south of Yellowstone Lake constitutes one of the largest roadless wilderness areas outside of Alaska and Canada.

After reaching the shore of Yellowstone Lake, the trail heads through the woods toward Storm Point. As Kathy went ahead to cross a small wooden bridge over a drainage, she noticed a number of footprints in the wet mud. Dave scampered down to investigate. They were bison hoof prints, not grizzly bear paw prints.

As we left the woods, we began to feel the gale force winds that the trail guide warned us about.

As we approached the point, we get a 180 degree view of Yellowstone Lake. It's hard to believe that this beautiful lake was once part of the world's larges volcano. After the magma chamber under the Yellowstone area collapsed 640,000 years ago, it formed a large caldera that was later partially filled by subsequent lava flows. Part of this caldera is the basin of Yellowstone Lake. The original lake was 200 feet higher than the present-day lake, extending northward across Hayden Valley to the base of Mount Washburn.

Evidence of thermal activity and lava formations are all around us.

As you can see from our selfie, we were bundled up against the wind.

The high winds pushed waves into the coastline, making for very dramatic scenery.

As we hiked along the shoreline, we noticed another point. The waves were crashing over the rocks. It called for further exploration.

If you want to get a feel for what it was like on the windy point with waves crashing at your feet, just click the link to the YouTube video - waves at Storm Point.

As we retreated from the point, we noticed some really cool red rocks on the beach. Unfortunately, they were too big to bring home.  The rocks were fascinating.  It appeared that they were soft sandstone which had been impregnated either with yellow, orange and red colored minerals, or else filled with minerals and then colored red with algae or bacteria.  Kathy, loving rocks as she does, had to get up close and personal and investigate:

The loop trail soon left the beach and headed back into the woods toward the trailhead. It felt good to be out of the wind.

We enjoyed our visit to the east side of Yellowstone. We have only one entrance road left to explore:  the Northeast Entrance. However, this will require more time and a Jeep that can easily climb the pass at that entrance.

Next time we visit Yellowstone, we'll come in via the Northeast Entrance. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.