Geyser Basins & Thermal Features
The Artist's Paint Pots trail is so full of vibrant colors, comparable only to an artist's palette, it will be easy to see how they got their name. The short 1/3 mile trail begins at the parking lot just off the main road across from a wide open meadow. When the trail gets back to the paint pots, it climbs up a small hill to give you a birdseye view of the area and a close look at the mud pots. In the early spring after the snow has melted, the bright reds and blues of the thermal features alongside the deep green mosses and grass, make you feel like you could be in another world. As Yellowstone warms up in the summer, the mud in the paint pots becomes drier, and thick bubbles of mud dance around along the boardwalk. To see them at their most active state, come in late May or June when the snow melt has given the mud pots plenty of water. |
