Trip Idea

Day Hikes in the Mammoth Area

Multiple Parks

Purple flowers, green grasses, and red striped butte under blue sky.
Duration Multiple Days
Topic(s) Trails, Bison, Elk, Grasslands, Scenic Views, Geothermal, Geysers, Hot Springs more »
Activities Hiking
Type Kid Friendly, Active, Solitary/Remote, Inspirational, Outdoors, Group Friendly more »
Parks Yellowstone National Park

Snow-capped mountains rise above a wide, sagebrush-steppe valley.
Swan Lake Flats and the Gallatin Range can be enjoyed via a few day hikes near Mammoth Hot Springs.

NPS/Dave Krueger

Day Hikes in the Mammoth Area
  • Yellowstone National Park

    Beaver Ponds Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 2–5 Hours
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Day
    Hikers travel along a trail through the sagebrush with a mountain peak in the distance.

    Hike through forests, meadows of sage, and stands of Douglas-fir and aspen on your way to beaver ponds. You might see beavers or their sign, but you are more likely to see muskrats and water birds.

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    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: East of Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 4–5 Hours
    • Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    Two people hike through a field of yellow flowers along the side of a slope.

    Follow Blacktail Deer Creek as it descends through rolling, grassy hills and Douglas-fir forest to a suspension bridge over the Yellowstone River.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Bunsen Peak Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 2–3 Hours
    • Season: Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    Four people hike across a talus slope with the sun setting behind a mountain in the distance.

    Climb to the top of this igneous peak for panoramic views of Swan Lake Flats, the Gallatin Mountain Range, and the Mammoth Hot Springs area.

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    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: East of Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 30–60 Minutes
    • Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    Visitors on a boardwalk view a low profile wayside exhibit

    Follow this self-guided trail along a boardwalk that winds through the grassland of Yellowstone's northern range.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Lava Creek Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 2–3 Hours
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    A two-tiered waterfall surrounded by columnar basalt as viewed from above.

    Follow Lava Creek, seeing Undine Falls and the junction with Gardner River.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Mammoth Hot Springs Trails

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 30–90 Minutes
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    People stand on a boardwalk and admire a travertine terrace formation with water cascading down it.

    Wander around large travertine terraces, built by ever-shifting hot springs.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Osprey Falls Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 4–6 Hours
    • Season: Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    A hiker stands at the base of a large waterfall.

    Walk along an old service road through meadows before descending into one of the deepest canyons in the park to see Osprey Falls plunge over the edge of an old lava flow.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Rescue Creek Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 4–6 Hours
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    A rocky mountain peak emerges behind rolling, grassy hills.

    Climb gradually through aspens and meadows, then descend through forests to sagebrush flats that lead to a footbridge across the Gardner River.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Sepulcher Mountain Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 6–8 Hours
    • Season: Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    A hiker takes in the views approaching a rocky summit.

    Climb to the summit of Sepulcher Mountain while keeping an eye out for mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and moose along the way.

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  • Yellowstone National Park

    Wraith Falls Trail

    • Activity Fee: No (Entrance fees may apply)
    • Reservations: No
    • Activity: Hiking
    • Pets: No
    • Location: Mammoth Hot Springs
    • Duration: 30–60 Minutes
    • Season: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
    • Time of Day: Any Time
    Water cascades down a slope surrounded by rocky cliffs and sparse trees.

    Cross sagebrush meadows, marshland, and mixed conifer forest to the base of Wraith Falls on Lupine Creek.

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Last updated: February 21, 2024