Latest / This Week in Yellowstone National Park / This Week in Yellowstone: April 10th to April 16th, 2025

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This Week in Yellowstone: April 10th to April 16th, 2025 · This Week in Yellowstone National Park

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From the land where the osprey are back, the
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bears are more active than last week, and there's
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currently no snow in the forecast, this is that
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Scott guy you know and love with a new episode
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of This Week in Yellowstone. How's it going everybody?
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This week in Yellowstone National Park from April
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10th to April 16th I talk about the oldest structure
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still standing in Yellowstone, give tips on bear
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spray, share a great trail for this time of the
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year, and let you know where you may be able
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to see bears during the coming week. Of course
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I also give you all the tips and information
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so you can enjoy yourself to the fullest this
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week in Yellowstone. A little disclaimer, I might
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miss a few details here and there, so feel free
1:01
to reach out with any question you may have.
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I also mention park locations very casually,
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so if you're unfamiliar, a quick search on your
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favorite search engine can help. Or you can just
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reach out to me and ask and I will help you.
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This report also only covers the driveable areas
1:17
of the park. Finally, this podcast is a passion
1:20
project. I'm not paid or sponsored to do this,
1:22
so if you're enjoying it, I'd love a review or
1:24
a quick email to say hi. Some of you have emailed
1:26
me. And that's absolutely fantastic, so thank
1:29
you very much. If you'd like to further support
1:31
my work, check out my guidebooks on hiking and
1:34
wildlife watching, or you can join me for a guided
1:36
Yellowstone hiking tour. For details, visit outdoor
1:39
-society .com or reach out directly. Alright,
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this week's Yellowstone news. Last week, the
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road between West Yellowstone and Mammoth through
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Norris opened to bike travel. It'll continue
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to be open only to bike travel until interior
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roads start to reopen to personal vehicles on
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April 18th. Until then, the only road you can
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drive on is between Gardiner, Montana and Cook
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City, Montana, passing through Mammoth, Tower
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Junction, Lamar Valley, and Soda Butte Creek,
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as well as all of those northern range stops
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that make the park very beautiful. An update
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on Montana's wolf population laws. A month or
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so ago, maybe two at this point, I discussed
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a few bills introduced to Montana state legislature
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that would have allowed more wolves to be hunted.
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Both of those bills failed, and the current wolf
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populations will remain intact. There's also
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an update on the Biscuit Basin area of the park,
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which experienced a hydrothermal explosion in
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the summer of 2024. The latest news is that the
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area is more than likely going to remain closed
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for the summer. Over the winter, numerous hydrothermal
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explosions continued to rock the area, witnessed
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both by researchers and visitors on over -snow
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travel vehicles. What this means is that the
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Biscuit Basin Boardwalk, as well as the trail
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to Mystic Falls, will be closed for the summer.
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If you need other hikes in the area, do not hesitate
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to reach out to me as I know where to hike and
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walk in the park better than most. Other than
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that, news is pretty slow in the park right now.
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Starting in a week or two, we'll have a lot more
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news, but until then, we get to rest and relax
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and prepare for the true tourism season to start.
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So random Yellowstone history tidbit of the week
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I need a better title if you have a better title
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idea for this Let me know currently it is just
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kind of a whatever I type out So this week I
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want to talk about the oldest surviving structure
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in Yellowstone National Park So this is also
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one of those like is it really the oldest structure
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in the park because there are some indigenous
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artifacts and regions that no one will see but
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this is the oldest Yellowstone National Park
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structure. And I think if we put it in that context
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as like it is from the park era, not before,
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but from the park era, then I can say that confidently.
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So oldest surviving structure of the Yellowstone
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National Park era. So you've definitely heard
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of Yellowstone's famous Old Faithful Inn and
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probably know the history of their neat red roofed.
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buildings of Fort Yellowstone, but tucked away
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far from the crowds down in the lower geyser
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basin, there is a much humbler structure with
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a story just as captivating and maybe even more
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so. It's about two miles away from the nearest
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road. Hidden out by the steaming vents and quiet
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pools of the thermal areas, you'll find the remains
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of a small weathered log cabin. At first glance,
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you might miss it. If you see it, it will still
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seem pretty unremarkable. Just another clump
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of logs somewhere in the vast American West,
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right? But this one's really special. It's the
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Queen's Laundry Bath House, and it holds the
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title of the oldest surviving building in Yellowstone
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National Park. Built in 1881, this little bath
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house wasn't just for show. It was the first
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structure of the federal government ever built
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for public use in any national park. That alone
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makes it a historic landmark. But it also stands
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as the last remaining piece of Yellowstone's
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first civilian administration. Those early years
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between the park's creation and the arrival of
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the US Army in 1886. So the park was created
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in 1872 and until 1886 it existed as a park,
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but there was no real, there was no one to enforce
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rules, anything like that. So it was a protected
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area that was not really protected. It just said
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it was until the army arrived in 1886. So the
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center of that formative era for the park was
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a guy named Phyllidus Norris. Now you may recognize
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the last name Norris. He was Yellowstone's second
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superintendent and Norris had a vision. He laid
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out the park's first road system, hired its earliest
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rangers, and pushed for congressional funding.
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But the Queen's Laundry? That came from a much
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more spontaneous spark of inspiration. Legend
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has it that one day Norris watched as some members
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of his team discovered a steaming strip with
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just the right temperature for a bath. Soon clothes
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were drying on branches and the air filled with
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laughter as everyone soaked in the warm waters.
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They jokingly dubbed it the laundry and Norris,
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ever the practical dreamer, decided that spot
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deserved its own bath house. So the Queen's Laundry
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was born. A log structure with two rooms built
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alongside a natural soaking pool cooled just
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enough from the spring scalding vent. Though
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never fully completed, one room doesn't even
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have a finished door. It quickly became a popular
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stop. For a time. Today the building sits vacant,
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half preserved and half reclaimed. I would actually
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say that it's like a third preserved and mostly
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destroyed at this point. but it's half reclaimed
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by the mineral -rich center from the spring.
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No one bathes there anymore, the thermal runoff
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has changed, and park rules protect the fragile
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landscape. But the Queen's Laundry still stands
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over 140 years later as a silent witness to Yellowstone's
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earliest days. It was even added to the National
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Register of Historic Places in 2001, and if you
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ever find yourself hiking in the backcountry
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trail that passes within a few hundred yards,
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take a moment to pause and try and find it. You
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cannot walk up to it as traveling off trail in
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thermal areas is dangerous and illegal, but you
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can stand at a distance, look across the basin,
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and imagine the steam rising, the clothes drying
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on branches, and the laughter echoing through
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the geyser's mist. Old faithful might get the
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spotlight, but Queen's Laundry, that's what I
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like to say is Yellowstone's quiet legend. It's
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kind of remarkable to be hiking out there, nowhere
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to look and look, and there is a structure. Granted,
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never used, but still pretty cool. So I actually
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do have a tour of this location and would be
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more than happy to take you out there if you
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like. If you're interested in that, just contact
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me and I'll give you some information. Alright,
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my experience of the week. Go look for bears!
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We're at the start of bear season and over the
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last week bear sightings in open areas of the
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park have skyrocketed. Last week I saw my first
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active grizzly and in the same region more grizzlies
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have been sighted including a grizzly sow with
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a cub. The most reliable spots right now for
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early season grizzly location sightings are Blacktail
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Ponds, Slough Creek, Little America, and Lamar
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Valley. As of the 7th of April Both boars and
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sows with cubs have been spotted in each of these
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areas. If you drive out there and don't see anything,
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you still have a good chance of seeing a bear,
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because your best chance of seeing a bear is,
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of course, the bear den near the petrified tree.
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I mentioned this spot at the end of February,
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and it's even better now. Located the large pullout
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near the petrified tree turnout between Floating
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Island Lake and Tower Junction, there's a chance
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to look into a bear's den. The black bear den
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has been used three out of last four years And
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isn't and it's a good quick stop when heading
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to or from Lamar Valley as of late The black
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bear sow has been quite active even having her
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two newborn Cubs come out of the den Now I know
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I'm gonna repeat myself here, but it bears repeating
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Yeah, I'm not thrilled with that, but I wrote
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it down and I had to keep it so again This I've
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said before so bears do not truly hibernate so
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when people say bears are waking up from hibernation
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that's not technically true. They were denning
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and they are in winter torpor. Hibernation and
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torpor are both states of reduced metabolic activity
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used by animals to conserve energy. Torpor is
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a short -term temporary state of lower body temperature
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metabolism only lasting hours or days or weeks.
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Hibernation is a prolonged deep state of dormancy
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with significant reduced body temperature heart
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rate metabolism lasting months. And unlike true
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hibernators, a bear's body temperature during
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torpor drops only slightly and they can wake
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up more easily if disturbed. They also remain
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capable of giving birth and nursing cubs during
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this period. My tip of the week. A few things
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to know about bear spray. So I recently received
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a message via email from a listener who is asking
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about bear spray and I wanted to answer those
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questions here as they're relevant to a lot of
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visitors. So thank you Craig and I hope these
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answers help. Oh, and please note that later
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this month or early next month, I'm going to
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have a standalone episode on bear safety in the
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park. I'm currently working on maybe getting
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a bear expert or something, but we'll see if
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that happens just based on my motivation and
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other people's schedules. So stay tuned for that.
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But until then, I'm going to talk about bear
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spray. So bear spray is your best realistic defense
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against the charging bear, but only if you know
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how to use it properly. So today I'm diving into
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the bear spray basics, where to get it, how to
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carry it, how to use it, and what to do if a
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bear actually charges you. So let's get into
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it. Use the right stuff. Not all sprays are created
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equal. You want an EPA approved bear spray, not
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pepper spray for joggers or personal defense.
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Bear spray is specifically formulated and pressured
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to reach a bear from a safe distance. The minimum
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size of the can EPA allows that can say it's
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bear spray is 7 .9 ounces or 225 grams. Cans
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smaller than this may not have sufficient spray
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duration or distance to be used safely in deterring
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a charging bear. Most of my bear spray canisters
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are from a company called Counter Assault or
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from UDAP. I'm sure there's other brands, but
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these two are the most I often see in my local
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stores and the ones I just pick up. So where
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can you get bear spray? You can get bear spray
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at any outdoor store in the region. You can even
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get it some gas stations outside the park. You
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can get it in Bozeman, West Yellowstone, Jackson,
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Cody, Livingston, Gardner, as well as most in
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-park shops and gas stations. The Bozeman Costco
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also usually has it this time of year, but I
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think it's like a three pack. So that may not
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be great if you are just visiting. But if you
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are just visiting and don't want to buy it, You
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can seasonally rent bear spray at Canyon Village,
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West Yellowstone, Old Faithful, and Gardner.
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There may be other places, but these are the
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towns and locations that I know did it last year.
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You'll need to search online for locations, hours,
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and costs. And remember, do not ever throw away
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your bear spray. It's pressurized and dangerous
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to trash. Instead recycle it at a camping store,
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or you can contact me and I'll happily take it
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off your hands. So once you have your bear spray,
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carry smart, not buried. So where you carry your
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bear spray matters. Do not stuff it in your backpack.
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Every year I see people with bear spray at the
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bottom of their backpack and that is the absolute
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worst place to have it. You may have three to
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six seconds at most to get bear spray out if
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you come across a bear. If it's at the bottom
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of your backpack, it's pointless. You want to
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have it right where you can grab it fast. Ideally
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in a quick draw holster on your belt or chest.
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You should also practice taking it out of the
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holster and removing the safety. You also need
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to familiarize yourself with how to use it as
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you may only have seconds to spray. And a bear
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isn't going to wait for you to read those directions.
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So you don't need to be a sharpshooter with it.
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Here's the good news. You don't need perfect
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aim, right? Bear spray creates a wide cloud that
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irritates a bear's eyes, nose, and lungs. Your
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job is to put that cloud between you and the
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bear. That's it. Think of it as creating a barrier,
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not hitting a target. And obviously practice
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makes confidence, so practice is key. If you
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can, grab an inert training can, They're specifically
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made for safe practice some of the places where
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you can rent them actually have a way to practice
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So check that out and you want to run through
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the steps pull it from the holster flip the safety
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Then fire even if you have one that isn't inert
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You can still practice pulling out a holster
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and taking the safety off without firing firing
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is just pressing down with your thumb, so It
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doesn't matter too much. If you can have an inert
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can, practice in different wind conditions. With
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the wind at your back, coming at your face, and
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blowing from the side. That way you're not caught
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off guard when the wind's working against you.
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One of my favorite things to remind people, do
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not use bear spray like bug spray. Don't spray
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yourself, your gear, or your tent with bear spray
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like it's bug repellent. It doesn't work like
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that, and it could actually attract bears instead
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of deterring them. It will also be absolutely
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brutal for you. I once found a can of bear spray
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out on a hike and picked it up, only discovered
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that it was leaking. I tossed it in a spare Ziploc
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bag and washed my hands in a creek. Half an hour
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later, I touched my nostril quickly as my nose
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was dripping and my nose immediately began to
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burn. I could feel it burning for an hour. And
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that was washing my hands and everything. So
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it's super strong. Now bear spray isn't 100 %
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effective, but it is your best defense. Well,
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aside from this, awareness and prevention. Bear
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spray is great, but the best thing you can do?
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Make noise on trail, hike in groups when you
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can, and keep your eyes peeled for signs of bear
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activity. I'm gonna be diving a lot more into
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this on my standalone bear episode, but honestly,
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the louder you are, the more a bear is going
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to hear you. I'll throw this in here very quickly.
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Bear bells do not work. Bear bells sound to a
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bear like birds, or it sounds like something
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they're curious about, so it may have an adverse
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reaction that you want. They may say, what's
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that noise and come closer. The human voice is
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the best thing a bear can hear to not approach.
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Once you have bear spray, know that heat is not
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great for it. These canisters explode if they
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get too hot like over 120 degrees Fahrenheit
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not when you're hiking But if you leave it in
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your car on a hot day Might explode so when traveling
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store them well seal them up in a ziplock bag
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Just in case it does explode or leak and don't
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put them in a place. That's going to be too hot
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also check the expiration date bear spray does
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expire so before you head out check the date
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on your canister you really don't want to have
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a dud of a bear spray when it counts because
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that will then be completely ineffective now
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if a bear charges here's what you do deep breath
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pop up take out the bear spray take the safety
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clip out aim slightly downward and adjust for
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wind Start spraying when the bear is about 30
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to 60 feet away. That's 10 to 20 yards. Your
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goal is to create a wall of spray that the bear
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has to run through. Keep spraying until the bear
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veers off. If it doesn't, spray directly into
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its face. Once it's left, you leave the area
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too. Leave the area as soon as it's safe to do
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so. Do not stick around. Once you do deploy bear
18:06
spray after a bear encounter, immediately report
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that to the Rangers. We need to know as park
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like as people who frequent the park. I say we
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because like we all need to know not I'm not
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saying I'm a Ranger. We need to know Rangers
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need to know where bears are active because then
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we can all be safe. The other thing is bear attacks
18:28
are very very rare. This should not stop you
18:32
from hiking but carrying bear spray and knowing
18:34
how to use it will give you peace of mind. just
18:37
in case. You should be more concerned about driving
18:40
the roads just in general than about bears. So
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if you want to know more about bear spray and
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how to use it, more information can be found
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at BeBearAware .org. I'll have the link in the
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show notes too. The weather for the coming week.
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So this week is gonna start out really nice.
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Thursday and Friday in Lamar Valley. We're gonna
19:13
see highs in the upper 50s, lows in the mid 30s.
19:17
No real chance of precipitation. Saturday, 60
19:21
% chance of rain, maybe a little dusting of snow.
19:25
The high is gonna be 48, low is 22. Sunday will
19:28
be partly sunny, high of 38, low of 14. Monday
19:32
will be 46 and 18 mostly sunny Tuesday and Wednesday
19:37
will then be in the mid 50s with lows in the
19:40
upper 20s minimal chance of precipitation So
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it should be really nice out in Cook City things
19:46
are gonna be pretty similar Highs in the 50s
19:49
on Thursday and Friday lows in the mid 30s Saturday
19:53
There's a chance of snow up to an inch, but it
19:56
could also come down as rain high of 44 low of
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18 that Saturday Sunday will be partly sunny,
20:04
high of 33, low of 12. Monday will be 41 and
20:08
18 mostly sunny. Tuesday will be 52 and 29 mostly
20:12
sunny. And then Wednesday will be 53 and 27 and
20:16
partly cloudy. Now then that brings us to Gardner,
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which is going to be a little warmer, little
20:23
drier. So Thursday high and Gardner of 61 low
20:27
of 34 Friday 63 and 39 Saturday 73 % chance of
20:33
rain and that's going to be pretty Pretty wet
20:37
day for out here could see about a half inch
20:39
of rain with a high of 50 degrees low at 25 Sunday
20:42
partly sunny high of 41 low 20 Monday 50 and
20:47
24 mostly sunny, Tuesday partly cloudy 59 and
20:52
33, and Wednesday a high of 61 and a low of 33.
20:56
So that's the weather. As always weather forecasts
20:58
can change. That's you know doing the best I
21:01
can with what I have to work with. So be prepared
21:05
for anything but it shouldn't be too bad of weather
21:08
this week. Now speaking of weather, the snowpack
21:11
update. The snowpack for the park is still looking
21:14
fantastic. Last week's snow helped keep things
21:17
right around 100 % of normal for this time of
21:20
year. While warmer temperatures this week will
21:22
decrease the snowpack a little bit, that's to
21:24
be expected in normal, so we shouldn't see too
21:28
huge of a dip between this week and next. Things
21:31
may drop to 90 % of normal, but I'd be absolutely
21:34
shocked if they got down to the 80 % range this
21:37
week. With no real snow or serious precipitation
21:42
in the forecast, the roads Should be great. So
21:46
we're on road conditions. I forgot to announce
21:48
it. However Be aware that some construction may
21:52
be starting to happen especially by the old slash
21:56
new bridge site by Tower Junction again Weather
21:59
should be just fine. You shouldn't have too bad
22:02
of weather Obviously on the rainy snowy days
22:05
that might not be perfect, but it should be fine
22:08
So for up -to -date information on roads call
22:12
307 344 -2117 for recorded information, or you
22:18
can sign up and receive Yellowstone Road Alerts
22:21
on your cell phone by texting 82190 to the number
22:25
888 -777. Camping information. It's sounding
22:39
like I'm just on repeat here but Mammoth Hot
22:43
Springs remains the only open campground in the
22:46
park and will be the only open campground in
22:48
the park until May. There are additional camping
22:51
options outside of the park and those continue
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to open up so if you need some spots to camp
22:58
and just can't find any information reach out
23:00
to me I'll share a few locations. Alright, the
23:03
wildlife watching update. Right now, wildlife
23:06
watching is pretty amazing. There are tons of
23:10
bluebirds out north of the park and starting
23:12
to enter the park. There's pronghorn that are
23:14
moving in the park from mammoth. Bison are all
23:17
around mammoth. Elk are all around mammoth. Eagles
23:20
and red -tailed hawks are flying everywhere.
23:22
Osprey are returning. It's a really cool time.
23:26
The further east you go, the less animals that
23:30
you will the less animals you will find that
23:33
are more of the bigger ungulates and like pronghorn
23:36
things like that right now what you're going
23:38
to see out there the closer you get to cook city
23:41
are going to be moose foxes maybe some mountain
23:45
goats way off on the mountains and you might
23:48
see you know a few bison here or there but generally
23:50
the larger amounts of animals are going to be
23:54
from lamar valley slew creek area back toward
23:57
mammoth Wolf watching right now, it has been
24:00
pretty good. Up above Blacktail Ponds, if you
24:04
continue driving that way, you're gonna hit some
24:07
big switchbacks and there's a guided nature walk
24:09
parking lot. People have been seeing wolves from
24:12
there. Wolves have been out in Slough Creek and
24:14
out in the Hell Roaring area. There is an overlook
24:18
that you can look out to Hell Roaring from. That
24:20
has been a great spot early in the morning. And
24:22
out that way too, there have been bears. and
24:25
some bears with cubs, there's been bison, there's
24:28
been a bit of everything. Right now, again, great
24:31
time to be visiting. Baby bison are gonna start
24:33
popping up all over the place. We are in the
24:37
very early stages of some fantastic wildlife
24:40
watching. And I say this every week, but the
24:43
best way to see animals, wake up decently early
24:47
and drive from Gardner to Cook City and back.
24:53
Do that twice in a day, once in the morning,
24:55
once in the evening. Every time you pass a pullout
24:59
where there's people with spotting scopes, stop.
25:02
They're looking at something, they're just not
25:04
out there for fun. Stop, ask what they see and
25:07
take a look. That's how you're probably gonna
25:09
see bears and wolves because bears are way out
25:12
in the distance right now for the most part.
25:14
But they're out and I highly recommend going
25:16
to try and see them because early season grizzly
25:19
bears. Fantastic seeing wolves in the distance.
25:22
Amazing. Like I said, we are getting to this
25:25
exciting time and I'm so stoked for it. Speaking
25:28
of being excited, I do have a wildlife watching
25:32
guidebook that if you want to know where animals
25:35
are pretty dependably and know how to spot wildlife
25:39
like a season local, I have a guidebook for that.
25:41
I wrote it happy to get a copy to you. If you
25:44
can buy it through my website, outdoor society
25:46
.com. Also, if you're thinking about buying it
25:49
through Amazon, please don't. Amazon gets a cut
25:53
of that and it takes it away from me. And last
25:56
I checked, Amazon doesn't need any more money.
25:59
So if you want to support local people, purchase
26:01
things directly through their websites, not just
26:03
me. There might be better guidebooks than mine.
26:05
Great. Buy it directly from the person. That
26:07
is a great way to support that person and let
26:10
them know that they're appreciated. Hiking news
26:13
and updates. So with more warmth this week. expect
26:16
more trails to be snow -free, but also expect
26:19
more trails to be muddy. The higher in elevation
26:22
you go, the more likely you'll have snow. By
26:24
the way, that all rhymed and I laughed about
26:27
it very hard when I was typing it out. All right,
26:31
I know this episode is going a little longer
26:32
than normal, but I think once the roads open
26:35
and stuff We are just going to be seeing 30 minute
26:37
episodes. I'm trying to talk a little faster
26:40
But this is I think what we're going to have
26:42
so apologies to those who are wondering when
26:45
I'm gonna wrap this up I know that this little
26:47
aside did not help speed things up, but I wanted
26:50
to say it So last real section the Trek of the
26:53
week this week The Yellowstone River Trailhead
26:58
at Jardine is where I'm telling you to go hike.
27:00
I would recommend the Hell Roaring Trail again,
27:02
but I could say that every week. Instead, I'm
27:05
telling you to leave the park, because I have
27:07
a spot that's just outside of the park boundary
27:10
that'll have you nearly alone and out along a
27:12
scenic stretch of the Yellowstone River. Starting
27:15
out at the Eagle Creek Campground on the road
27:17
to Jardine, which I talked about last week, right
27:19
above Gardiner, there's a trail that is perfect
27:22
for this time of year. Since the trail is south
27:25
facing, the snow has melted out and the mud should
27:27
be mostly dried, giving you a chance to put in
27:30
some miles with elevation gain while the snow
27:32
still lingers in the higher elevations. In the
27:35
first two miles of this trail, the path descends
27:38
approximately 750 feet to reach the river, switch
27:42
backing and meandering past old mining equipment
27:44
as breathtaking views unfold around every corner.
27:47
At the 2 mile mark, you arrive at the river and
27:50
have an opportunity to follow it upstream for
27:53
a while. The trail endured significant damage
27:56
during the floods of 2022, but you can easily
27:59
traverse it to the Yellowstone National Park
28:01
boundary a few miles away without any real issue.
28:05
Beyond the boundary, the trail is officially
28:07
closed. When it reopens, I'll discuss the whole
28:10
trail as it's a true classic. Until then, enjoy
28:14
the route as an out and back. If you want a scenic
28:17
day along the river with a little bit of elevation
28:20
gain do not skip this trail. I'll be heading
28:22
there probably next week and strongly suggest
28:26
you do the same. It's a place where you'll easily
28:28
find solitude and natural beauty all around all
28:32
outside of the park. Since it is outside the
28:35
park it also means that you can bring your dog
28:36
with you to hike. Just make sure to leash them
28:39
and and or have them very well trained as wildlife
28:43
will be around enough to test the best dog with
28:46
their behavior and recall. Also do not enter
28:50
the park with your dog while hiking ever. As
28:53
you're hiking along once you reach the river
28:55
and walk along feel free to hop around on rocks
28:58
look for osprey nest and look for wildlife it's
29:01
a great spot because wildlife can be plentiful
29:04
in this area. You'll see elk and deer Bison,
29:08
maybe bears, even a few bighorn sheep can sometimes
29:11
be spotted out this way. You also have a chance
29:14
to see a lot of birds of all sizes. Osprey nest
29:16
is across the river from one of the spots. Eagles
29:19
fly there, there's ducks, there's bluebirds,
29:22
there's potentially Sanhokranes, so keep your
29:24
eyes and ears open at all times. In next week's
29:28
episode, um... Will be talking about a lot more
29:31
stuff. I'll be announcing a couple new tours
29:33
I have but generally I will be getting everyone
29:36
ready for the opening of the roads It's gonna
29:39
be a very exciting week. We are just about to
29:43
the park reopening for everyone to experience
29:45
So I look forward to sharing that and until next
29:49
week happy trails This week in Yellowstone is
30:02
brought to you by the Outdoor Society because
30:04
that's my company and that's where this is hosted.
30:07
There are no sponsors. This is a labor of love,
30:10
so thank you all for listening. Copyright 2025,
30:14
baby!