This former ranger station, dating from 1925, serves as a summer bookstore and winter warming hut. Rangers lead an hour-long boardwalk stroll from here twice daily in summer; check the park newspaper for times.
West Thumb Information Center
Yellowstone National Park
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
13.25 MILES
While Old Faithful gets the most attention, there's lots to explore in Upper Geyser Basin, which has the densest collection of geysers in Yellowstone. On…
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15.09 MILES
At 370ft wide and 121ft deep, Grand Prismatic Spring is the park’s largest and deepest hot spring. It’s also considered by many to be the most beautiful…
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Canyon Visitor Education Center
22.36 MILES
This major center is well worth a visit for its innovative and interactive displays on Yellowstone’s geology. The highlight is a room-sized relief model…
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21.58 MILES
Artist Point is probably the most famous of the canyon’s viewpoints, offering a long overview of the Lower Falls and canyon. It was not, as many people…
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22.33 MILES
Norris Geyser Basin comprises Porcelain Basin and Back Basin, accessed through two connecting loops. If the world's tallest geyser, Steamboat Geyser, isn…
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21.49 MILES
Popular Lookout Point, near Canyon Village, offers the best views of the Lower Falls. An adjacent 0.5-mile trail drops 500ft to Red Rock for even closer…
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21.92 MILES
A side road branches off North Rim Dr to reach busy Inspiration Point, which offers an overview of the length of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and a…
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12.96 MILES
Though it’s neither the tallest nor even the most predictable geyser in the park, Old Faithful is the poster child for Yellowstone and a consistent crowd…
Nearby Yellowstone National Park attractions
0.08 MILES
Although West Thumb is not one of Yellowstone’s prime thermal sites, its 0.5-mile shoreline boardwalk loop (with a shorter inner loop to finish with)…
2. Grant Village Visitor Center
1.78 MILES
This visitor center offers an in-depth exhibit on fire, particularly the blazes of 1988 that burned one-third of the park and indicated fire's important…
11.77 MILES
America's iconic first national park, Yellowstone is home to over 60% of the world’s geysers – natural hot springs that periodically erupt in towering…
12.58 MILES
The buttercup-yellow colonial Lake Yellowstone Hotel, dating from 1891, is the park’s oldest building and certainly its most elegant. Robert Reamer (who…
5. Yellowstone Art and Photography Center
12.89 MILES
This historic building was constructed in 1927 as one of the original Haynes photo shops. The Haynes family operated 13 photo shops in Yellowstone and…
12.96 MILES
Though it’s neither the tallest nor even the most predictable geyser in the park, Old Faithful is the poster child for Yellowstone and a consistent crowd…
7. Old Faithful Visitor Education Center
12.98 MILES
This environmentally friendly center is all about the thermal features at Yellowstone, exploring the differences between geysers, hot springs, fumaroles…
13.1 MILES
Designed by Seattle architect Robert C Reamer and built in 1904, this is the only building in the park that looks as though it actually belongs here. The…