Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Photo: Carsten Steger, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorIconicOutdoor Adventure

Grand Prismatic Spring

Midway Geyser Basin · Yellowstone National Park, WY

Why you should go…

Grand Prismatic Spring is Yellowstone's largest hot spring, 200 to 330 feet across and more than 121 feet deep, set in Midway Geyser Basin. The center is deep blue, and the bands of yellow, orange, brown and green around it are masses of heat-loving microorganisms called thermophiles, each color growing at a different water temperature. You see it from a boardwalk, and you must stay on it because the water can cause severe burns. Parking at the basin is limited.

  • #hot spring
  • #yellowstone
  • #boardwalk
  • #geyser basin
  • #national park

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Grand Prismatic Spring, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Old Faithful

    $25–$50

    Watch Yellowstone's signature geyser shoot water more than 100 feet high from the surrounding boardwalks.

    4.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

    Under $25

    Nonprofit wildlife park near Yellowstone's west entrance, home to rescued grizzly bears, gray wolves and other native species.

    16 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sport & Outdoor
    History Buff

    Nez Perce National Historic Trail

    Free

    A 1,170-mile historic trail across five states retracing the Nez Perce people's 1877 flight from the U.S. Army.

    16 mi awayMore like this

  • Tours
    Outdoor Adventure

    Yellowstone Helicopters

    $50+

    Helicopter sightseeing flights from West Yellowstone Airport over Hebgen Lake, Two Top and Earthquake Country, from 20-minute hops to a 60-minute wilderness explorer.

    17 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

    $25–$50

    Stand at Artist Point and look up a yellow-walled canyon to the 308-foot Lower Falls.

    22 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Yellowstone Lake

    $25–$50

    Look out over North America's largest high-elevation lake, with geysers on its shore at West Thumb and trout below Fishing Bridge.

    24 mi awayMore like this