The Oddities and Curiosities of Yellowstone National Park

During the first decade of the 1900s, tourists could take the Grand Tour of Yellowstone National Park by horse-drawn carriage.  The 4 ½-day tour offered the best views of the park’s natural wonders—then referred to as oddities and curiosities.

Bison almost became extinct due to sport hunting and poaching, but a remarkable effort was made to preserve them at Yellowstone during the early 1900s. The few bison that remained were rounded up for park officials to watch over and for tourists to view. The greatly expanded bison herd was returned to the wild in the 1930s.

At the intersection of three major earthquake fault zones, Norris Geyser Basin was the hottest, most active geyser basin in the park. Underground water temperatures of 706 degrees Fahrenheit have been measured.

Upper Geyser Basin, about two square miles in area, contained the largest concentration of geysers in the park—in fact, nearly one-quarter of all the geysers in the world!

Located along the edge of Yellowstone Lake, this small geyser basin consisted of a stone mantle riddled with hot springs. They resembled vast boiling pots of paint with a continuous bubbling-up of mud.

Hayden Valley, the remains of an ancient lakebed, was filled with large, open meadows on either side of the Yellowstone River.

The Lower Falls had a larger volume of water passing over it than any other waterfall in the Rocky Mountains area. In places, the walls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone dropped some 1,000 feet to the river below.

Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel was a rather typical hotel of the era, taking its design cues from eastern resorts of the time.

Old Faithful Inn, a grand hotel built alongside Old Faithful geyser in 1903, was the first true rustic-style western resort. Architect Robert Reamer designed it to fit in with nature rather than—like other fancy resorts—to provide an escape from it.

The inside of Old Faithful Inn continued the rustic look, with a spectacular seven-story log-framed lobby containing a massive stone fireplace.

The oldest surviving hotel in the park, charming Yellowstone Lake Hotel was built in 1891. Architect Robert Reamer added the colonial-style columns in 1903.

Those who couldn’t afford to take the Grand Tour could choose the less expensive “Wylie Way,” which involved seeing the sites from a Wylie stagecoach and lodging in a canvas tent overnight.

More and more motorists arrived in the park, preparing to camp. This led to paved roads, a parking area, service stations, and improved public campgrounds.

While Yellowstone was protected for its nature, bears became a top draw. From 1890s "bear shows" to 1917 roadside feeding, tourists recklessly treated wild bears as photo ops. After mounting property damage and injuries, the park launched an intensive management program in 1970.

"Fishing Cone" in Yellowstone Lake is a unique geyser. Early tourists famously caught trout in the lake and cooked them instantly by dipping them into the cone's boiling water without even unhooking the fish. This practice was officially prohibited by the 1930s.

When Yellowstone was established in 1872, no one knew what a national park should be. Over time, Yellowstone National Park became a testing ground for what it meant to both preserve America’s natural wonders and make them accessible to everyone.