Discover USA's Best National Parks by Lonely Planet

Author:Lonely Planet
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS HOTEL Historic Hotel

Offline map The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is worth a visit even if you are not staying. Piano music echoes around the lobby from 5pm followed by video or slide presentations in the side Map Room, where you can also check out the huge wall map of the United States assembled from 15 types of wood from around the world. (Residents of Maryland will be displeased to note that theirs is the only state capital not marked.) Also worth noting is the charming antique water fountain to the left of the activities desk.

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS Hot Springs

Offline map The imposing Lower and Upper Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs are the product of dissolved subterranean limestone (itself originally deposited by ancient seas), which is continuously deposited as the spring waters cool on contact with air. As guidebooks love to say, the mountain is in effect turning itself inside out, depositing over a ton of travertine (limestone deposits) here every year. The colored runoff of the naturally white terraces is due to the bacteria and algae that flourish in the warm waters.

An hour’s worth of boardwalks wend their way around the Lower Terraces and connect to the Upper Terraces Loop. The rutting Rocky Mountain elk that sometimes lounge on Opal Terrace in fall are a favorite photo opportunity.

Surreal Palette Springs (accessed from the bottom parking lot) and sulfur-yellow Canary Springs (accessed from the top loop) are the most beautiful sites, but thermal activity is constantly in flux, so check the current state of play at the visitor center.

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