Mud Volcano is located within Yellowstone National Park. It is on the East side of the park, just right below Hayden Valley. Mud Volcano consists of multiple thermal features with boiling hot mud with bubbles appearing on the mud surface. There is also a short 1 mile board walk around Mud Volcano area for people to enjoy and check out all the thermal features in the surrounding area.
We got to Mud Volcano right after visiting Hayden Valley. As we drove into the parking lot, we could already see the steams in the air and a strong sulfuric acid smell. The smell was quite stinky! As we got off the car, we actually saw 2 huge bisons just right beside Mud Volcano. These bisons were so close to the board walk, it was incredible. The ranger was there to make sure no one goes near the bisons.
The board walk takes you to the top of the hill and loops back to the parking lot. We hiked the board walk to the top and part of the board walk was completely covered by the stinky sulfuric acid cloud. We had to hold our breath to pass through that portion of the board walk.
Most of the thermal features in this area are quite similar. We could see bubbles at the surface of the mud and steams coming out. The Dragon Mouth Spring is a giant hole in the rock with lots of steams coming out. The steam coming out of it can reach over 5 meters high, it was quite crazy.
By the time we got back down to the parking lot, the 2 bisons were already gone. The ranger also started to allow people to pass through the section that was blocked off for the bisons. We also just noticed that the ranger gives a guided walk around the area to talk about each thermal feature in the area.
Mud Volcano is a family friendly area to visit and can be done quickly. To us it was more of a come and go kind of thing and also just taking a rest from all the driving that we had.
EmoticonEmoticon