The Grand Prismatic Springs is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming in a national park whose name comes from the Yellowstone river. On the western side of the park in an area called the Midway Geyser Basin and adjacent to the Firehole river, there is a parking lot next to a boardwalk leading to the Grand Prismatic springs.

For anyone who has not visited the Grand Prismatic Spring, let it be known that in my opinion, this is a must see feature in Yellowstone national park

Midway Geyser Basin contains a small collection of mammoth-sized springs in a location isolated between the Lower Geyser Basin and Upper Geyser Basin. Midway is actually part of the Lower Geyser Basin, but due to it detached location, it has long been known as the Midway Geyser Basin.

Despite its relatively small size, this geyser area contains two of the largest hot springs in the world. Grand Prismatic Spring, nearly 370 feet in diameter, sits upon a large mound surrounded by small step-like terraces. The other feature, Excelsior Geyser, erupted nearly 300 feet high before the 1900s. It is now a dormant geyser and is considered a hot spring, discharging more than 4050 gallons of boiling water per minute. Other colorful springs include Turquoise and Indigo springs, known for their pale and dark blue colors. Across the Firehole River from Excelsior and Grand Prismatic springs are a series of small isolated, pristine springs and mud pots. The Rabbit Creek drainage possesses some colorful and unusual features and most are unnamed. Caution should be exercised while exploring this vicinity since the ground is unstable and trails are not maintained.

Flowing alongside Midway Geyser Basin is the Firehole River, which river flows north approximately 21 miles (34 km) from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide downstream through the Yellowstone Midway Geyser Basin after which it joins the Gibbon River at Madison Junction within the Yellowstone National Park. The Firehole River is one of the two major tributaries of the Madison River, which is part of the Missouri River system.

Not far from Midway Geyser Basin, about one mile south along the park loop road, the absolute best location to view the Grand Prismatic is found along the Fairy Falls Trail.

Driving south from Midway Geyser Basin, there is another parking area where you will see a sign for the Fairy Falls Trail parking.

Stopping at this parking lot and walking across the Firehole river bridge begins the Fairy Falls trail, a trail in it′s entirety will traverses five miles along the south side of the Midway Geyser Basin to the Fountain Flats parking area.

However, the Grand Prismatic overlook is found less than a mile along the Fairy Falls trail, in fact is a round trip of one and a half miles walk.

I have tried for the last three years to achieve this destination but the Fairy Falls Trail parking lot has been closed due to construction of a new parking lot, an updated trail and new observation platform for the prismatic.

It was only this year in May when I was in the park that I saw that all the construction equipment and vehicles where gone. However, at that visit, the new parking had a gate across then entrance with a sign stating Closed Due to Bear Activity. I came again in late May but the gate was still closed. It did not open until the Memorial day weekend holiday.

Returning for my third visit this year on Wednesday, 27 June, I hope to see the prismatic from the overlook. Early the next morning, I head for the trailhead.

Arriving before sunrise, I ready myself for a hike and since it is quite cool I wear my sweatshirt and I don my felt hat.

Then, I head for the Firehole river bridge and the overlook.

From the Firehole river bridge, it is about one half mile to a side trail leading left. Currently, the sign only has an arrow pointing up the hill but I suspect that will change in the near future and it will specify Overlook Trail.

From the bridge to the Grand Prismatic Overlook and back to the bridge would be a round trip of just under one and a half miles.

After crossing the bridge, I see a few small hot springs, just pools in comparison to what awaits me at the overlook. However, at each pool, the cool air touching the hot water immediately condensate into billows of rising steam.

I continue west on the Fairy Falls trial and up ahead I notice that there are two columns of steam not far ahead. To my right is the flat Firehole river valley covered in mostly grasses and a few small trees, to the left the land rises quickly and many are the mature evergreen trees growing over much of it.

This side trail is the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook trail. From this point, it is four hundred yards (.23 miles) uphill to the overlook.

After reaching the side trail, I turn left and begin the climb up to the overlook. I notice that the forest is mature but there are also many down trees on the ground beneath, gray with age and stacked horizontally, the latest fallen tree atop those previous fallen.

Too, this trail is a new one, the result of the construction during the past few years and newly cut tree are stacked right adjacent to this new path.

Then, I notice that the trail cuts back to the right and I look up to the right and see the overlook platform just above. I turn the corner, walk up the last ten steps, climb up three stone steps and arrive at the overlook.

As I look out over the view, what I had totally expected is what I now see, the Grand Prismatic is spread out in front and below me across the geyser basin and there is a large billow of steam rising from it.

Too, not a single color can be seen, except some of the brown mats in the cooled off runoff channels. Still, this view makes an impressive sight and I begin taking photos. Also, I have yet to see another person anywhere.

However, what there is in abundance here at the overlook, is hordes and hordes of mosquitoes all looking for their next meal. Too, it was foresightfull of me to have put on my repellant before walking up here so as not to provide that meal.

Furthermore, methinks I must needs wait until the sun rises, warms the ambient temperature and dissipates the steam rising from the hot waters. Not knowing how long this will take, I decide to walk back to the jammer and have my breakfast.

Arriving back at the bridge, I cross it walk back to the jammer, open the rear hatch and begin my breakfast preparation. First, I put a pot of water on the stove and while waiting for it to boil, prepare and eat a cup of Daystart.

As I sit here enjoying breakfast, the many tourons begin to arrive and I ask some of them if they are carrying bug spray. Some do, but most say, No, I don′t, do I need some? That is when I offer my home made natural spay for them to use. When they ask what I use to make the spray, I say to them, Distilled water and anise oil, it is an old fisherman′s recipe.

By eight this morning, the parking lot is full and now the highway has many cars parked alongside it. There is a steady stream of tourons coming and leaving all morning and I am able to talk to many. I am even able to witness to some endeavoring to tell the truth about our God.

I keep watching the many hot springs in the nearby area and keep track of how much steam rises from them and notice as the day wears on, the steam is dissipating, however slowly. I ask some of those that I talk to to report back how much steam is on the prismatic and many do make a report to me.

By eleven this morning, most of the surrounding hot springs has stopped steaming, so I ready myself again for another walk to the overlook and head out shortly after. When I arrive this time, the view is so entirely different, so entirely colorful, so exactly what I had hoped to see from this overlook.

Soon, I decide that I have all the photos I need and then head back down from the overlook, headed for the jammer.

Upon arriving at the bridge, I notice that the parking lot is still full and many are also parked along the highway.

I open up the jammer to let it cool off, then take off my hiking shoes and put my sandals back on. I also, stow my gear back in their places. Then start the jammer and drive south on the park loop back to the parking lot at the inn where I will be cropping and sorting photo, adding words to my journal and photo galleries for the next couple of days.

Yes, this truly is a GRAND Prismatic Spring!

A sign on the west loop road directs visitors into the parking area for the Midway Geyser Basin. Most times during the summer, this parking lot is full by eight in the morning and more cars park along the highway just to see this amazing sight.

When you have parked your vehicle, finished reading the initial information boards and then begin your walk towards the Firehole river bridge, your first sight will be the main overflow from the geyser basin, the overflow that flows from both Turquoise Pool and Excelsior Geyser.

The minerals dissolved in the hot water are deposited along the water runoff channels and gradually build the terraced shoulders of the channels and river. The colors, however are something else.

There is a boardwalk which leaves the parking area, crosses the Firehole river, skirts along the runoff channel along the geyser basin and leads back to the geyers.

The boardwalk leads along the yellow, orange and brown colored flats where the hot water streams from the Excelsior geyser just above.

A short walk further, Excelsior Geyser comes into view, the hottest of all the geysers in the Midway basin and it often has boiling water bubbling up from below. Too, because it is so hot, most of the time there is a condensation steam cloud above Excelsior geyser.

The boardwalk come to a junction with a fork leading left and one leading right, the two forks forming a loop which provides access to the prismatic springs further into the geyser basin. Following the left fork, the boardwalk rises to the high end of Excelsior Geyser crater where information boards tell about Excelsior Geyser.

Eruptions of this geyser are high erratic but the outflow of boiling water is a near constant 4000 gallons per minute over the crater rim into the Firehole river.

The boardwalk travels along Excelsior Geyser, then along a large area of the brown and orange colored runoff channels coming from the Grand Prismatic.

Next, the boardwalk arrives at the east end of the Grand Prismatic Spring and traverses along the northern edge of the spring where there are several information boards on which tells of the life that lives here in the hot water.

Far beneath the prismatic spring, magma from an active volcano heats water that rises to the surface through fissures in the rocks. ¹ The result is a hot spring that flows out about 500 gallons of hot water per minute into the Firehole river.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone. The high temperature of 160°F ensures that the spring is almost always cloaked in steam, especially when the ambient air temperature is low.

In Fact, the view in the next photo is the best view one can expect on most mornings and early afternoons.

However, when the day time afternoon temperatures finally rise into the sixties or higher, then the steam will often dissipate which will provide for much better viewing of the prismatic colors.

Prismatic means brilliantly colored. As you come closer to the prismatic, you will begin to see the intense blue color in the center of the hot spring. This is the color of the water and the deep blue is due to sunlight being scattered by fine particles suspended in the water.

The green, yellow, orange and brown colors encircling the hot spring and along the runoff channels are not minerals, but in fact, thermophiles, creatures in the Archaea Kingdom.

All of these colors which encircle the hot spring and line the runoff channels are actually these thermophile creatures. Thermophile is a Greek word meaning Heat Lovers and these heat lovers are living microorganisms that really love heat, in fact they thrive in the harsh conditions of hot springs.

These microbes contain colorful pigments that allow them to make energy from sunlight by photosynthesis.

The different color thermophile are different species that live at different water temperatures within the hot spring.

After departing the western end of the prismatic spring, the boardwalk crosses the overflow channels and comes to Opal pool. Next, the boardwalk turns back toward the junction, arriving at Turquoise pool before arriving at the junction near Excelsior Geyser.

Then, the boardwalk returns back to the parking lot where, the next stop on the Prismatic Springs tour is Fairy Falls Trail, which I will do when the construction there has been completed.