Day Hikes in Old Faithful Area
Details
Round trip: 3.8 miles (6.4 km) all the way to Queen’s Laundry
Difficulty: Moderate
Bear Management Area: Be “bear aware”
Trailhead: Travel 10 miles (16 km) north of Old Faithful, l;turn left on Fountain Flat Drive. Park at the end of the road, cross the footbridge over the Firehole River to the trailhead.
The trail follows the Firehole River a short distance, then veers toward the meadows. Look for the large sinter mounds of hot springs and the remains
of the old, incomplete bathhouse at Queen’s Laundry, 1.9 miles (3.2 km) from the trailhead. This trail is often very wet in spring and buggy in summer.
Begun in 1881, construction was abandoned as park administrations and priorities changed. Minerals from the hot springs preserved the structure, which
was the first building constructed by the government for public use in any national park. Queen’s Laundry is a National Historic Site.