Sentinel Meadows and Firehole Lake Loop

Last Updated on September 12, 2023 by

Sentinel Meadows and Firehole Lake are two of the less populated areas of the park offering an opportunity to enjoy the park without the crush of humanity. Both spots are located between Madison and Old Faithful about a mile apart from each other. Sentinel Meadows is a 5.44 mile hike along mostly flat terrain. It receives full sun exposure for the vast majority of the hike, so bring plenty of water and sunscreen.
Firehole Lake Loop is a three mile side drive. You can see plenty of geysers and hot springs without ever leaving your vehicle. There is also a collection of boardwalks around Firehole Lake.

Sentinel Meadows

We began our day on a pretty innocuous hike on the Sentinel Meadows/Queen’s Laundry Trail. More of a walk really, as it is gravel road for a pretty good portion and almost entirely flat otherwise. It follows the Firehole River and then swings into the meadows. Ultimately, the Queen’s Laundry was a failed project by Superintendent Norris intended to be a multiple room bathhouse and laundry. Ultimately it was abandoned before completion, but the ruins are noteworthy for being the first building constructed by the government specifically for public use in any national park.

I should also point out that Angela and I had a minor communication error this morning and I left my pack at home so only one of us had water – or bear spray. Promptly left the bear spray in the trunk, so bear spray didn’t make it onto the trail either, so we had water (Oops). Point being, I was already feeling underprepared despite the ease of the trail. We stopped at one of the hot springs (Ojo Caliente) about a half mile in and had a great chat with a family from Long Island, mostly about food, but the delay presented the opportunity to spot one lone bison across the river in the meadow beyond. (Theme of our trip). Again, innocuous. (Dun, dun, dun…)

Nice chatting with fellow (almost) New Englanders, but I have to say – I don’t know what it is about how we look when we are on the trail – people immediately think we are experienced hikers and know everything there is to know about the park we happen to be in. While Shawn was chatting about food, the wife promptly asked me where the closest bathroom was. I did happen to know where it was, but still… It was also the perfect time for the sheenus to come out for a full show and tell.

Off on another tangent – Some of my top picks for the trail – the All Trails App; my sheenus (take your pick, there are lots to choose from) and our rocket stove so we can have tea on the trail (again lots to choose from).

After we departed the road and entered the trail, we bumped into a father and son team who were slightly lost and I pulled out my trusty All Trails app to set them straight. Unfortunately they immediately strayed off course and we had to catch up to set them straight again, leading to a lengthy discussion about the quality of trail markings in the park. I disagreed with the dad. I think the markings are great – you just need to recognize that when a sign says trailhead and nothing else, it means you need to leave the improved walkway to get to the trail you are looking for. It’s pretty remote in places, and you have to be on the lookout for trail markers.

Two in one day with people who think we have all the answers. Of course, if you ask Shawn, we do. Just say it boldly and with confidence.

Shortly afterward, we cleared a small pine grove and entered the Serengeti. (Funny thing and unbeknownst to me at the time, tomorrows trip is actually commonly referred to as the Serengeti of the Yellowstone – but that’s neither here nor there). It took a minute to realize the bison we had seen earlier was casually strolling in this same meadow about a half mile ahead of us and lo and behold I spotted another a couple hundred yards behind us – we were boxed in on the open plain. Now as I said, this is an irrational new level of caution that I have yet to overcome. Bison etiquette in the park is typically 100 yards and we had 5 times that, but my antennae were on high alert as we crossed the incredibly exposed and treacherous open ground ahead of us. Needless to say – uneventful. Except for when I yelled out “bear!” while Angela was trying to pee behind one of the four trees within a quarter mile, but I digress.

Let’s continue to digress for the moment. We started this trail with not much to see other than a LOT of bison signs. Footprints (old and new), scat (mostly old), tufts of fur, what looked to be areas where a large animal rolled in the dirt for a quick dirt bath, and extremely uneven ground from large herds of large animals tramping through the meadows. I stated, “This must be a major spring migratory path” (since there didn’t appear to be many new signs and only 2 lone bison). Right before we entered the wide open plain of the trail, I decided it would be a great time to pee (another theme?!) since we were about to lose the trees. As I was finishing up, I hear Shawn, from the distance, say, “Bear.” Of course, my pants are still unzipped, loosely hanging onto my hips when I hit panic mode. Scrambling to grab all parts of my pee pack, get my pants done up and rapidly try to find Shawn, I stage whispered, “Where?” No response, prompted another stage whisper, before finding Shawn on the edge of the plains. I, of course had lost all sense of direction in my panic. Scanning the landscape rapidly (probably as fast as my heart was beating), I see a big dark blob, across the plains, on the edge of the next pine grove. Seeing me in a state of disrepair, Shawn was like, “What?“. I said, “You just screamed bear. While I was peeing. Hidden in a grove of tress. By Myself.” There we were, two old people, no bear spray, no first aid kit, no binoculars with old eyes trying to distinguish what was in the distance. What could it be? Bear? Elk? Bison? Shawn still thought it was a bear when I said, “Let’s critically think this through.” It’s really big from far away, so probably not a bear. There is no definitive neck, so probably not an elk. We’ve been seeing lots of bison markings, so it’s most probably a bison.
In any case, we start into the high grass and marshy meadow and I can feel the waves of anxiety rolling off of Shawn because we’re now out in the wide open and he’s half convinced a bear is still coming for us. I did have to remind him we weren’t in the Serengeti (thus the new name for the trail). A lion was not going to jump up out of the grass and devour us. It was at this point that my stomach started growling so I reached into my pack to pull out a half a crunchy granola bar left over from yesterday. It happened to be in the only zip lock bag I had yesterday which was holding maruka honey/almond butter. Probably not the best thing to eat if there are bears around as they have a sniffer that is 7 times greater than a dogs (2100 times greater than a humans). Didn’t mention that one to Shawn as I quickly wolfed it down.

Bear scare abated, we traveled a bit through a large pine grove, and eventually over a small rise to enter into another meadow and finally, after two weeks, we saw a herd of about 100 bison off into the distance. Worth every bit of the angst I had crossing the Serengeti. You would think this would have kicked my anxiety into overdrive, but we had the pines immediately behind us and I was fully confident I could safely cower in there should the need arise.

What Shawn doesn’t mention is that we heard them before we fully rounded the corner. This low growling off in the distance. Back on full alert. He also forgot to say that the “pines” are tiny, new growth trees due to the ’88 fire. I think, had the buffalo wanted to get to us, they could have just pushed those tiny trees right over. Plus, he’s faster than me. He would have been safe. Not so much me. I think my anxiety level still had me on high alert after our “bear” encounter. Thus, I stayed way up the hill, off the path, really close to the trees. Once I found a good spot for bison watching, I sat down, calmed down, had a little snack and enjoyed the show. There they were, in all their splendor, running, playing, chillaxing and, you guessed it, taking dirt baths.

We listened to them bleat? moo? for a bit, entertaining ourselves by watching them plow the ground under to roll around in their newly created dirt and eventually continued on back to the car happy to have been able to enjoy them without another soul in sight. Low marks for the trail in general, but if your payout ends in watching a small bison herd, worth it every time.

On our way back, I realized we hadn’t actually seen the Queen’s Laundry – the whole reason for the hike. It’s a National Historic Site within the park that was supposed to be on the trail. Built to be a two room bath house/laundry for visitors to Yellowstone, it was never finished by Superintendent Norris. The website states, “Queen’s Laundry is sure to catch your attention, regardless of whether you’re looking for it. After all, it’s one of the only buildings for miles around.” Unless you happen to be on high alert because you’re still anticipating a bear attack. Have I mentioned before, It’s always an adventure? Maybe that needs to be incorporated into the Mahoney Motto. Needless to say, no pictures of the historical site for today.

Firehole Lake Loop

We ended our day taking the driving loop around Fire Hole Lake. Even though we have been here before, I didn’t recall just how many different geysers there are. This loop has some of the most interesting geysers by far, and it is barely off the primary road. Maybe that’s the true beauty of this park, there is so much to see, there’s something new around every corner. The loop only takes a few minutes to drive without stopping, but there are dozens of geysers to see. Again, visually more interesting to me than Old Faithful because you could walk right up to and around them. Although you really can’t come to Yellowstone and skip the main attractions, there are so many other options that I feel like you haven’t really seen the park if you don’t take at least some opportunity to get off the beaten path. Even if you are just taking a simple side route, you are likely going to see something really special.

Sometimes you really do just have to take the tourist loops. Good thing there weren’t a lot of people. They were probably all over at Old Faithful.

I particularly enjoyed the boardwalks here. They literally take you right into the heart of the action.

White Dome Geyser

White Dome geyser is nearly twenty feet high and erupts every 15 minutes to three hours. While it does not reach the lofty heights of Old Faithful, eruptions still reach about 30 feet high.

Did You Kow?
The thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus, important because it produces an enzyme used in polymerase chain reaction laboratory procedures central to modern molecular biology, was first isolated from Mushroom Pool, a non-erupting hot spring a few hundred feet from White Dome Geyser.

Bryan, T. Scott (2008). Geysers of Yellowstone, The (4th ed.). University Press of Colorado.

Great Fountain Geyser

If not for it’s unpredictability, Great Fountain Geyser would likely turn the Firehole Lake Loop into the premier destination of the park. The geyser eruptions are between 100 and 200 feet high and last 45 to 60 minutes. Compared to the 10 minutes or so from Old Faithful, Great Fountain is certainly the more impressive. Unfortunately, once an eruption has occurred, it takes another ten to fourteen hours to rebuild enough pressure to erupt again.

Pink Cone Geyser

And just to add a cherry on top of the drive in the Lower Geyser Basin, Pink Cone Geyser is a blend of both White Dome and Great Fountain Geysers. It erupts low, at about 30 feet like White Dome, but has more staying power, lasting up to two hours, like Great Fountain. This geyser is also unpredictable and can take up to a full day to power up again.

Always Remember the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace

Plan Ahead and Prepare, Stay on Designated Trails, Dispose of Waste Properly, Don’t Take Anything You Didn’t Bring with You, Minimize Campfire Impacts, Respect Wildlife, Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Courtesy: Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics