Hayden Valley

Great place to watch the wildlife in Yellowstone! I recommend to come in the morning before noon. You will be able to see buffalo herds and bears. Bring binoculars or a mobile phone that has a camera with high zoom (10x+)

Beautiful, a must do in Yellowstone. We arrived around sunrise and saw plenty of bison and a grizzly bear. Lots of wildlife and great views of the valley as well as lots of geothermal activity. We stayed in West Yellowstone and this is about an hour closer than Lamar Valley (also great) and more scenic.

As guides, we always think of Hayden Valley as one of the tops spots to see wildlife in the park. Maybe even our favorite spot. Just yesterday while there, after taking a short walk to glass from on top of a hill away from the road, we had a wolf pop up amid a maternal herd of bison a short distance away from us. He dodged a couple of charges from cow bison, then moved along. Over the years we've amassed encounter after encounter there much like this. Wolves, grizzly bears, and what always feel like the biggest-baddest-bison in Yellowstone can be readily found in the Hayden Valley. The magic really seems to happen spring and fall, and dusky and dawn. But we have had many encounters over the years in the middle of the day too. Be aware there is a new closure as a bear management area from July 15th to September 15th, that bars you from hiking anywhere off the west side of the road except the Mary Mountain trail. Happy hunting!

This is the second best place to see wildlife in the park, but it's likely the best to spend sunrise if you love landscapes. The fog in the valley creates beautiful morning blankets that animals come in and out of. There's a wolf den on the east side, herds if elk, and plenty of bison. Parking is frequent but limited.

You should definitely visit this place if you have an interest in wildlife and stunning landscapes. The wide-open spaces and abundant wildlife provide a beautiful overview of Yellowstone.

Great place to see wildlife, especially buffalo. We were visiting during rut season (late August). Allowed for some close pictures with a telephoto lens. There is a 25-50 foot distance from wildlife rule within the park. Enjoy the majestic animals of Yellowstone.

First time visitor, and it was amazing in the spring! We managed to observe a diverse range of wildlife such as grizzlies, owls, sandhill cranes and more. People were friendly and patient when some species were not easy to spot. Truly surreal!

Hayden Valley is a wildlife photographer's dream. I have never seen such wildlife anywhere. You will find hundreds of bison just basking in the sun and feeding. Coyotes and wolves once in a while. Bears if you are lucky and plenty of birds as well. I would recommend spending atleast a couple of hours if not more here. Have the super telephoto lens ready and the light is usually perfect for the pictures. You can even visit early morning to watch sunrise with the wildlife. It's just lit. You will meet other wildlife enthusiasts here as well.

This is such a beautiful region in Yellowstone. It's centrally located on the grand loop between Yellowstone Lake and Yellowstone Falls. It is also a great spot to see lots of wildlife. Bison, elk, ducks, wolves, and lots of birds roam around this Valley. There are several turnouts along the road that you can pull over and take pictures at. The Yellowstone river is on the east side of the road. I made quite a few stops along the way and enjoyed the scenic views and the breezy weather with my morning coffee. It was a nice way to start my day. I was even able to get close enough to capture a bald eagle in flight. This Valley is named for of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden who conducted geological surveys in this region in the 1800's.

One of the few traffic jams I actually enjoy being a part of! This is well-known as the roaming land of the bison, so if you're looking to see wildlife you definitely need to drive through this area. This is on the eastern portion of the loop a bit south of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. As a safety precaution because for some reason this happens every year: do NOT get too close to the bison and do NOT provoke them in any way! When they get agitated they will bellow and pound their feet in a revving motion, and you definitely don't want to be near them when that happens. I was talking to a ranger and he mentioned that they start coming to Hayden Valley and the park in late May or early June and leave in September, so if you're looking to see the most bison you can I'd recommend somewhere in the middle. I went in early August and I saw tons of them. Being stuck in a traffic jam in Hayden Valley is just one of the unique experiences at Yellowstone that you don't get in many places, and I recommend pulling off to take pictures of them, at a safe distance of course.

O give me a home Where the buffalo roam And the sky is not cloudy all day! Home! Home on the range! This is it. This is the place that they're singing about- so many buffalo! This valley is a total change in environment from the rest of the Yellowstone National Park. These lazily rolling hills seem like old floodplains of the Yellowstone River. Along this stretch of the river, fishing is limited, but it sure looks like there's good trout in all these waters. My favorite parts of Hayden Valley are the mud pits and mud pots, and the mud volcano. Here, they have a boardwalk that takes you on a short walk past violently gurgling and gushing mud pits, where the geothermal energy churns up mud violently, so it looks like a dragon is living in the muck under the surface. We saw so many buffalo here, just hanging out along the side of the road, in the fields, just chillin'. They cause traffic jams, so be prepared.

If you want to see some Bison up close and personal, this is the place!! You just better not be in a hurry to get anywhere. The bison give zero f*cks and you will probably be stuck behind a line of cars for at least 1 hour. Some people have said they were stuck in this zone for 3 hours! It's definitely a great experience to drive through here, just be smart about it (like, don't get out of your car, etc.) Don't be THAT PERSON who makes traffic even more worse because you decide to get mauled by a bison...

Hayden Valley is a large, sub-alpine valley in straddling the Yellowstone River between Canyon Village and Yellowstone Lake. The valley floor along the river is an ancient lake bed from a time when Yellowstone Lake was much larger. I enjoyed the views and did see some Bison in the morning but I thought there was more wildlife and wilderness in Lamar Valley.

I love this part of the park it's easy to see wildlife because of all the open meadows but mostly I see bison in herds and the single who don't like to mingle

Lots of wildlife viewing, particularly bison. It's on the Grand Loop, so it's not out of the way like Lamar Valley. We saw bison there every time we went through the area. I love watching them. They just meander their way wherever they want to go. The babies are the best. We also saw elk and deer. This area was beautiful and one of my favorite areas, along with Lamar Valley. If you like to photograph wildlife, then this is one of the places you want to go.

This is a very nice area of Yellowstone with lots of wildlife and great views. It might get crowded in terms of the traffic but still just take your time seeing everything there is to see.

Hayden valley is a great place to view wildlife. It's filled with scenic drives that provide expansive views of the valley thereby improving your chances of being able to spot wolves and bears. Dusk and dawn are the most recommended times of the day to visit this place. It's worth calling out that I'd still try and prioritize Lamar valley over Hayden valley if you had to chose between the two due to lack of time

1. We were driving late in the afternoon around 6pm, after a harrowing 90 minute drive in a June thunderstorm along a curvy, winding mountain road between Roosevelt and Canyon. 2. As we came to the Hayden Valley, traffic slowed along the 2 lane road in several spots due to bison walking alongside the road. These dudes were shedding fur fast due to the summer temperatures. 3. In one spot, the traffic completely stopped. We stay in the car, with the windows down, and 26x zoom lens camera, on maximum pixel resolution. 4. Traffic remains stationary for several minutes, and the wife gets out of the car with camera ready. 5. A cell phone camera is no good for long range animal shots here in dusk conditions! 6. A bushy tailed fox wanders in the meadows near the forests besides the road, and pauses to bask in the brief moment of attention. 7. 3 minutes and 4 pictures later, we are on our way to our next animal encounter in the Hayden valley. 8. More bison near the road and more road slowdowns. Bison most active near dusk and dawn. 9. Another traffic stoppage, and the wife gets out of the car with the camera again. 10. Ranger comes by, holding everyone back. It's a bear this time, wandering about 50 yards from the road. 11. Close look shows the bear to have a tracking collar. Holy cow, this is no ordinary black bear, like we see in Yosemite, but a grizzly bear! 12. No grizzlies left in California, only in the Rockies and Alaska. The grizzly turns toward my wife, and she gets a long distance facial shot for another addition to the family album! 13. The next morning, we cross the Hayden valley on our way from Lake Yellowstone hotel to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Herds of brown bison along with their bright orange calves, visible from the road. 14. Waterfowl like white pelicans along the Yellowstone river, leading to Yellowstone lake. 15. Photographers with long range lens cameras mounted on tripods at each of the outlooks, shooting long range shots of elk and moose. 16. Signs say no fishing allowed in Hayden Valley, along the Yellowstone River. But I wouldn't be surprised if a grizzly went into the Yellowstone River looking for cutthroat trout or whitefish. 17. On our way back, we stop by the Sulphur Calderon and the Mud Volcano, with big mists arising above the ground, next to the road. 18. What smells like a dragon, makes noise like a dragon, and breaths flames like a dragon? My ex! No, there is one hot springs, smells like rotten eggs, with boiling water noises in the underground, next to an opening in the ground, where water used to spew out on occasion. It's called Dragons Mouth Springs.

This is the other Valleys inside of Yellowstone, there is so much wildlife, you'll end up seeing mainly elk, bison, and deer. They wander around at their own leisure, leave them alone and everyone will have a good time. We had a bison literally cross the road in front of my car, he was about 6 inches from my window. It was scary and exhilarating.

The Hayden Valley is in the heart of Yellowstone with the east gate giving you the nearest access. It's 7 miles wide and 7 miles long and was once filled with water from an arm of the Yellowstone river. Glacial till from 13,000 years ago and river sediments created a marshy environment today which has little tree encroachment. Bison, elk and moose can often be seen in this wide open environment from any of the many scenic panoramic turnouts. Unfortunately the bison often cross or congregate on the road creating huge traffic tie ups. There are two accessible hiking trails, the Hayden Valley trail and Mary Mountain trail. Traveling on either of these trails may get you a run in with a bear, fox or coyote. Wolf packs are rare in this area. With many bodies of water birds are plentiful. Ducks, Canadian geese and pelicans can be seen on the Yellowstone river and it's tributaries. At LeHardy rapids which has a boardwalk alongside the river, beavers and otters can be viewed, During the spawning season cutthroat trout can be seen jumping the rapids .Pelican Valley is located 3 miles east of Fishing Bridge and can be accessed via the Pelican Valley trail. The trail is 6.8 miles round trip (4-5 hrs) it's easy to moderate and is open land surrounded by forest. Bring bear spray on this trail which is closed for part of the year. Of course, sunrise and sunset are the best times to get a glimpse of rare wildlife while bison, elk and moose are plentiful anytime of the day. In the early morning dew evaporates off the cool earth and produces an ethereal and otherworldly atmosphere which is great for photos. Aside from the wildlife there are turnouts for Mud Volcano, Mud Geyser, Sulfur Calderon and Black Dragon Calderon which are all nearby and worth a stop.

Encountered the bisons and a bunch of them were really close to the road. Some were even right on the road which caused some traffic. Make sure to bring a big camera lens if you want to capture the bisons from a distance. This place was one of my favorite places in yellowstone. There's usually always gonna be bisons chillin around here.

Great view for miles! We saw bald eagles eating a fish, bison herds, and elk in the distance. Enjoy the scenery and take it all in!

Traveled through the Hayden Valley on the circle tour of Yellowstone. This Valley is beautiful! On this visit, there was snow on the mountains around the valley, the beautiful Yellowstone river running through it, and bison scattered all through the valley. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting! Many visitors were parked throughout the valley watching the animals. Don't miss this valley north of Lake Yellowstone!

According to the Wikipedia page of Hayden Valley, this scenic area is "a large, sub-alpine valley in Yellowstone National Park straddling the Yellowstone River between Yellowstone Falls and Yellowstone Lake. The valley floor along the river is an ancient lake bed from a time when Yellowstone Lake was much larger. The valley is well known as one of the best locations to view wildlife in Yellowstone," most especially large herds of bison. This is so true! Even though the views of the valley and Yellowstone River are fabulous, the animal activity is what gives Hayden Valley 5 YELP STARS! Buffalo--as far as the eyes can see. And if you are lucky, grizzly and black bears as well as elk and deer. The bison are so prevalent that they roam along the road. I had one big male walk right past my rolled down window and he was a beauty! This is notorious grizzly country and these big bears are not sociable! Therefore, it is not advisable to hike here. The Yellowstone River, which winds through Hayden Valley also makes it a great place to spot all different kinds of waterfowl. Look for the lily white trumpeter swans, which like to congregate near the Fishing Bridge in summer and early fall. One website called Hayden Valley and this part of northwestern Wyoming a vast "open air zoo" and that's exactly what it is. Drive cautiously through Hayden Valley but have your camera and binoculars at the ready.

I liked this area even better than Lamar. Closer and more scenic. Plenty of wildlife, although not as dense with bison.

Loved this part of Yellowstone. We came here in hopes of seeing some bears and we were not disappointed. We were able to see a mama bear and her two cubs plus two more bears. They were grizzlies. It was off in the distance but hey, they were bears!! We saw alot of buffalo here as well. Beautiful view and, at night, the Milky Way is visible and so many stars!!

This place is beautiful and has a ton of wildlife experiences to be enjoyed. Bison in the area and wolves. Maybe even a bear...? It is also just stunning to view the valley here. We catch a little star gazing here also. Well worth stopping and giving the valley at least an hour or so of your Yellowstone trip.

Beautiful river and valley views with lots of bison and bird sightings. Sometimes there are bear, wolf and coyote sightings, but we didn't see any at dawn or dusk. It's a few minute drive to the canyon lodges. Worth a drive through even if you don't have time to stop!

For photography, you definitely need a telephoto lens with greater than 400 mm focal length to do justice to the scenery. Unfortunately, we only saw bison and some ducks during two mid-day sojourns - our fault.