Elk during the rut Near Madison

Madison Junction

Madison Junction is where the Gibbon and the Firehole rivers come together to form the Madison River which then in turns flows into the Missour River which flows into the Mississippi River. But the river flows west out of Yellowstone National Park.

This is also the location of the famous campfire held on September 19, 1870 where Washburn, Lanford and Doane spent their last night in what is now Yellowstone National Park dicussing what should be done with the sights that they had just witnessed. One person suggested that they should each lay claim to a different area and another person suggest that it should rather be set a side for the "Benefit of the People" and when they left what would become Yellowstone on March 1, 1872 they carried the idea that it should be set a side as a National Park.

Langford was a banker but one this trip he also represented the Northern Pacific Railroad. And after his trip to the Yellowstone Region he started on a lecture circuit back in the east. The lectures that Langford gave he talked about the sights that he saw in Yellowstone but did not discuss the "National Park Idea". One person who attended one of this lectures Hayden. Hayden worked for the USGS and persuaded congress to fund an expedition into the Yellowstone Region which Hayden took along with Thomas Moran and William Henry Jackson. These men along with others in the summer of 1871 gathered information in the form of maps, photographs, drawings, painting, the fauna and many volumes of notes. They then presented these to congress in January and February of 1872 to so that on March 1, 1872 Ulysses S. Grant signed the legislation setting aside Yellowstone National Park for the benfit and enjoyment of the people.

Junction of the Firehole and Gibbon River which forms the Madison River. - This is the spot where the National Park Idea first expressed in Yellowstone. National Park Mounatin is can also be seen from here

Museum / information center at Madison - This use to be a location for artists to come and do their works now it has been opened to the general public and is a quaint visitor center.

Gibbon Falls - North of Madison these are one of my favorite falls- see them from the top then walk down the road to get a different perspective. Parking is only allowed at the top due to increased traffic in the park.

Firehole Flats - Great Drive off the main road and along it bison can be fequently seen.

Firehole Lake Drive - I really like this drive because one it is a one way road but also because of the geysers located along the road. The main geyser is Great Fountain Geyser. This geyser goes off about every 8 to 12 hours but the duration during eruption is 45 minutes to an hour. Then it reaches heights of 100 feet (30 meters) with superbursts of 200 feet (60 meters). Also White Dome Geyser is a great geyser in the fact that when people are waiting for Great Fountain Geyser to go off White Dome will go off to a height of 30 feet (9 meters) for a period of 2 minutes and people will jump in their cars and drive down there and it stops and then goes off in the next 15-30 minutes but can be short as 10 minutes to an excess of 3 hours. Pink Cone Geyser and Firehole Lake are other good spots to see as well and they are just off the road.

Fountain Paint Pots - Fountain Paint Pots are located at the end of the Fire Hole Lake Drive along the main road. This is a neat area in that there are Paint Pots, Geysers, Hot Springs all in one location. This is one of the areas where there is a park guide that can be purchased.

Firehole Cascades - This is a one way drive just south of Madison Junction. This use to be the old main road. Here there are some falls but this area is know as one of the two places in the park where you can go swimming the other being at Boiling River just north of Mammoth Hot Springs.

Porcupine Hills - This is not a spot to stop at rather just to notice that the Lodgepole Pine trees on top of these ridges looks like a pprcupine with it quills standing up. By the way this is located on the east side of the road just north of the Nez Perce Creek this is where the Nez Perce trail begins that takes one across the central plateau.

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Hikes in the Madison Area

Purple Mountain - This is a fairly strenous hike in that it is up the mountain for 1.5 miles with a 1500 foot climb. The trail head is about 1/4 mile north of Madison Junction.

Mary Mountain Trail - This is my favorite hike but I do not recommend it to most people because it is a long trail 25 miles with no campsites along the way for me it takes at least 10 to 12 hours to cover that distance and I hike quite a bit. This trail is closed quite a bit because of Bears and I do not suggest hiking with fewer then 4 people and each person needs to be very sure of them selves and know what to do if bears are encountered as I have seen many bears on this trail some at close range 100 feet or less. One also needs to have two cars to complete this hike the way I like to do it. It starts just North of the Nez Perce Creek at Porcupine Hills. Here it follows the old main road (abandoned in the 1890's) it goes through the trees and meadows where the meadows can be quite wet in the spring and in the summer mosquitoes can be quite bad. Then when the trail get to Mary Mountain there is a steep climb named Devils Stair Case. When the stage coaches went this way the passengers had to get out and walk. Well on one occation a US Senator started to walk up Devils Stair Case and had a heart attack and died. But the top you get to Mary Lake where is a patrol cabin. Then you continue down in to Hayden Valley. Bewear of the bison this are not the same ones that you see by the road these are the ones that take more control of their territorty and can charge so give them plenty of room. They can run up to 35 mph and I have see them do this as a herd in Hayden Valley. I have also be surrounded by the bison here so stay near the trees. At this point the trail is hard to follow due to the number of bison in the valley making their own trails and the fact that the bison knock down the trail signs. One time each time I found the trail I found a bear. Violet Hot Springs are just off the trail to the North and can be easily found. Then it is just a long walk back to road through the wide open meadow of Hayden Valley.

Fountain Flats Trail to the Fairy Falls trailhead - To get to the trail head drive down The Fountain Flats Freight Road until it ends. Here park your car and continue down the dirt road for about 1 1/2 mils where you will come to the Fairy Falls trail. This trail then is 1.5 miles until you get to Fairy Falls which is a 197 feet high. This is a fairly level hike which can take about 3 to 4 hours.

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Services in the Madison Area

Visitor Contact Station - Here you can get information about the park as this a visitor center as well as evening programs are given here nightly

Campground - This is one of the larger campgrounds and during the peak season one needs to have reservations to stay here. There are no hookups of any type at this campground.

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Remember... If you go fishing in the park you need to have a fishing license which can be purchased at any visitor center, ranger station, entrance station, any of the Hamilton Stores and at most sport shops in the gateway communities. There are evening slide shows held just behind the Madison Museum during the summer. Beware of road construction in the area as the road from Madison to Old Faithful and from Madison to Norris is being worked on during the summer and road delays and closures are possible.

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Yellowstone National Park
PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
307-344-7381

Entire contents & copy;1997-2001 David Rothenburger (Parkee@worldnet.att.net).

You are the to visit my site since December 8, 1999.

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