At Thumb, the road descends to the shore of Yellowstone Lake. 7,730 feet above sea level, this huge lake covering more than 130 square miles, is America’s highest navigable body of water. Past Fishing Cone, the road skirts the shore of the Lake for many miles to the mouth of the Yellowstone River. Many Yellowstone visitors enjoy fishing or boating on the lake.
Big, hard-fighting trout of several species inhabit the deep, perpetually cold waters of the lake, and afford the finest kind of sport. Boats, guides and fishing tackle are available.
Here is part of the crowd clustered around Old Faithful as it nears time for an eruption. This famous geyser discharges with almost clock-like regularity at intervals of about 65 minutes.
There are also a number of modern speedboats that were painstakingly hauled up to the lake. These mahogany beauties make regular passenger trips and give a real thrill as they race over the sparkling water. Yellowstone Lake is one of the few places in America where you may still see wild swans—the last survivors of once-numerous flocks of these majestic birds. Pelicans are plentiful on Molly Island.
Mile-and-a-half high Yellowstone Lake is ringed by the snow-capped Absaroka mountains.
But now our tour continues. Winding through beautiful Hayden Valley, the road continues, for the most part, close beside the Yellowstone River and then past Mud Volcano. Soon we cross over Chittenden Bridge, pass the Upper and Lower Falls and reach hospitable Canyon Hotel that is superbly situated at the head of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
