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Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
This lake is the park's second largest lake and is at the head of the Lewis River southwest of West Thumb. Shoshone Lake is 205 ft at its maximum depth and has an area of 8050 acre. Shoshone Lake used to be barren of fish owing to waterfalls on the Lewis River, but today the lake contains introduced lake trout, brown trout, and Utah chubs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes that Shoshone Lake may be the largest lake in the lower 48 states that cannot be reached by road. No motorboats are allowed on the lake.
Shoshone Lake is a U.S. backcountry lake with an area of 8,050 acres with an elevation of 7,795 feet (2,376 m) in the southwest section of Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming. It lies at the headwaters of the Lewis River, a tributary of the Snake River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes that Shoshone Lake is the largest backcountry lake in the lower 48 states that cannot be reached by a road. The lake is located within the Yellowstone Caldera.
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Shoshone Geyser Basin is reached by a 17 mi round-trip hike that crosses the Continental Divide at Grant's Pass. This basin has no boardwalks, and extreme caution should be exercised when traveling through it. Trails in the basin must be used. Remote thermal areas, such as this, should be approached with respect, knowledge, and care. Be sure to emphasize personal safety and resource protection when entering a backcountry basin.
This backcountry geyser basin is easily reached by a 5 mi round-trip hike that follows an old, now-closed road from the trail-head south of Old Faithful. Lone Star Geyser erupts about every three hours. There is a logbook, in a cache near the geyser, for observations of geyser times and types of eruptions. Bicycles can make it most of the way to Lone Star.
This is the most easily reached waterfall in the district. A marked pullout just south of Old Faithful and a short walk from the car offers the visitor easy access to view this 125 ft cascade.
Built in 1925, with the open breezeway enclosed in 1966, the West Thumb Ranger Station is an excellent example of historic architecture associated with ranger stations in Yellowstone.
This geyser basin is situated along the shore for a distance of 2 mi, extending back from it about 500 yd and into the lake perhaps as many feet. There are several hundred springs here, varying in size from miniature fountains to pools or wells 75 ft in diameter and of great depth. Additionally, a small cluster of mud springs. Of particular note, the Abyss Pool offers an optical illusion that makes it look bottomless, and Fishing Cone is an offshore pool which was once popular as a spot to cook newly-caught fish by dipping them into this partially submerged hot spring. (This stunt is no longer allowed.).