Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“wild” crowds you may find at Tower Fall, you will find this nearby but little-visited waterfall
a welcome contrast!
Lost Lake is less than a mile (1.5 km) west up the
Lost Lake Trail
that starts behind the
lodge and across the creek. It's an easier hike from the opposite end, starting near the Petri-
fied Tree (1.4 miles west of Tower Junction). A third trail from Roosevelt goes to Tower Fall,
starting behind the lodge or from the corral, reaching the waterfall in about 3.5 miles (6 km).
0.2/18.1
Xanterra horse corral and stagecoaches.
0.9/17.4 Rainy Lake
was named because the bubbling springs in the lake make it look like it's
raining on the surface.
Bumpus Butte (at top left) above Calcite Springs
The Springs Down by the River
At Calcite Springs Overlook, you may see steam or smell a rotten egg smell coming up
from below. The Calcite Springs area is interesting to know about but only accessible to ex-
perienced and hardy hikers.
Explorers have known this thermal area since the early 1800s, sometimes calling it
Burning Spring. In 1869, explorers watched as “several gallons of a black liquid ran down
and hardened upon the rocks … it proved to be sulphur, pure enough to burn readily when
ignited,” quoted in Lee H. Whittlesey's
Yellowstone Place Names.
Calcite Springs is one of the very few hot springs in the world that emits a petroleum-
like material. This material apparently forms by one or both of the following processes.
