Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The first half mile (0.8 km) or so of the Mount Washburn Trail is not terribly steep and
is well worth exploring. Along the south-facing hillside here is one of the best wildflower dis-
plays in the park!
An interpretive sign at the trailhead explains alpine tundra and describes the rigors of the
Mount Washburn trail, where elevation gain is nearly 1,400 feet in about 3 miles (430 m in 5
km).
Dunraven Peak and Dunraven Pass were named for the fourth Earl of Dunraven, the Brit-
ish sportsman who wrote
The Great Divide: Travels in the Upper Yellowstone in the Summer of
1874.
Many Europeans were first introduced to Yellowstone through reading his book. Dun-
raven waxes eloquent about contemplating the view from Mount Washburn.
Viola
13.8/5.5
Restroom turnout.
14.8/3.5
Interpretive sign about the caldera. At approximately this point, the Grand Loop
Road crosses into the Yellowstone Caldera, the major geological feature that helped to shape
the Yellowstone landscape (further explained in “At the Edge of the Yellowstone Caldera” on
pages 44-45
)
.
The view here is worth another stop.
Washburn Hot Springs Panorama
From east to south (left to right):
