Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you stop here, notice the little travertine cone across the road, called
Little Burper
for
the tiny persistent bubbles it spouts when active. From a certain angle, its shape perfectly im-
itates that of Bunsen Peak in the distance.
You can start a pleasant round-trip hike of about 5 miles (8 km) here at Orange Spring
Mound's parking area. The trail traverses parts of the Howard Eaton and Fawn Pass Trails,
passing between Clagett Butte and Terrace Mountain to reach
Snow Pass
and little Summit
Lake near it. To find the trail, turn your back on Orange Spring Mound and look up to the
right. Pass the travertine flats of Pinyon Terrace, including some collapse features, where the
gaseous carbon dioxide creates death traps for small birds. In about 1 mile (1.5 km) you'll
turn right at the intersection and begin a climb that totals about 700 feet (200 m). Stay left at
the Clagett Butte Trail intersection, along a hillside that abounds in wildflowers. The top of
the pass is a windy, grassy area. Summit Lake is a short distance farther in the trees.
There is little evidence now, but Snow Pass was the route of the original road from Mam-
moth around Terrace Mountain. One early guidebook described the Snow Pass road as so
steep “that it would take a loaded wagon, drawn by four mules, a half day, allowing proper
time to breathe the animals on the successive terraces….” Not surprisingly, they called the
Snow Pass road the “Hell Gate.”
Continuing on Upper Terrace Drive
Beyond Orange Spring Mound, the road descends a steep hill. Below and to the right was Bath
Lake, where early tourists bathed. It has dried out and refilled sporadically over the years; the
bathhouse was removed about 60 years ago. Bath Lake has been dry since 1984. Nothing ap-
pears to grow where the water used to be.
Across the road from Bath Lake, a new spring broke out in 1978. Park Historian Lee
Whittlesey christened it
Aphrodite Spring
for the Greek goddess of love and beauty, but it's
now called Aphrodite Terrace—inactive for many years but showing a little color in 2012.
