Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There were definitely some positive aftereffects of the fires. Fifty-five kinds of birds and 24
kinds of mammals use these snags for nesting, perching, and food. Such trees also help pre-
vent soil erosion and provide nutrients to fungi, young trees, and other plants. Wildflowers
were especially abundant in the first few years after the fire. And far from spoiling the vista,
the fire has opened up views of the Madison River and the distant Gallatin and Madison
Ranges.
3.5/10.4
East end of Two Ribbons Trail.
4.1/9.8
Near here was the Riverside mail station and later a soldier station in the earliest years
of the park, when small groups of U.S. Cavalry troops were sent on patrol to outlying areas.
A steep mail route, called the Madison Plateau Road by Supt. Norris but the Norris Slide by
others, climbed the plateau to descend at Fountain Flats.
Twenty years after the 1988 fires, tall lodgepoles again cover burned areas.
4.9/9.0
Riverside Drive (west end) parallels the river for a little more than a mile.
5.6/8.3
Mountain overlook. This turnout has particularly good views of the Madison Range
to the northwest (outside of the park) and the Gallatin Range (partly inside, partly outside of
the park) to the north.
6.1/7.8
Riverside Drive (east end).
