Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This stretch of river abounds in rainbow trout, while further upriver, brook and brown
trout are common.
From the point where the one-way Firehole Canyon Drive rejoins the Grand Loop Road,
lodgepole pines grow directly out of some of the rocks in the Firehole River. Somehow, they
find enough soil for their roots.
4.5/12.5
Firehole River picnic area.
5.6/11.4 Fountain Flats Drive
leads off to the south. This was the 1882 road to Upper Geyser
Basin, later called the Fountain Freight Road. The present more scenic road section of the
Grand Loop Road replaced it a few years later. Beyond the first mile (1.6 km), this flat loop
road is closed to cars, with generous parking provided. It's recommended for bicycles, which
may travel it in either direction for about 5 miles (8 km).
Fountain Flats Drive is the best approach to the Sentinel Meadow Trailhead, but there's a
shorter way (at mile 11.3/5.7) to get to the Fairy Falls Trailhead or reach Imperial Geyser.
Fountain Flats was named for a major geyser in the Fountain Paint Pot area—Fountain
Geyser, a spectacular performer from the 1870s into the 1930s and again in recent years.
NOTE: The area from Fountain Flats Drive to Biscuit Basin (mile 13.8/3.2) is closed for
bear management from mid March to Memorial Day. (See
page 133
about Bear Management
Areas.)
he Firehole River
Contrary to what you might think, the Firehole River did not get its name from the fact
that
hot springs
and geysers adorn its banks for many miles and pour their hot waters into
the stream. In the early nineteenth century, hole was a word for a mountain-bound val-
ley, and the Burnt Hole or Fire Hole was a burnt-over section of the Madison River Valley.
Trappers (perhaps even the famous Jim Bridger) transferred the latter name to the river.
Bridger is credited with having concocted the notion (not supported by scientists!) that the
water flowed downhill here so fast that the rocks were heated by the friction.
Although the Firehole's name had another origin, in some places hot springs in the bed
of the river
do
keep the rocks hot. Perhaps early trappers forded this river in their bare feet,
since they needed to keep their boots or moccasins dry, as well as their powder. What is
known for sure is that in 1870 Nathaniel Langford discovered a hot spring vent in the river
while crossing it near Castle Geyser in Upper Geyser Basin. These facts certainly contrib-
ute to the aptness of the name.
