2 Best Sights in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

The most celebrated viewpoint in Yellowstone, Artist Point frames the 308-foot Lower Falls and the kaleidoscopic canyon walls in a scene immortalized by painter Thomas Moran in 1872. His vivid watercolors of this exact vantage point helped persuade Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first national park. Today, two platforms, one wheelchair accessible, offer some of the most photographed views in the park, especially in morning light when rainbows arc through the mist. Rangers often give short interpretive talks here, and the South Rim Trail begins nearby, leading to other overlooks along the canyon.

Midway on the North Rim Trail—also accessible via the one-way North Rim Drive—Lookout Point provides a view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Follow the right-hand fork in the path to descend a steep trail, with an approximately 500-foot elevation change, for an eye-to-eye view of the falls from ½ mile downstream. The best time to hike the trail is early morning when sunlight reflects off the mist from the falls to create a rainbow.