The Fairy Falls hiking trail is probably Yellowstone's most popular hike, and the extended trail to Imperial Geyser is really the cherry on the top! We pick up for this hike in West Yellowstone, or you can meet us at the trailhead parking lot. The price is the same. Your guide will lead you across the Firehole River and onto a trail which goes through the Midway Geyser Basin. There are a few smaller thermal features along the way, until we reach a turnoff to an overlook of Grand Prismatic Spring from up high. If you've ever wondered about those elevated pictures of Grand Prismatic Spring, this is where they are shot. We do not normally go to the Grand Prismatic overlook on this hike, but it is available as an optional extra which be purchased as an add-on at checkout. The Grand Prismatic overlook is included on another of our Fairy Falls hikes which can be seen in the Similar Tours section towards the top of this page. Also listed there is a shorter tour which just visits Fairy Falls, but not Imperial Geyser. The trail goes past the back side of Grand Prismatic Spring, with a view of the steam coming off Excelsior Geyser Crater behind it, before turning off the main trail to head to Fairy Falls. This secondary trail runs through a forest of fairly young lodgepole pine trees. You'll have time to explore and wander around the Fairy Falls area before continue on a much less travelled trail to Imperial Geyser. The path goes through beautiful open plains and a forest, before reaching Imperial Geyser. When it erupts, Imperial is not very high, but the pool around it, as well as the bacteria mats streaming off the pool, are really beautiful. We'll follow the stream to a view of Spray Geyser, before returning to Fairy Falls, and then back to where we started. This trail is approximately three miles (4.8 kilometres) long, one way. Please take a look at the two videos we have of this hike. One shows just the highlights of the Fairy Falls plus Imperial Geyser hike, while the other video details the entire Fairy Falls plus Imperial Geyser trail.
