Pretty pond. We didn't see a playground. There was a fenced-off dog area though.
It makes me want to drive 1000 miles just so I can take bridal pictures of my girls here someday. Absolutely GORGEOUS.
Not family friendly
I am visiting all of the states in the continental US this year with my kids. We're staying in dozens of hotels. It takes a LOT for me to bother writing a review. When we got here there was no handle for the shower so we switched rooms. The second "non smoking" room was so potent smelling it burned our throats. Every time I wanted to talk to the front desk I had to go down in person. They NEVER answer the in room phone. The third room smelled like mildew and mold, but we were so exhausted by then we stayed in it. This is our second night. There is someone playing loud music somewhere, and I tried calling the front desk for a half hour before I finally got dressed and went to talk to the dude. The guy ignored me until I asked sweetly if I should just ask the police for help. He looked annoyed and told me he'd be a minute. This place.. It's like the newest out of date hotel. On the decline.... Just going to get worse. Staff is obviously shorthanded. Spend another 10 bucks and get some sleep somewhere else. Smoke smell everywhere, and the staff can't tell because they're used to it. I figured if I can't sleep at least I can spend my time warning people.
We almost missed it! Across the street is a Park and Ride bus stop. Luckily, a teen named Seth (who asked us if we were Off-Islanders, lol) knew where it was and walked us across the street to it. The path isn't marked, and I would have walked right past it had he not pointed it out. It isn't more than 10 steps beyond the edge of the trees. I should have taken a pic of the area surrounding. If you park at the park and ride, just cross the street and go to the right a bit.
I'm glad to see the address has been updated. When we went last month we had the hardest time finding it, because our GPS pinpointed it ON the bridge. I couldn't believe how many people were there! My 6 and 3-yr-old were afraid of it, lol.
We were worried the falls would be more of a trickle in mid-September, but it was going strong. Easy walk to the upper observation deck from parking. Safe for kids.
I agree, unless you explore the caves, even walking the trails you won't be here long. We were here about two hours and felt like we saw "enough." Definitely stop to read signs along the paths. The kids liked being able to imagine the volcanoes when they were active and pick up pretty lava rocks.
I'm just glad we saw Yellowstone first. ;) When I heard this geyser "erupts" every hour on the hour, I wondered why it wasn't more famous than Old Faithful. It's because someone plumbed it to erupt every hour on the hour. It actually comes out of a big pipe that they open right on time, ha! It really is a natural geyser, and there is a little bubbling one that runs constantly in front of the plumbing. It was kind of sad that they thought they had to tamper with it, but I guess it's more fun to see the water shoot up right when you want, than to wait around for nature to do its thing. Some middle aged gentleman, right after they shut the valve and the geyser disappeared abruptly, said "That was my first geyser." Sad...
I was so interested until we actually got to the town. We accidentally stopped at a hotel on the way in, looking for the pool in this picture. The hotel had a nasty looking pool that they claimed was a hot spring. By the time we found the place with the pools in this picture, I couldn't help but think of it as a glorified hot tub with a hefty price tag. I asked if we could feel how hot the water was, and they informed me that each pool was a different temperature. How nice of nature to regulate each pool... ;D
It was pretty there, and if I had been coming for rest and relaxation alone with my husband, it would have been perfect. Nice looking facility. I had been more interested in exposing my kids to natural hot springs, so wasn't my cup of tea that day.