Hi there!
As it goes in Yellowstone National Park, there are many thermal basins!
The Black Sand Basin can be a fun little thermal basin to walk around if you find yourself with extra time after a visit to the Old Faithful geyser.
See below for the video of the Yellowstone buffalo (bison) at Black Sand Basin!
Side note! Check the reviews at partner websites included below!
How to save money on your trip
Hotels near Yellowstone and Jackson Hole are expensive. And they book up. So book sooner rather than later!
For my trip to Yellowstone National Park, I stayed at Days Inn in West Yellowstone.
West Yellowstone is in Montana located right outside of Yellowstone National Park, and this is a popular gateway town with many chain hotels.
Search for the cheapest hotels in West Yellowstone at booking.com West Yellowstone at hotels.com.
Or look for vacation rentals and cabins near Yellowstone.
For my trip to Grand Teton National Park, I stayed in a budget room at Hatchet Resort in the small town of Moran WY.
Lots of people also stay in Jackson Hole to go to Grand Teton.
Search for the cheapest hotels in Jackson Hole at booking.com and Jackson Hole hotels on expedia. Or see if you like any of the Jackson Hole vacation rentals or cabins.
/end side note
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There were 2 things in particular that made it fun, and as it also goes in Yellowstone National Park, these things are not guaranteed!
1. The Black Sand Basin geyser
It’s also always exciting to see a geyser erupt in Yellowstone!
There is one geyser in Black Sand Basin, and that’s the Cliff Geyser.
This is a picturesque geyser, as it’s a geyser that erupts right alongside a creek!
Is there a Black Sand Basin geyser eruption prediction?
There are eruption predictions with specific timings for a few Yellowstone geysers, but the geyser in Black Sand Basin is not one of the them.
But in their March 2020 Black Sand Basin trail guide, the National Park Service says about the Black Sand Basin geyser that “it erupts every few minutes” and on their website as of late 2021 they say “the interval between cycles can be up to 35 minutes.”
So based on this description, it seems like you might have a good chance of seeing a geyser erupting in Black Sand Basin!
In addition to seeing the the Black Sand Basin geyser erupt, I did also see it quiet.
2. Black Sand Basin buffalo (Black Sand Basin bison)
Well, it’s always exciting to see a buffalo in Yellowstone! (For purposes of your Yellowstone visit, buffalo and bison are the same thing.)
When I arrived to the Black Sand Basin, there was a buffalo right near the Black Sand Basin trailhead.
The boring safety message: Buffalo can be dangerous!
To be clear, do not underestimate buffalo!
They can seem like gentle giants as you watch them slowly move around Black Sand Basin or elsewhere in Yellowstone National Park.
Stay back!
They can turn aggressive really quickly if they feel threatened.
I even got it on video of one buffalo suddenly doing a light charge at another buffalo at Theodore Roosevelt National Park! Giving the buffalo a warning?! This video is below!
Yellowstone National Park buffalo attack at Black Sand Basin: Woman gored after approaching bison in Yellowstone
And there was even a buffalo attack at Black Sand Basin in May 2022!
Read about it: Woman gored after approaching bison in Yellowstone
According to the National Park Service:
Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild and can be dangerous when approached.
Stay more than 25 yards away from bison.
If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with bison in close proximity.
This is the first reported incident in 2022 of a visitor threatening a bison (getting too close to the animal) and the bison responding to the threat by goring the individual.
Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other animal.
Bison are unpredictable and can run three times faster than humans.
More buffalo in national parks and state parks
- Camping with buffalo in Badlands National Park
- Camping with buffalo in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Hiking with buffalo in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Things to do in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- Cabin camping with buffalo in Custer State Park
- Watch: My buffalo videos on youtube
Trail around Black Sand Basin
There is a boardwalk trail that goes around the Black Sand Basin to see thermal features in the area.
The Black Sand Basin trail is pretty short. It’s listed as 0.25 miles long.
👆 Black obsidian (volcanic glass) “sand” gives the Black Sand Basin its name. Now, I have been to many very black black sand beaches that are the result of more recent lava flows and volcano activity, so I have high expectations for black sand. 😜 I did not see sand that was all that black at the Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone National Park. But I guess there was some black sand around the thermal basin that has lost its color… and mixed in with other sediments.
And, when you see a boardwalk around a thermal basin in Yellowstone… stay on the boardwalk!
Thermal areas can be HOT and dangerous.
To be dramatic, people have been badly burned and even DIED by walking off-trail. If you step off the trail, the ground could break or sink underneath you when you least expect it.
Yellowstone is a supervolcano with tons of HOT activity going on underground!
The National Park Service calls the Yellowstone supervolcano a “restless giant.”
Take care!
👆 The ground around the Black Sand Basin can be dangerous. There may be only a thin crust above boiling hot springs or scalding mud.
Also, it is said that coins (and other foreign objects that make their way into thermal pools) can contaminate the thermal pools.
Getting to the Black Sand Basin trailhead parking
Driving to the Black Sand Basin is easy enough.
There is a stretch of road along the western side of the Yellowstone Grand Loop Road that has a number of thermal basins.
The Black Sand Basin is one of these thermal basins.
The turn-off to the Black Sand Basin parking lot is located directly the Grand Loop Road.
It’s located right near Old Faithful. (map: Old Faithful to Black Sand Basin)
So the Black Sand Basin can be a relatively quick thermal basin to see near Old Faithful.
You’ll just look for the Black Sand Basin sign, and it’s a short road to the Black Sand Basin parking lot!
And then the Black Sand Basin trailhead is right there!
Black Sand Basin in the 50s in the evening
Weather in Yellowstone can make a difference in how the thermal features of Black Sand Basin look when you see it!
The air temperature was on the cooler side when I went, so there may be more steam in the pictures than if you visit when it’s warmer.
The sun’s lighting can also make a difference in what it looks like. Midday sun can bring out the colors of hot spring better than at sunset.
When I went it was nearing sunset, so similarly, you may see more vibrant colors if you go during the day compared to what you see in the pictures here!
For reference, my visit to the Black Sand Basin was in early October 2021 around 6pm. The outside temperature was in the 50s F at that time.
More below about what you can see with a quick walk around Black Sand Basin!
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Black Sand Basin: Things to see in Black Sand Basin
1. Opalescent Pool
The Opalescent Pool is located along side the road near the parking lot. This is something you can see before actually starting the Black Sand Basin trail.
Now…
Starting the Black Sand Basin trail!
2. Cliff Geyser
If the Cliff Geyser is erupting, it’s something you can see from the parking lot.
The trail also goes directly in front of the Cliff Geyser so you can get a closer look.
Walking along…
3. Green Spring
Walking along…
4. Iron Creek bridge
In addition to watching the water flowing along Iron Spring Creek, if the Cliff Geyser is erupting, you can get a different view of it from the bridge.
Moving along…
5. Rainbow Pool
Moving along…
6. Sunset Lake
Moving along…
👆 A small bubbling thermal spot along the side of the Black Sand Basin trail!
7. Emerald Pool
And then continuing back to the Black Sand Basin trailhead!
And that’s a bit about the Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone!
See more thermal basin trails in Yellowstone:
- Biscuit Basin trail (near Black Sand Basin)
- How to see the Old Faithful Geyser eruption
- Grand Prismatic Spring overlook trail
- Trail to the small Clepsydra Geyser with frequent eruptions
- Trail to some Yellowstone mudpots
- Trail to Red Spouter fumarole
Plan more of your trip to Yellowstone and beyond:
- How to spend one day in Yellowstone
- Grand Teton to Yellowstone
- One day in Grand Teton Natioanl Park
- Driving the Grand Teton Scenic Loop Road
- Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon
- Things to do in Craters of the Moon National Monument
HAPPY WALKING AROUND BLACK SAND BASIN!