We visited the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone today. We started on North Rim Drive stopping off at the Lookout Point and Inspiration Point scenic overlooks. Then we moved over to the South Rim Drive and stopped at Uncle Tom’s Point with the intent of hiking down Uncle Tom’s Trail to the bottom of the Lower Falls (which are the bigger falls). Unfortunately, Uncle Tom’s Trail was closed which was quite disappointing as we had been psyching ourselves up all week for the 328 step climb back up to the trailhead. Instead we chose to hike the South Rim Trail to Artist Point. This hike was 3 miles round trip at roughly 7,800 feet in elevation. We had to stop and suck oxygen after several steep climbs. The trail was great with a lot of incredible views of the falls and canyon. Unfortunately, Artist Point is reachable by car (or bus) so there was a decent sized crowd to contend with when we reached that end of the trail. Fortunately, after a week in Yellowstone, we’ve learned to preemptively out-rude the foreigners in order to get decent photo opportunities.
Upper Falls from North Rim 
View of Canyon from North Rim 
Lower Falls from South Rim Trail 
Upper Falls and Yellowstone River from Artist Point
We ate lunch at a scenic overlook in the Hayden Valley. This is a beautiful valley along the Yellowstone River (between Yellowstone Lake and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone).
Hayden Valley View from Lunch