Inspiration Point DSC07276_mini.JPG
Inspiration Point is a natural observation point. It is at a location where the canyon wall juts far out into the canyon allowing spectacular views both upstream and down.

Lookout Point DSC07297_mini.JPG
This was a popular lookout for many early visitors to the park. Noticing that it got regular visitation, in 1880 Superintendent P.W. Norris built a railing here and the location has been called Lookout Point ever since. It is likely that this was the superintendents preferred name for the spot. It had been called many things prior to 1880 including Point Lookout, Lookout Rock, Mount Lookout, and Prospect Point.

Red Rock Point DSC07333_mini.JPG 1 mile AR
Red Rock Point is near the tall reddish pinnacle of rock below the Lower Falls. Iron oxide is the cause of this rock's red pigmentation. The pinnacle has had several names relating to its color including Red Pinnacles and Cinnabar Tower. It was finally given its present-day name of Red Rock by the 1886 Park Photographer, F. Jay Haynes.

Brink of the Lower Falls DSC07352_mini.JPG 1.5 mile AR
The Lower Falls is the tallest waterfall in the park at 308 feet. The arrow at the top of the photo points at a group of visitors on the platform at the Brink of the Lower Falls.
Over the years the estimates of the height of this falls has varied dramatically. In 1851 Jim Bridger estimated its height at 250 feet. One outrageous newspaper story from 1867 placed its height at "thousands of feet". A map from 1869 gives the falls its current name of Lower Falls for the first time and estimates the height at 350 feet.
It mattered little how tall the observers thought the falls was. They consistently write journal entries that comment on its awe-inspiring nature. A member of the 1870 Washburn party N. P. Langford gave this brief but poetic description: "A grander scene than the lower cataract of the Yellowstone was never witnessed by mortal eyes."

Artist Point DSC07389_mini.JPG ou DSC07392_mini.JPG
Many people thought that this was the point where Thomas Moran made the sketches he used to produce his famous painting of the canyon in 1872. In fact those sketches were made from the north rim in a location known today as Moran Point.
The name Artist Point is believed to have been given to this location around 1883 by Park Photographer F. Jay Haynes. The name appeared in print for the first time in Mr. Haynes guidebook, published in 1890.

South Rim Trail DSC07423_mini.JPG 1 mile Aller

Uncle Tom's Trail DSC07442_mini.JPG 150 m descente + 300 marches
Uncle Tom's Trail was first constructed in 1898 by "Uncle" Tom Richardson. The five years following its construction, Uncle Tom led visitors on tours which included crossing the river upstream from the present day Chittenden Bridge, and then following his rough trail to the base of the Lower Falls. The tour was concluded with a picnic and a return trip across the river.
Today Uncle Tom's Trail is very different from the simple trail used by Mr. Richardson and his visitors. It is still, however, a very strenuous walk into the canyon. The trail drops 500 feet (150 m) in a series of more than 300 stairs and paved inclines.

Upper Falls View DSC07472_mini.JPG
Of the two famous Yellowstone River waterfalls this one stands at a higher elevation, but it is considerably shorter in height than its downstream neighbor, the Lower Falls.  The height of the Upper Falls is 109 feet.
According to a companion, the famous mountain man Jim Bridger visited this waterfall in 1846. Word spread of its existence and in the 1860s some prospectors went out of their way to visit it.

Brink of the Upper Falls 0.5 mile AR
This is the smaller of the two famous waterfalls on the Yellowstone River at 109 feet tall. To get a feel for its magnitude notice that the arrow at the top of the photo points at three people standing on the platform at the Brink of the Upper Falls.
This falls was called the "upper falls" for the first time by members of the 1869 Folsom party who estimated its height at 115 feet.
Visitors to the Brink of the Upper Falls have throughout time found the power of the experience worthy of detailed description.   In 1870 N.P. Langford of the Washburn party wrote of his visit to the brink:



http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/wy/see_yel1.htm