Closest entrances: 23 miles from the Gardiner (north) entrance; 29 miles from the Cooke City (northeast) entrance
Distance: 19 miles from Tower Junction to Canyon Village
A few minutes' drive from the Tower area is the Calcite Springs Overlook. A short loop along a boardwalk leads to the overlook at the rim of The Narrows, the narrowest part of this northern section of the Grand Canyon. You can hear the river raging through the canyon some 500 feet below and look across at the canyon walls comprising rock spires and bands of columnar basalt. Just downstream is the most prominent feature in this area of the canyon, Bumpus Butte. More noticeable than majestic, it is a box-shape outcropping between Rainy Lake and Calcite Springs.
A few steps from the general store, you'll find a trail to the 132-foot Tower Fall and an overlook that is typically crowded with sightseers. You'll have a more interesting and photogenic view if you continue past the overlook on the fairly steep path to the base of the falls where Tower Creek flows into the Yellowstone River.
Continuing south, you'll travel through the Washburn Range, an area in which the 1988 fires burned especially hot and fast. The terrain changes dramatically as the road climbs along some major hills toward Mount Washburn. The kinkiest section of this road is the aptly named Mae West Curve. Just before the curve, one stretch of this highway overlooks stands of aspen trees, a favorite summer haunt of the grizzly bear. Other sections are covered with sagebrush. During the fire, the sagebrush was incinerated, but roots were uninjured; so it now grows vigorously in soil that is fertilized by ash leached into the earth by snowmelt, another example of nature's artful ways.
There are trail heads for the Mount Washburn Trail, one of my favorites, on each side of the summit. One is at the end of Old Chittenden Road (the turnoff to this road from the Tower-Canyon Rd. is well marked); the other begins at Dunraven Pass, about a mile farther down the highway. Both hikes take 2 to 3 hours to complete, but because Old Chittenden has the larger parking lot, it might be more crowded; it's also more scenic (although steeper).
As you approach Dunraven Pass (8,859 ft.), keep your eyes peeled for the shy bighorn sheep because this is one of their prime habitats.
One mile farther south is the Washburn Hot Springs Overlook, which offers sweeping views of the canyon. On a clear day, you can see 50 to 100 miles south, beyond Yellowstone Lake. Get out of the car and take a look.
