Uncle Tom’s Point

Uncle Tom’s Point lies along a bend in the Yellowstone River between Upper Falls and Lower Falls, where the bend prevents both falls from being seen at the same time. Uncle Tom’s Trail, once made of wooden ladders and rope handrails and now a steel stairway of more than 300 steps, descends 500 feet below the canyon rim to a view of Lower Falls, where the Yellowstone River drops 308 feet, while a separate trail about 100 yards long leads to two platforms overlooking Upper Falls, which drops 109 feet, with a glimpse of Crystal Falls across the canyon. Uncle Tom’s Point was also the site of Canyon Lodge from 1924 to 1956, when a building with a lobby, dining room, and office stood amid hundreds of cabins and a horse corral, before its removal to restore the natural scenery and the shift of development to nearby Canyon Village. In 1936, Yellowstone Park Ranger Gerald Ford was stationed at Canyon, where he met visitors from around the world and greeted renowned guests at Canyon Lodge; nearly four decades later he became the 38th president of the United States and, during his term, added 18 new units to the National Park Service system.

Wyoming · United States