Yellowstone — Mt Washburn

Mount Washburn rises to 10,243 feet near the center of Yellowstone National Park, offering one of the highest publicly accessible viewpoints in the park. This live camera captures the panoramic view from the summit area — looking across Hayden Valley, the Yellowstone Caldera, the Absaroka Range to the east, and the Gallatin Range to the northwest. On clear days, the Teton Range can be seen 80 miles to the south. Mount Washburn sits on the rim of the Yellowstone Caldera — the supervolcano whose massive eruptions 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago shaped the park's landscape. The summit is one of the best places in the park to grasp the scale of the caldera, which measures 30 by 45 miles. The view includes some of the most active geothermal areas on Earth, with steam plumes from Norris Geyser Basin, Hayden Valley's mudpots, and other features visible on clear days. Bighorn sheep are commonly seen along the Mount Washburn trail, particularly near the summit. The 6.4-mile round-trip hike to the summit is one of the most popular in Yellowstone, with a fire lookout tower at the top that has been in continuous service since the 1930s. Grizzly bears occasionally appear in the alpine meadows below the summit, especially during late summer when whitebark pine nuts are ripe. The view changes dramatically with the seasons. Summer brings wildflowers across the alpine slopes, especially yellow arnica, blue lupine, and Indian paintbrush. Fall delivers crisp visibility and the first snows on the surrounding peaks. Winter closes the road access, but the summit remains a destination for backcountry skiers. Lightning is a serious concern from June through September; afternoon thunderstorms regularly build over the summit and have killed hikers caught on the exposed ridge.