Sheepeater Cliff

Interesting rock formations, and a short trail following the stream, unpaved road to the parking lot

Prior to visiting this location on our Yellowstone vacation, my wife and I did some research on why it was called Sheepeater Cliff. It originates to honor a band that was a subgroup of the Shoshone tribe; the Shoshone distinguished such groups from each other with food names, such as the salmon eaters or buffalo eaters. They were seminomadic hunters who followed the bighorn sheep migration to high elevation in the summer and back down to lower valleys in the winter; they lacked horses, but used dogs to haul items from place to place. Their real name is Tukudeka, which I wish the park would reflect but I digress.After a brief turnoff down a dirt road you will come across the picnic area and beautiful cliff, which features and rocks like no others found in Yellowstone. There is also a nice trail that runs alongside the river that you can hike down. We went a ways but my wife had “bear vibes” so we headed back and on our way north again.

Amazing! Unexpected place with hexagonal basalt lava rocks like in Iceland - Reynisfjara beach..., Šomoška in Slovakia. But why not... It is a volcanic area after all. We were surprised because we haven't seen similar type of rocks anywhere else in Yellowstone. There's a picnic table, you can also walk to the nearby river. It was one of the few open areas when we visited in mid-May, we were alone, it was a very peaceful place.