Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin: visiting Yellowstone’s most famous geysers

Upper Geyser Basin is a great classic, the main attraction of Yellowstone, the one that no visitor should miss. It is the geothermal basin that hosts the majority of geysers in the world, the area with the largest number of large geysers with predictable eruptions (5) and the place where Old Faithful, the most famous geyser in the park, is located.

If we add to this the other hydrothermal elements that characterize the basin, such as fumaroles, boiling mudpots and multicolored hot springs, it is easy to understand the great tourist appeal of this area. There are many reasons to visit it, however it is a very large and often crowded area, so I think some advice on how to visit it may be useful. Let’s find out what to see at Upper Geyser Basin and how to get organized for the geysers eruption times.

Where is Upper Geyser Basin and how to get there

Upper Geyser Basin is located on the southwest side of the park, in the geyser area, within close proximity to other basins and geothermal areas such as Black Sand Basin, Biscuit Basin, West Thumb Geyser Basin, and Midway Geyser Basin. Here is the distance you will need to travel from the main park entrances:

• West Entrance (West Yellowstone): 47 minutes. Take the 191, turn right at Madison Junction and after 17 miles you will find the Upper Geyser Basin well signposted.
• South Entrance (Grand Teton): 1 hour. Follow 191 through Grand Teton Park until you find the turn-off for Old Faithful.
• North Entrance (Gardiner): 1 hour 38 minutes. Follow 89 south; at Madison Junction it becomes 191, taking you straight to your destination.
• North-East Entrance (Cooke City): 2 hours 20. Follow 212 West to Tower Junction and turn left. Turn right at Canyon Village, or turn left for a more scenic but much slower (Hayden Valley and Lake Yellowstone – about fifteen more miles and the slowdowns are caused by the bison crossing) drive.
• East Entrance (Cody): 1 hour 20, 2 hours 40 from Cody. Follow 14, skirt Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin and then arrive at your destination.

Consider these travel times in principle; realistically it will take you longer given the traffic and various bison crossings that are anything but rare in Yellowstone. The best entrance is definitely West Yellowstone, which I recommend you use as your main base for visiting the park (here is my Yellowstone itinerary in 3 days and 4 days).

Geysers eruption times: how to get organized

In the Upper Geyser Basin, there are 5 large geysers with a predictable eruption and the eruption times are displayed on screen at the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center (you will also find the predicted eruption for the Great Fountain, which is located in the Lower Geyser Basin). Each forecast has a variable level of approximation, so it’s important not to arrive exactly at the predicted time, but a little earlier. Here are the details for the top 5 geysers:

• Old Faithful: approximately every 78 minutes. Approximation: + or – 10 minutes
• Grand Geyser: approximately every 6 hours. Approximation: + or – 90 minutes
• Castle Geyser: every 14 hours. Approximation: + or – 45 minutes
• Riverside Geyser: every 6 and a half hours approximately. Approximation: + or – 30 minutes
• Daisy Geyser: every 2 and a half hours approximately. Approximation: + or – 30 minutes

Of these predictable geysers, the most frequent is Old Faithful (it is no coincidence that it is called the “Old Faithful”), while the Grand Geyser is the one with the highest jets (the highest of all is Steamboat, in the Norris Geyser Basin, but it is not predictable). To get more details on the timing of the eruptions, there is a website (with an app) that gives all the details, it’s called geysertimes.

Best time of the day to visit Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin

Always keeping in mind the directions we’ve given regarding when to visit Yellowstone, I personally recommend moving very early in the morning, trying to get there by 8 am there, the opening time of the Visitor Center. In this way, you not only avoid traffic and visit the site at a time when it is less crowded, but you can also enjoy the crossing of the park in peace and quiet that makes it even more impressive, in my opinion.

Also bear in mind that a considerable number of people flock to the concentric benches at Old Faithful, which is right in front of the Visitor Center, so get there sufficiently in advance of the scheduled eruption.

How long for Upper Geyser Basin trail?

How long is the trail in Upper Geyser Basin? It is a 4.9-mile loop with an elevation gain of 357 feet. The timing of the visit is very much up to you. To see the whole basin at your leisure might take you as long as 2 hours, but should you want to see all the predictable geyser eruptions, you might take much longer and have to come back in the afternoon. Extra time should be considered if you want to walk the loop trail to Observation Point (about half an hour) or walk to the 2 neighboring basins, Black Sand Basin and Biscuit Basin (but you can reach them much quicker by car).

If you have less time available, you can still see a lot in one hour, and in this case, I suggest you follow the route I suggested here, which includes most of the main attractions listed below.

What to see at Upper Geyser Basin?

In addition to the predictable geysers listed above, there are also smaller geysers with smaller, more regular eruptions. These include Anemone Geyser, every 7-10 minutes (6.5-feet jet), or Plume Geyser, every hour (26-feet jet).

There are also a number of geysers with irregular jets, such as Grotto Geyser, which is striking for the particular shape of its cone, Beehive Geyser, whose jet reaches 195 feet, the Lion Group, 4 geysers that before erupting produce a roar-like sound, and Giantess Geyser, whose jet is particularly powerful. For these geysers unfortunately there is not much else you can do other than to be in the right place at the right time.

As mentioned at the beginning, the reasons for interest in this basin are not only the geysers but also a number of turquoise and rainbow-colored thermal pools. The ones I would specifically recommend are:

• Morning Glory Pool
• Beauty Pool
• Chromatic Pool
• Doublet Pool

Upper Geyser Basin Trail Map

To be able to organize yourself, pick up the map at the Visitor Center that is included in the information brochure for $1. Or check it out below:

Photo

Video

Nearby Attractions

Bear in mind that there is a kind of small village in the area, with hotels, stores where you can buy souvenirs (they are very expensive) and a restaurant area (rather poor). It is definitely worth making a quick visit to the Old Faithful Inn, an imposing historical structure where you can also decide to sleep (book well in advance because it is very desirable). The visitor center, which overlooks the Old Faithful geyser with a large window, and which includes a number of interesting interactive exhibitions and a section devoted entirely to children, is also well worth a visit.

If you take the car, you can move quickly to West Thumb Geyser Basin and Midway Geyser Basin. For an overview of all the other attractions of the park, see the article on what to do in Yellowstone.

Where to stay nearby

To find accommodation in an area suitable for visiting Upper Geyser Basin, I recommend reading our article Where to Sleep in Yellowstone, in particular the section on how to stay in Old Faithful area (for those who want to sleep inside the park) and the one dedicated to West Yellowstone (for accommodation just outside the park). In the first case, you will have the advantage of sleeping right next to the most famous geyser in the world, but you will spend more money. If you stay outside the park you will save money, with the disadvantage of having to reach the attraction by car and having to get up early in the morning to avoid traffic.