Welcome to Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park - Old Faithful Geyser Basin

Old Faithful Geyser Basin

Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful Geyser Basin and the surrounding area.

Now there is quite a bit to see and do in the Old Faithful Geyser Basin area so plan your time accordingly. I would recommend to spend at least one full day at Old Fathful but as always most people will spend less time.
Now this is why Yellowstone was created as a National Park. In 1870 when the Old Faithful area was visited by the Langford, Doane and Washburn Party they realized that this location was special and should be set aside for future generations. And that is should not be owned by any one person. So by that foresite of the first formal expediation to the Yellowstone Region we ended up with the World's First National Park.

Now there are may things to be done in the Old Fatihful area. From visiting the historic buildings (don't miss Old Faithful Inn), shopping, eating, watching the geysers, watching the wildlife, biking, hiking, walking and just relaxing reading or writing those postcards home with the Yellowstone Postmark.

What to see at Old Fatihful

Old Faithful Inn- This historic log building was built during the winter of 1903-1904. It is built out of native logs from Yellowstone as well as the fireplace with four openings the stone to build this was quarried just 5 miles from the inn. The Inn rises 85 feet from the floor to the roof as well as it is 1/4 of a mile around at the base.

Old Faithful Lodge - Was built in the 1920's this lodge offers one of the better places to view Old Faithful Geyser as it is erupting. It also has a Snack Shop dedicated to Yellowstone's Past as it is called Larry's Lucnh. Now Larry use to operate a lunch stop at Norris Geyser Basin and served lunch to the visitor as they proceed to the Fountain Hotel (later Old Faithful Inn) from the Mammoth Hotel.

Hamilton Auto Basin Store - This is the Oldest Hamilton Store in Yellowstone built by Hamilton. The store is built of native materials as well as this is where Mr. Hamilton use to run his operation before he died. The office here is refered to as the Million Dollar Room because he put up every canceled check that he wrote and it totaled more than one million dollars.

Hamilton Christmas Store - This shop next to Old Faithful Inn was built in the late 1880's - The neat part about this store is that it is decorated with the knotty pine. This store was added on to later and from the inside you can see the new part and the old part.

NPS Visitor Center - Now this is a must see. Here there is an auditorium where they show videos and flims on how geysers work. There is also an active sismograph that records the earths movements. In Yellowstone there are over 1,000 earthquakes per year (In 1995 there were 1500 quakes in 48 hours - most though can not be felt). But the main reason to visit the visitor center is to check on the approximate times that the geysers are predicted to go off.

Old Faithful Geyser - The worlds most famous geyser - to find out when it goes off next look for the many signs around the Old Faithful area or just ask any employee and they will tell you when it may go off as they have "geyser rushs" after it goes off. Now it erupts about every 75 minutes bu can vary from 45 to 105 minutes. An eruption will last for 1 1/2 minutes to 5 minutes bursting water 100 to 180 feet (30-55 meters) into the air.

Riverside Geyser - This is one of my favorites because of two things one not may people see it go off and two the setting is perfect for a geyser. This geyser erupts about every 7 to 8 hours when it begins it fills the cone with water and overflows for about one hour before it goes off. It clears it's throat and then it lets go. Now Riverside geyser goes off for about 20 minutes and shoots a colum of water 75 feet (23 meters) over the Firehole River.

Castle Geyser - This is probally the oldest geyser still active in Yellowstone according to the size of the geyser's cone. Castle Geyser goes off about every 10 to 12 hours. It erupts to a hight of 90 feet (27 meters) during its 20 minute eruption but then it is followed by a noisy steam phase lasting for 30 to 40 minutes.

Daisy Geyser - This is the most predictable geyse in the Upper Geyser Basin as the Rangers can attest to since they will predict two or three eruptions in a row unlike Old Faithful Geyser which they predict after the last eruption. Now Daisy geyser erupts to a hight of 75 feet and lasts for 3 to 5 minutes.

Grand Geyser - This is the worlds tallest predictable geyser. It goes off every 7 to 15 hours. Now Grand Geyser unlike Old Faithful shoots off burst of water rather than a steady stream but it reaches hights of 200 feet and there are 1 to 4 bursts so the entire eruption lasts for 9 to 12 minutes. Now this geyser is one so sit down and wait for. I have personally waited for over two hours to see this geyser to go off. It is also a good place to read a book as there are benches provided to view this geyser. Now there are not many people to view this geyser at any one time. It may average 25 to 50 people for an eruption as compared to 500 to 2000 people waiting for Old Faithful Geyser. So go spend the time and wait for Grand Geyser.

Moring Glory Pool - This hot spring was the most visited spring until the moving of the road system in 1972. This spring is a brillant blue in color but has lost some of the color due to the tourists throwing items into the spring. To try and restore some of the blue color to the spring the Park Service has tried to get Morning Glory Pool to erupt. This is done by removing the water from the spring using a pump thus once enough water is removed to reduce the pressure from above the pool erupts. Allowing materials that have fallen in or have been thrown in to be ejected out. Now in the 1930 Morning Glory Pool was cleaned and there was over 60 dollars in pennies and other coins, tax tokens, foreign money, logs, rocks, sticks, shirts, bras, and other undergarments. So DO NOT THOW ANYTHING INTO THE GEYSERS OR HOT SPRINGS.

Other Geyser Basins near Old Faithful to Visit

Black Sand Geyser Basin - This small geyser basin is home to Emerald Pool, Sunset Lake and Rainbow Pool as well to Cliff Geyser. This geyser basin is worth checking out.

Biscuit Basin Geyser Basin - This geyser basin is home to Sapphire Pool, Jewel Geyser, Shell Geyser, Avoca Spring and Mustard Spring. It is also the start of the hike to Mystic Falls and to Biscuit Basin Overlook.

Midway Geyser Basin - This is home to Excelsior Geyser which before it blew it self up was one of the World's Largest Geysers. To day over 1 million gallons of almost boiling water are released through the pool into the Firehole River. This is also home to the world's third largest hot spring called Grand Prismatic Hot Spring. This hot spring has been thoughly studied there has even been a boat on this hot spring to take it temperature in varrious spots. The different colors that make up the spring are from alge growing in the different temperatures of water. The hotter the water the more colorful the alge and if the water is blue then it is to hot for alge to live. One organism that was discovered in one of the hot springs in Yellowstone is now being used to test DNA.

Other site to see in the Old Faithful Area

Keppler Cascades - These cascades are located between Old Faithful and West Thumb. Kekpler Cascades are formed on the Firehole River and from this vantage point are a great site. Lone Star Geyser trail head is also located in this area.

Mystic Falls - This is a short 1/2 mile hike to the base of Mystic Falls. To access the trail head go to Biscuit Basin Geyser Basin and in the back part of the basin there will be a trail head sign in and follow the trail to the falls. For a longer hike one can go to the Biscuit Basin Overlook which adds about 4 miles to the trip plus going up the hill side which is about a 500 foot climb.

Hikes in the Old Faithful Area

Morning Glory Pool - Now most people would not consider this a hike but considering that it is 1.5 miles to Morning Glory Pool it is a good flat 3 mile hike round trip. This is a must do because along the way you can see Castle Geyser, Riverside Geyser, Daisy Geyser, and Grand Geyser and if you started at the Visitor Center Old Faithful Geyser as well so you see all of the geysers that I recommend seeing while at Old Faithful.

Observation Point - This is a short hike of 1/2 of a mile. The only thing with this hike is that it is up hill a good climb but the view from the top is great. It starts a long the back side of Old Faithful Geyser. Once on top of the hillside you can really see the Old Faithful complex as well if you plan your hike accordenly you can watch Old Faithful Geyser go off from here. Located up here is also Solitary Geyser which use to be Solitary Spring until it was used as a hot water source to fill one of the two pools that were once located in Yellowstone (the other one was at Mammoth Hot Springs).

Mallard Lake - Mallard Lake trail is a favorite with many of the employees at Old Faithful because of the beauty that is offered on the hike though this area did suffer from the 1988 fires and quite a bit around the area did burn. The best place to start this hike is from behind the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins. Here the trail starts by crossing the Firehole River and proceeds to climb the plateau. You travel through the lodgepole forest with intermitting meadows now created by the 1988 fires notice the amount of new tree growth which the fires help plant. The lake is a great site to stay at as a short overnight trip. But beware one needs to bring insect repellant as the bugs can be bad here.

Lonestar Geyser - This is a very easy walk or can be a ride if you wish to use your bike. The trail begins at Kepler Cascades and proceeds down a dirt road which is now closed to vehicler traffic. The road then turns back to asphalt and follows along the Firehole River through the lodgepole pine and varrious meadows. The area around here was not effected by the Fires of 1988 and this can be a very enjoyable 5 mile round trip hike.

Fairy Falls - To get to the trail head drive down The Fountain Flats Freight Road until it ends. Here park your car and continue down the dirt road for about 1 1/2 mils where you will come to the Fairy Falls trail. This trail then is 1.5 miles until you get to Fairy Falls which is a 197 feet high. This is a fairly level hike which can take about 3 to 4 hours. You can also get to another trail head by stating at the other end of the freight road which is located just south of the Midway Geyser Basin.

Services in the Old Faithful Area

Old Faithful Inn - Run by Amfac - Open summer only

Old Faithful Lodge - Run by Amfac - Open summer only

Old Faithful Snowlodge - Run by Amfac - Open summer and winter

Four Seasons Snack Shop - Run by Amfac - Open summer and winter

Pony Express - Run by Amfac - Open Summer only

Larry's Lunch - Run by Amfac - Open summer only

Fountain at Christmas Store - Run by Hamiltion - Open Summer only

Fountain at Auto Basin Store - Run by Hamiltion - Open Summer only

Old Fatihful Lodge Cafeteria - Run by Amfac - Open summer only

Dining Room at Snow Lodge - Run by Amfac - Open summer and winter

Old Faithful Inn Dining Room - Run by Amfac - Open summer only

Auto Basin Store - Run by Hamilton - Open summer only

Christmas Store - Run by Hamilton - Open summer only

Photo Shop - Run by Hamilton - Open summer only

Gas Stations - Run by Amfac and Hamilton features Conoco Gasoline - Open Summer and Winter

Visitor Center - NPS - Open all year

Ranger Station - NPS - Open all year

Post Office - Open summer only

Clinic - Open summer only.

Remember...

To stay on the boardwalks at all times in the geyser basins.
Not to deface any of the geysers or pools by throwing items in the pools, taking objects from the pools, or marking the alge formations in the run off.
To drink plenty of fluids (mostly water) and do not forget that sunscreen and a good hat to protect you from the sun due to the higher elevation.
No swimming or wading in any of the thermal pools or run off. The water temperatures can change quickly and one can have third degree burns and or even die. Plus you can only swim or wade where warm water meets cold water. Two places for swimming in Yellowstone are at Boiling River near Mammoth Hot Springs and in the Firehole Canyon near Madison.

Yellowstone National Park
PO Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
307-344-7381

Entire contents & copy;1997-2001 David Rothenburger (Parkee@worldnet.att.net).

You are the to visit my site since December 8, 1999.

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Last updated on Sept 30, 2001.