Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ful, Grand, Castle, Riverside, Daisy and the Lower Geyser Basin's Great Fountain - and these are also posted at Old
Faithful Lodge, Old Faithful Inn and the Madison Junior Ranger Station. You can call ahead for timings on
307-344-2751.
Remember, though, that geysers rarely erupt on schedule, so take some snacks and sunblock for the wait. River-
side runs to within 30 minutes of predictions, but Grand is only reliable within two or three hours. Still, there's al-
ways something erupting in Upper Geyser Basin, and if you're really lucky you'll catch a biggie like Beehive or
Daisy.
Budget at least half a day here to see the area around Old Faithful, and a whole day to see all the geyser basins,
though you could easily spend a day or two more if you catch the geyser-gazing bug. If time is tight, concentrate on
Upper and Midway Geyser Basins and skip Biscuit and Black Sand Basins.
The best loop around the Upper Geyser Basin follows the paved road one way and the boardwalk the other for a
total of 3 miles. To this you can add a small hike up to Observation Point for views over the basin. There is a smal-
ler loop around Geyser Hill, but you'll miss many of the best geysers if you limit yourself to this.
One interesting way to see the geysers is to cycle out 1.4 miles along the road to Morning Glory (where there's a
bike rack), then continue on bike to Biscuit Basin via Daisy Geyser (1.3 miles). From here you can hike to Mystic
Falls or cycle along the Grand Loop Rd to Black Sand Basin and get picked up there. Bikes can be rented at Bear
Den Bike in the Old Faithful Snow Lodge; for details
Click here
.
Across the Firehole River, nearby riverside
Fan
and
Mortar Geysers
erupt infre-
quently but in unison, with Fan bursting water out of 17 individual jets.
Next comes beautiful Morning Glory pool, from where hardcore geyser gazers can fol-
low a walking trail to several minor features such as
Artemisia Geyser
, named for its
similarity to the color of sagebrush
(Artemisia),
and
Atomizer Geyser
, named for the
large amounts of steam that follow its minor eruptions.
Heading back toward Old Faithful, take the boardwalk that branches off the cycle path
to
Giant Geyser
, which produces stupendous 250ft eruptions but may be dormant for
decades (it last erupted in 2010). Eruptions can last an hour, reach heights of 180ft to
250ft and expel an astonishing one million gallons of hot water with each eruption. The
cessation of otherwise continuous
Bijou Geyser
nearby signals an imminent eruption of
Giant Geyser.
The strikingly colorful
Chromatic Pool
and
Beauty Pool
are linked, so when one
drops the other rises.
Next is
Grand Geyser
, ranking as the world's tallest predictable geyser (150ft to
180ft). It spews in bursts every eight hours or so and lasts about 12 minutes. It will often
pause after nine minutes and then restart after a minute or so; the subsequent bursts are
typically the most spectacular. Grand is a fountain geyser, not a cone like Old Faithful.
