Hi there!
As it goes in Yellowstone National Park, there are many thermal basins where you can see thermal features that include hot springs and geyser eruptions!
Biscuit Basin is one of them!
You can see hot springs like Sapphire Pool and Black Diamond Pool, and you also have a chance to see a geyser eruption in Biscuit Basin too!
The Biscuit Basin can be a small thermal basin to walk around if you find yourself with extra time after you see the popular Old Faithful geyser eruption.
It’s a short drive down the road from the Old Faithful visitor center to Biscuit Basin.
First you should know that Biscuit Basin made national news in the summer of 2024.
There was an unexpected “hydrothermal explosion” that took place right along the boardwalk.
Amazingly, no one was on the boardwalk at the time, so there were no injuries.
But this is the risk you take when you go to such a thermally active zone. Yellowstone’s thermal features are amazing to see, but they can also be dangerous.
The explosion is an example of how dangerous thermal features can be, and also why you should always follow the safety instructions you see!
If you see a sign that says to stay away from somewhere… stay away! Bad things can happen even if you do follow instructions, but you lower your risk by not ignoring danger signs!
Here is the press release from the National Park Service. (There’s a picture from the aftermath of the explosion there.)
Below I share with you pictures from the time I went, which was prior to the explosion.
On the day I went to Biscuit Basin, it was at the end of the day.
If it’s still closed when you go, there are plenty of other thermal basins you can visit in Yellowstone, so you don’t need to be too disappointed! Each thermal basin is an amazing sight to see.
Now, here is a bit of what it was like at Biscuit Basin!
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Getting started from the Biscuit Basin trailhead…
You’ll immediately cross a bridge over the Firehole River!
Moving along…
1. Black Opal Spring (Black Opal Pool)
2. Wall Pool
🌋
3. Black Diamond Pool
Moving along…
4. Sapphire Pool
Moving along…
5. Jewel Geyser
👆 It was a non-erupting Jewel Geyser.
See more about the Biscuit Basin geyser: Jewel Geyser
Side note!
Plan more of your time in Yellowstone and beyond:
- Easy-going one day in Yellowstone National Park (lots more geyser eruptions and hot springs!)
- Walk the nearby Black Sand Basin trail too
- Best ways to see Old Faithful geyser eruption
- Driving from Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone
- How to spend 7 days in Wyoming (driving across the state!)
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Moving along the Biscuit Basin boardwalk trail…
6. Shell Spring
👆 It was a bubbling Shell Spring.
Moving along…
7. Avoca Spring
👆 It was a bubbling Avoca Spring.
8. Mystic Falls trailhead
From the Biscuit Basin loop, there’s a trail that goes back towards the Mystic Falls Trail which will take you into a forest.
Continuing on the Biscuit Basin loop trail…
9. Mustard Spring
10. Black Pearl Geyser
And then continuing back to the Biscuit Basin trailhead! (And maybe see the Jewel Geyser erupting on your way back!)
Trail around Biscuit Basin
So as you can see, there is a boardwalk trail that goes around the Biscuit Basin to see thermal features in the area.
The Biscuit Basin trail is pretty short. It’s listed as half a mile.
👆 Biscuit Basin trailhead to Mystic Falls Trail junction is 0.3 miles away. Biscuit Basin trailhead to Mystic Falls is 1.2 miles away.
👆 It’s called the Biscuit Basin because of biscuit-shaped mineral formations.
And, when you see a boardwalk around a thermal basin in Yellowstone… stay on the boardwalk!
Thermal areas can be HOT and dangerous.
To be dramatic, people have been badly burned and even DIED by walking off-trail. If you step off the trail, the ground could break or sink underneath you when you least expect it.
Yellowstone is a supervolcano with tons of HOT activity going on underground!
The National Park Service calls the Yellowstone supervolcano a “restless giant.”
Take care!
👆 The ground around the Biscuit Basin can be dangerous. There may be only a thin crust above boiling hot springs or scalding mud.
Also, it is said that coins (and other foreign objects that make their way into thermal pools) can contaminate the thermal pools.
Biscuit Basin in the 50s in the evening
Weather in Yellowstone can make a difference in how the thermal features of Biscuit Basin look when you see it!
The air temperature was on the cooler side when I went, so there may be more steam in the pictures than if you visit when it’s warmer.
The sun’s lighting can also make a difference in what it looks like. Midday sun can bring out the colors of hot springs better than at sunset.
When I went it was nearing sunset, so similarly, you may see more vibrant colors if you go during the day compared to what you see in the pictures here!
For reference, my visit to the Biscuit Basin was in early October 2021 around 7pm. The outside temperature was in the 50s F at that time.
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Biscuit Basin parking: Getting to the Biscuit Basin trailhead parking
Driving to the Biscuit Basin is easy enough.
There is a stretch of road along the western side of the Yellowstone Grand Loop Road that has a number of thermal basins.
The Biscuit Basin is one of these thermal basins.
The turn-off to the Biscuit Basin parking lot is located directly along the Grand Loop Road.
It’s located right near Old Faithful. (map: Old Faithful to Biscuit Basin)
So the Biscuit Basin can be a relatively quick thermal basin to see near Old Faithful.
You’ll just look for the Biscuit Basin sign, and that will take you to the Biscuit Basin parking lot!
And then the Biscuit Basin trailhead is right there!
The Biscuit Basin geyser
There is one main geyser in Biscuit Basin, and that’s the Jewel Geyser.
There is also the Black Pearl Geyser in Biscuit Basin, but this seems to be a dormant geyser.
There is also a thermal spot that has been called the Shell Geyser, but this may be more like a bubbling hot spring, and it’s also called the Shell Spring.
And so, the Jewel Geyser seems to be the geyser in Biscuit Basin if you’re looking for a chance to see a geyser erupting in Biscuit Basin!
Watch the Biscuit Basin geyser video on youtube!
Is there a Biscuit Basin geyser eruption prediction?
There are eruption predictions with specific timings for a few Yellowstone geysers, but the Biscuit Basin geyser is not one of the them.
But in their March 2020 Biscuit Basin trail guide, the National Park Service says that the Biscuit Basin geyser “erupts every 7 to 10 minutes,” and on their website as of late 2021 they say the Biscuit Basin geyser “frequently erupts, with intervals in the 4 to 12 minute range.”
So based on this description, it seems like you might have a good chance of seeing a geyser erupting in Biscuit Basin!
When I first walked by Jewel Geyser, it was not erupting. But by the time I looped back around on the trail, I saw it erupt from far away! (It stopped erupting by the time I got near it, though!)
And that’s a bit about the Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone!
See more thermal basin trails in Yellowstone:
- Black Sand Basin trail (thermal basin near Biscuit Basin)
- How to see the Old Faithful Geyser eruption
- Grand Prismatic Spring overlook trail
- Trail to the small Clepsydra Geyser with frequent eruptions
- Trail to some Yellowstone mudpots
- Trail to Red Spouter fumarole
Plan more of your trip to Yellowstone and beyond:
- How to spend one day in Yellowstone
- Grand Teton to Yellowstone
- One day in Grand Teton Natioanl Park
- Driving the Grand Teton Scenic Loop Road
- Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon
- Things to do in Craters of the Moon National Monument
HAPPY WALKING AROUND BISCUIT BASIN!
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