Yellowstone road trip! Best ways to see Old Faithful geyser eruption in Yellowstone National Park 🌋 Wyoming things to do

Hi there!

Seeing the Old Faithful geyser is one of the most famous things to do in Wyoming national parks… if not THE most famous Wyoming national park attraction!

The Old Faithful geyser is one of the 2 “must-do” activities in Yellowstone National Park.

The Old Faithful geyser is the most famous Yellowstone geyser!

And more than that…

According to the U.S. Geological Survey:

Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in the world.

 

And the most common thing to do at Yellowstone National Park is to watch the eruption of the Old Faithful geyser!

The Old Faithful geyser eruptions can be predicted (unless some other geyers), and the eruptions are relatively frequent… or frequent enough that it’s not too unreasonable to wait for it.

This means that it’s possible for a lot of people to see the most famous Yellowstone attraction in action!

The thing to do when you go to Old Faithful is to show up to watch the geyser erupt and shoot water up in the air!

 

 

What time of day does Old Faithful erupt?

Old Faithful erupts all day long!

So whether you go in the morning, afternoon, or evening, you can see Old Faithful erupt!

To be clear, it does not erupt continuously all day long!

It does start and stop repeatedly, but this cycle happens all day long.

The average time between Old Faithful geyser eruptions is between 50 minutes and 127 minutes, according to the National Park Service.

 

Where can you watch the Old Faithful eruption?

You can watch the Old Faithful eruption by going to one of the Old Faithful observation areas in the Upper Geyser Basin!

 

Can you see Old Faithful from your car?

No, you can’t see Old Faithful from your car.

So you can’t just drive through Yellowstone National Park to see Old Faithful erupting as you are driving.

You will need to get out of the car and walk to see an Old Faithful eruption.

You’ll have to go to the Old Faithful Visitor Center parking lot, and then you’ll go to one of the Old Faithful observation areas to see the Old Faithful geyser erupt and water shooting up into the air!

 

What is the best way to see Old Faithful?

The best way to see Old Faithful up close is from the Old Faithful observation boardwalk.

You will be able to see the Old Faithful eruption right in front of you!

There are benches in front of the area where Old Faithful erupts.

So if you show up early, you can get a front row seat to watch Old Faithful erupt!

But even if you don’t get a seat, you can still get a good view of the eruption when it’s time for Old Faithful to erupt!

 

 

How to see the Old Faithful Geyser erupt

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1. See the Old Faithful geyser eruption from ground level.

 

The Old Faithful geyser eruption from ground level is the best way to see Old Faithful.

This will get you the closest to Old Faithful as it is erupting.

The most popular spot to watch the geyser is from the Old Faithful observation boardwalk that is right in front of the geyser.

 

Any other way to view Old Faithful is cool, but it won’t get you as close as you can get by seeing Old Faithful from the boardwalk at ground level right in front of the geyser.

 

 

2. See the Old Faithful geyser eruption from above.

 

You can also hike up to the Observation Point to see the geyser from above.

You just want to make sure you give yourself enough time to get there before the next eruption!

On your way back down, you can stop by Solitary Geyser to see if you can catch a smaller geyser erupting!

 

 

 

See more about how to see Old Faithful and more:

• Old Faithful Observation Point Trail
• Solitary Geyser along Observation Point Trail

 

I actually did not intend to stay for 2 Old Faithful geyser eruptions, but it’s easy for time to pass while you’re there if you’re interested in seeing more of the thermal features that Yellowstone is known for!

The geyser basin that surrounds Old Faithful is a pretty big area, so it can take up some time walking around.

Before you know it, it can be time for another Old Faithful eruption!

If you watch the Old Faithful eruption from Observation Point (aka from above), I do think it’s worth sticking around to watch from the observation boardwalk as well to watch Old Faithful up close and personal.

Old Faithful looks tiny from Observation Point!

And if you’re looking to go geyser eruption chasing, it’s quite possible to spend several hours in the Old Faithful area waiting for other geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin to erupt.

If you have brought along your bikes for your national park road trip, this is a good area to make use of them!

There is a paved path where you can ride up and down past geysers. See the geyser biking route. You can also rent a bike at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.

 

A little bit more below about going to see Old Faithful erupt!

 

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What makes the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone special?

One of the things that makes the Old Faithful geyser special is that Old Faithful geyser eruptions are able to be predicted pretty well.

This is unusual for geysers in Yellowstone National Park.

 

According to the National Park Service:

Old Faithful is one of nearly 500 geysers in Yellowstone and one of six that park rangers currently predict.

It is uncommon to be able to predict geyser eruptions with regularity and Old Faithful has lived up to its name, only lengthening the time between eruptions by about 30 minutes in the last 30 years.

 

For most geysers it’s a little bit about luck in showing up at the right time!

But because the Old Faithful geyser is able to be predicted, it also means that tons more people are able to see it!

And the Old Faithful geyser is the most famous geyser in all of Yellowstone National Park.

 

According to the Wyoming State Geological Survey:

The Old Faithful geyser got its name for the primary reason it is such a draw: its eruptions are predictable, making it easy to plan to see while visiting the park in northwestern Wyoming.

 

 

Old Faithful geyser eruption times

The Old Faithful geyser eruption times are posted online on the National Park Service website, although for most people I don’t think that is particularly helpful since there is minimal to no data service in Yellowstone National Park.

So it’s not like you can look at it while you’re driving through Yellowstone to plan your schedule. I didn’t anyway.

I just left Old Faithful for the last “priority” activity of the day and ended up being there for 2 geyser eruptions.

So basically you’ll show up to the Old Faithful Visitor Center parking lot to know when the next Old Faithful geyser eruption is.

So once you arrive at the Old Faithful Geyser parking lot, you’ll want to head to the visitor center to see when the next geyser eruption is predicted.

 

 

You will also find a sign for geyser predictions other than the Old Faithful Geyser.

 

 

In general, for the geyser eruption prediction timings you see at the Old Faithful Visitor Center, note the PLUS or MINUS number!

The geyser prediction time can be plus or minus 10 minutes or it can be plus or minus 2 hours!

The Old Faithful geyser can generally be predicted plus or minus 10 minutes.

 

According to the National Park Service:

Old Faithful erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers, although it is not the largest or most regular geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

It is believed this regularity is in part due to no known connection with other hydrothermal features in the area.

Its average interval between eruptions is about 90 minutes, varying from 50 to 127 minutes.

 

Does it cost to see Old Faithful?

The cost to see Old Faithful is $35 per car, since that is how much it costs to enter Yellowstone National Park.

There is no separate Old Faithful fee that you need to pay for.

In order to see Old Faithful, you will need to enter Yellowstone National Park.

So the cost to see Old Faithful is just the cost of the national park entry fee.

In 2023, the cost of the Yellowstone National Park 7-day pass was $35 per car. There is no one-day Yellowstone pass. See current fees.

If you know that you will be visiting several U.S. national parks in one year, then you may also consider getting the annual national park pass.

Generally speaking, If you will be visiting 3 national parks within a year, then it will be worth it to get the America the Beautiful pass.

This is especially true if the 3 national parks that you plan on visiting are the popular national parks.

So if you will be going to Yellowstone and the connecting Grand Teton National Park that’s the other Wyoming national park, then you just need to visit one more national park within a year for it to be worth it.

If you’re a senior, then there is the senior annual national park pass, which is worth it even if you are going to only Yellowstone. It’s $20! See current fees (and age) under annual pass.

As long as the Yellowstone National Park entry booth is staffed, you can buy this when you arrive at Yellowstone.

 

 

The boring safety message!

In short, stay on the trail when you’re walking around the thermal basins in Yellowstone!

Part of what makes Yellowstone National Park so famous and popular is all of the thermal activity so you can see geysers erupting and hot springs letting off steam!

And it is THERMAL activity. This means that the ground can be HOT in places where you don’t expect it.

One of the main reasons for the boardwalks you see in all of the Yellowstone thermal basins, including around Old Faithful, is so we can all have a safe viewing area of this thermal activity all around us.

The ground just off the trail may look like the firm and steady ground you’re used to, but looks can be deceiving.

It’s possible that if you step off the trail, your foot could unexpectedly sink into the ground and you could get severely burned, for example.

On a related note of things not to do in Yellowstone National Park, the hot springs aren’t meant to be wishing wells so don’t throw coins into them!

It is said that coins (and other foreign objects that make their way in there) can contaminate the hot springs.

 

And that’s a bit about the most popular geyser in Yellowstone!

 

Hike to see the other most famous thermal spot in Yellowstone from above: Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook Trail

 

More thermal basins in Yellowstone near Old Faithful geyser:

• Black Sand Basin
• Biscuit Basin

 

See more geysers in Yellowstone:

• Solitary Geyser
• Black Sand Basin geyser
• Biscuit Basin geyser
• Great Fountain Geyser
• White Dome Geyser
• Clepsydra Geyser

 

Plan more of your trip to Yellowstone:

• How to spend one day in Yellowstone
• Grand Teton to Yellowstone
• One day in Grand Teton
• Driving through Grand Teton
• Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon

 

HAPPY SEEING AN OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER ERUPTION IN YELLOWSTONE!