Upper Geyser Basin -Old Faithful
Upper Geyser Basin- Old Faithful
Norris to Madison (Grand Loop) Driving time 30 minutes. Distance 17 miles AND Madison to Old Faithful (Grand Loop) Driving time 35 minutes. Distance 16 miles
After we left the Midway Geyser Basin, we headed to the historic Old Faithful Inn. This is one of the two places we called home during our stay in Yellowstone. The historic Old Faithful Inn is located in the Upper Geyser Basin with great views of the Old Faithful geyser. During our stay here, we marveled at the sight of Old Faithful shooting steam and water 200 feet up in the air. This geyser goes off on a regular basis, approximately every 94 minutes (- + 10 ), and we watched it do its thing on several occasions.
On our first day, we woke up and saw a blanket of snow covering the grounds of the Old Faithful Inn. By the time we finished breakfast, most of the snow had disappeared. The first thing we did was walk to Old Faithful and watch it erupt. 
We also had the privilege to get a bird’s eye view on the Old Faithful eruption from the Crow’s Nest.
Old Faithful is the most famous geyser. It erupts more frequently than any other geyser, about seventeen to twenty eruptions a day, and the show lasts between two to five minutes. During each eruption, Old Faithful discharges about 4,000 to 6,000 gallons of water shooting an average of 130 feet into the air. During our stay here, we explored the upper basin and enjoyed watching the Old Faithful eruptions which happened often. Here is a map of the area:
The Upper Geyser Basin is home to the famous Old Faithful geyser, as well as 20 percent of the world’s known geysers and other amazing thermal features. Many of the geysers like Old Faithful are spectacular and also fairly predictable, so we took a walk around the boardwalks and surrounding geyser basin to observe some of the other pools & geysers like Castle geyser, Daisy geyser and Riverside geyser, before we ended up at the magnificent Morning Glory pool. This magnificent pool displays all the colors of the rainbow thanks to the thermofiles that dwell in its hot water (100F).
Castle Geyser is situated close to the boardwalk and a short walk from the Old Faithful Inn. We walked by Castle Geyser a few times and found it visually stunning even during its quiet moments. It is 12 feet high and has the largest cone of any geyser in Yellowstone. Scientists believe that it is anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 years old. Castle erupts every nine to eleven hours. Its eruptions reach 80 to 90 feet followed by a loud and forceful 40-minute steam phase.
Crested Pool is located not far from Castle Geyser. It is forty-two feet deep and is a stunning bright blue color. Its waters boil into eruptions that can reach ten feet. This pool, with temperatures above 199 F, is almost constantly boiling. Its extreme heat prevents most bacterial growth which results in exceptionally clear blue water.
Daisy Geyser is a walk up the hill where there is also a good view of the geyser basin. Located in the Daisy Group near Comet Geyser and Brilliant Pool, Daisy erupts every two to three hours and can be accurately predicted by rangers. Daisy’s eruptions are preceded by small bursts from the smaller cones on its rim. Its actual eruption can go as high as 75 feet in the air.
The Morning Glory pool is one of Yellowstone’s most famous hot springs. This pool is located northwest of Riverside Geyser and is named after the morning glory flower. This pool once featured a stunning display of colorful bacteria that lived in its scalding water, but the water temperature has dropped due to objects being thrown in the pool by tourists. This resulted in the killing of most of the bacteria and has dulled the pool’s once even more vibrant appearance. The Morning Glory pool is just stunning and one of our favorites.
The Riverside geyser is northwest of Old Faithful on the bank of the Firehole River and it is the most predictable geyser. About one to two hours before it goes off, water overflows from the geyser’s vents into the river. The water continues to boil until it shoots out of the geyser’s cone rising about 75 feet in the air and lasting around half an hour.
Grotto Geyser is a fountain-type geyser on the north section of the Upper Geyser Basin. Grotto geyser erupts about every eight hours. The eruptions are about 10 feet high and can last from one hour to more than ten hours. Also, in the past, there have been eruptions that lasted more than twenty-six hours.
Giant Geyser is a cone-type geyser on the northern section of the Upper Geyser Basin. Giant geyser has spectacular, but sporadic eruptions and its large cone stands about 12 feet tall. Giant can go long periods between eruptions.
Chromatic Springs is connected to the nearby Beauty pool. When the water level in one of these pools rises and overflows, the level in the other decreases. These water fluctuations take place over periods of two weeks to several years.
The colors and run-off channels of Beauty pool are created by microscopic lifeforms. Incredibly, these organisms survive and thrive in an environment that would be lethal to us and most other living creatures. Scientists are just beginning to understand these lifeforms. Amazingly, hot spring environments may sustain a diversity of organisms rivaling that of terrestrial rain forests.
Going down the trail, we branched off into the foothills along the Firehole river only to find more geysers and pools. As we stopped by the Grant Geyser, three marmots appeared from behind the boulders. One kept watching us, while the other two grazed. While on the path, in the span of an hour, we endured Yellowstone’s seasonality: cold winds, warm sunshine, and even freezing rain.
Grand Geyser is the tallest predictable geyser in the world and is known for its 10-minute eruptions featuring powerful bursts. It spews water upwards of 200 feet in intervals of six to fifteen hours. Grand Geyser shares plumbing with other hydrothermal features such as Vent and Turban geysers, so when Grand goes off, so do Vent and Turban. Some of the smaller ones continue to erupt long after Grand has finished.
The nearby Lion Group consists of four geysers (from left to right): Little Cub, Lioness, Big Cub and Lion. Lion has the largest cone and erupts up to 70 feet for 1-7 minutes.
Giantess Geyser is a fountain-type geyser on Geyser Hill and is also known for its earth-shaking 200-foot eruptions which you can hear a mile away during its eruption sequence. This geyser erupts about 2-6 times a year. Giantess may erupt twice hourly and experience a tremendous steam phase with continuous activity for twelve hours to two days or more.
Near the end of our trail, we approached the backside of Old Faithful and watched it again, shoot up its cauldron of boiling water and steam high into the afternoon sky.
We also explored the other surrounding areas in the Upper Geyser basin.
Black Sand Basin is located along the main road, one mile northwest of Old Faithful. It is an easy walk from Daisy Geyser. This basin has some of the most splendid hot springs in Yellowstone: Emerald Pool, Rainbow Pool and Sunset Lake.
Biscuit Basin
Three miles north of Old Faithful is Biscuit Basin. Here is the Sapphire Pool which is one of the most beautiful blue pools in the Yellowstone.
Kepler Cascades
This waterfall is located 2.5 miles from Old Faithful. It has multiple drops a total of 150 feet and the longest drop of 50 feet and is located in the back on the Grand Loop Road beyond Old Faithful.
Beyond Kepler Cascades, the road goes east and over Craig’s Pass which crosses the Continental Divide at 8,262 feet.
Continuing south is the Shoshone Point. It overlooks the second largest lake in the park. Accessible by non-motorized boats, The Shoshone Geyser Basin on the far shore of the lake contains a variety of thermal features.
Save
'