Old Faithful Geyser
No trip to Yellowstone is complete without a viewing of its most famous geothermal feature - Old Faithful Geyser! Located near the Firehole River in Upper Geyser Basin, this most popular attraction draws millions of visitors from around the world every year. Old Faithful Geyser is surrounded by a modern yet historic village of lodging, eateries, shops, a visitor education center, and parking lots. It draws crowds of visitors in both winter and summer. We recommend visiting Old Faithful Geyser early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Because, everyone else is there at lunch time!
Upper Geyser Basin
In addition to Old Faithful Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin has a spectacular array of other geothermal features. If you have the time, you can easily spend a day in this basin exploring its wonders. You will find geysers taller than Old Faithful that should be famous in their own right, but they just aren't as frequent or predictable. Grand Geyser is the tallest predictable geyser in the world but, Grand's eruptions are much less frequent than its famous neighbor. Beehive Geyser is just across the river from Old Faithful but you may need to be there at midnight to view it. Regardless, before heading in to the basin, be sure to stop into the Visitor Education Center for an exhibit on how geysers work as well as to jot down geyser prediction times.
Visiting Old Faithful Village
At its busiest, lunch time, there are more people visiting Old Faithful Village than most cities in the state of Wyoming. Therefore, we recommend visiting in the early morning or evening. If you do arrive at lunch time, consider visiting the eateries when Old Faithful Geyser is predicted to erupt. After it plays, there won't be an empty table in the village! When visiting, be careful while driving. Wildlife is not cognizant of the rules of the road and, seemingly, neither are many of the pedestrians and motorists! This is a crowded and congested area containing the only overpass on the park's road system. It is easy to become distracted and lose your way. So, just remember you need to drive back through the overpass to leave the village.
Old Faithful Inn
Opened in 1904, the historic Old Faithful Inn has the most requested rooms in all of Yellowstone National Park. Dinner reservations are required and taken months in advance. Be sure to walk up to the top floor and peer down. Also, walk down one of the halls in the Old House. Finally, step out onto the second floor porch for a great view. For those seeking Old Faithful Inn's story, free tours of this historic structure are offered throughout each day.