A Good Tour: Old Faithful

Begin your tour at the impressive Old Faithful Visitor Education Center. Pick up the Old Faithful–area trail guide and check a bulletin board with the latest predictions for six geyser eruptions.

The Main Attraction

Concentrate first on the main attraction: Old Faithful spouts from 130 to 180 feet high approximately every 94 minutes. You don't need to jockey for position on the boardwalk directly in front of the visitor center to enjoy the geyser. It's impressive from any angle on the boardwalk surrounding it. The view from the second-floor deck of the Old Faithful Inn is glorious, too. Speaking of that famous, century-old structure, check out its massive log-construction interior.

Exploring the Basins

At Old Faithful Village you're in the heart of the Upper Geyser Basin, the densest concentration of geysers on Earth, with about 140 geysers within a square mile. Once you've watched Old Faithful erupt, explore the larger basin with a hike around Geyser Hill, where you may see wildlife as well as thermal features. Follow the trail north to the Morning Glory Pool, with its unique flower shape. Along this trail are Castle, Grand, and Riverside geysers. Return to the village and continue by car to Black Sand Basin or Biscuit Basin. At Biscuit Basin, follow the boardwalks to the trailhead for the Mystic Falls Trail, where you can get views of the Upper Geyser Basin.

Paint Pots and a Spring

Take a break from geyser watching with a packed lunch at the Whiskey Flat picnic area. Afterward, continue your drive toward Lower Geyser Basin, with its colorful Fountain Paint Pots. Then, on the way back to Old Faithful, stop at Midway Geyser Basin, where steaming runoff from the colorful 370-foot Grand Prismatic Spring crashes continuously into the Firehole River.

Relax and Celebrate

Relax and celebrate your day's accomplishments with dinner (reservations required) at the Old Faithful Inn, or enjoy drinks on the second floor.