Let’s begin by talking about the geyser in the room: all anyone ever talks about is Old Faithful.
However, Yellowstone National Park has many highly unique geysers that deserve more attention. Because we’re feeling bad that the other geysers are left out, today we’ll talk about a few more of them and compare them to the Old Faithful.
Old Faithful
Quick note: This is the famous one, because it the best mix of tall eruptions with incredible consistency.
Eruption height: 100-180 ft (30-55 m)
Eruption frequency: every 102 minutes
How to view: Drive to Upper Geyser Basin and park at the Old Faithful Visitor Center.
Grand
Quick note: This geyser is also aptly named: it fires water powerfully into the air.
Eruption height: 160 ft (50 m)
Eruption frequency: every 6.5 hours
How to view: Drive to Upper Geyser Basin, park at the Old Faithful Visitor Center, then trek on the boardwalk about a mile to Grand Geyser.
Castle
Quick note: Castle Geyser has longer, more dramatic eruptions.
Eruption height: 75 ft (23 m)
Eruption frequency: every 13.5 hours
How to view: Drive to Upper Geyser Basin, park at the Old Faithful Visitor Center, then trek on the boardwalk about a half a mile to Castle Geyser.
Beehive
Quick note: This geyser is very explosive—it’s big when it goes, but it’s inconsistent.
Eruption height: 150 ft (45 m)
Eruption frequency: every 10 hours to 5 days when it’s active. It is currently active and erupting about once a day.
How to view: Drive to Upper Geyser Basin, park at the Old Faithful Visitor Center, then travel about a half mile toward Firehole River.
Great Fountain
Quick note: Once again, aptly named, as it shoots wider, fountain-like streams of water into the air.
Eruption height: 70-200 ft (20-60 m)
Eruption frequency: every 11.5 hours
How to view: Drive to the Lower Geyser Basin, along Firehole Lake Drive; Great Fountain is beside the road/boardwalk area.
Steamboat
Quick note: This is the tallest active geyser in the world, but it's very inconsistent.
Eruption height: 300-400 ft (90-120 m)
Eruption frequency: Days to months between eruptions. Since 2020 it was going off about every month and a half, but it has slowed down considerably, only erupting one time this year so far.
How to view: Drive to Norris Geyser Basin, park there, and hike the Norris Geyser Basin trail in counterclockwise direction about a half mile to Steamboat.
Growing up, Dillon could see the Grand Teton from his house on a clear day. His family took him to nearby national parks so often that he took the parks for granted. It took the rigors of life to teach him how good he had it, and he now spends as much time in the mountains as possible.
Photo by Noémie Cauchon on Unsplash
