Old Faithful Geyser Loop Trail

The Old Faithful Geyser Loop Trail begins at the Old Faithful Geyser and is often overlooked. It’s definitely worth seeing as it’s one of the most scenic geyser loop trails in Yellowstone!

The Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is probably the most famous geyser in the world! What I never knew before traveling there, is there is an entire network of boardwalk trails running in a loop of sorts. This whole section is called the Upper Geyser Basin.

It’s a small area with the highest concentration of geysers in the world! They range in color, size, and shape making this hike truly memorable. There’s also a few side trails I don’t have the name of, but we took them all to some really neat geysers.

The Old Faithful Geyser Loop Trail is super busy because it’s so popular.

However even that being said, I wouldn’t want to miss it. I would start as early as you can to avoid the crowds. But do wait until the sun is up, because it makes for much better pictures.

We started at Old Faithful Geyser, and watched it erupt just before dawn before moving on into the network of boardwalk. Then we took some of the side trails as well that branched off into the woods, and they were definitely worth it.

We had these spots completely to ourselves. The boardwalk wasn’t super crowded either, which was definitely a relief after the huge crowds near Old Faithful.

There was one trail that gained a bit of elevation through the trees that ended in a really neat geyser that erupts every 3 minutes. This was nice because most of them are highly unpredictable, and you might not see too many of them erupt.

One of the things we enjoyed most about this area, is the diversity of types and colors of the geysers. Every where you turn, you marvel at the wonders of the world!

Another plus to visiting this geyser or any of the side trails, is you’ll likely have the area to yourself. Not too many people stray from the boardwalk!

Some of the geysers are so large, you’ll find them difficult to capture in 1 image!

The Morning Glory Pool pictured below is one on the main attractions!

The famouse Morning Glory Pool pictured here is 2.5 miles one way from the visitor’s center. The quickest way there is to take the left hand of the boardwalk as you face Old Faithful.

You can also start from the Biscuit Basin. But after hiking all of the Old Faithful boardwalk and the Biscuit Basin, I would recommend just starting at the Old Faithful visitor’s center and hiking all of it.

You can easily spend a whole day in this area. Every few steps you’re going to want to stop to stare in wonder at the beauty of the geysers!

Update: You can find each of our Yellowstone posts in my 10 Tips for Visiting Yellowstone National Park. I put together everything we learned into that post. All the places we visited in the park are linked so you can read about them individually!