The Old Faithful Geyser is probably the single most iconic image of Yellowstone National Park and, despite the touristy hoopla, it really is worth watching. There is something so compelling about seeing a geyser shoot 100+ feet into the air that our teen and tween must have watched it go off about 10 times during the three days we stayed at the Old Faithful Inn. This post is one in a series on our Top 10 Yellowstone National Park activities for families travelling with teens and tweens. Click the link to see rest of the list and find links to the other Top 10 posts in this series.
About Old Faithful
Old Faithful isn’t the largest active geyser in the world, that honor goes to Steamboat Geyser, also in Yellowstone. Steamboat can send its steaming water 300 feet into the air, compared to 100-180 ft for Old Faithful. However, Steamboat’s major eruptions are unpredictable and happen only a few times a year while Old Faithful erupts every 91 minutes on average (although the actual intervals can range from 65-92 minutes). Each eruption lasts between 1 and 5 minutes.
On average Old Faithful erupts every 91 minutes
Old Faithful Inn Offers Perfect Viewing
The original Old Faithful Inn building was constructed in 1904 with major additions in 1915 and 1927. Major rennovations were recently undertaken to repair and stablize the roof and much of the original Lodgepole pine interior woodwork and massive stone fireplace which grace the 65 foot tall lobby. The rooms are basic, with the ones in the oldest section being the least expensive. Be aware that some of these do not have private baths. There are also several suites available which can provide extra space if you have several teens and tweens in your group.
The Old Faithful Inn offers great views of the Geysers
The food was decent although not outstanding but the ambience in the historic dining room and the chance to just hang out on the open air deck and watch old faithful in the sunset were worth the price of admission all on their own. Couple that with stepping outside in the morning to see buffalo passing by and being a short drive from many other Park activities and we felt it was a bargin to stay in such a unique setting.
Old Faithful Webcam
Old Faithful is so popular the National Park Service offers a free Old Faithful webcam view of the eruptions. They also offer some excellent online resources to learn more about Old Faithful including this link that explains How Geysers Work. When you are at the park the Rangers are very knowledgeable and willing to answers questions. They offer a number of guided tours although we generally opted to find our way around on our own. The front desk staff at the Old Faithful Inn is also very helpful providing information about hikes, facilities in other parts of the park, or scheduling special tours.
