Geyser Itinerary, Entering from the North Gate, Gardiner, Montana
(Remember that you won't have cell service in most of the park).
As you come into Gardiner from the west, on the right you will see a ranger station, then later a post office, our delightful little Ridley’s grocery store, and on down the road a Conoco station. Moving around the corner to the right you will cross the Yellowstone River and start up a small hill where you will see one of our Yellowstone National Park signs.
You will see the famous Roosevelt Arch to your right. Stay on that road, and it will take you around and under the arch where you can find parking on the main entrance road. Photos at the arch are best taken later in the day to avoid looking into the sun when posing on the west side, the side with the official title etched in stone.
Continuing on that main road takes you through the north gate entrance stations and up our historic “trail” once used by wagons in the early 1900s for railway tourists. It was rapidly paved for urgent access after the historic 2022 flood that took out the north entrance road. This road was built in two months! Epic!
From this point on you have a good chance of seeing bison, elk, bear, pronghorn, coyote, foxes, deer, and Uinta ground squirrels (indigenes only to the Yellowstone ecosystem). This side of the park (the west) doesn’t often boast of wolf sightings, but it can happen.
Mammoth Hot Springs, home of Yellowstone’s Administrative offices, is found at the top of our curvy hill. On the left you will see the Mammoth Clinic, Post Office, then Visitor’s Center with its Yellowstone Forever store and a special hall behind the ranger’s desk with life-size taxidermied park animals – a worthy look if you’d like to size them up.
If you turn left just past the Visitor’s Center, you are on your way around the top of the Grand Loop Road toward Roosevelt and Lamar Valley. Today, we instead stay straight and head south toward Old Faithful.
The right side of the road, once you crest the aforementioned curvy hill, boasts one of only two National Park’s jail and court facilities in the United States. On forward will be the Mammoth Hotel with the famous Map Room, then the Dining Room building, the General Store (minimal food and lots of mementoes), a fuel station, followed by a restroom building.
On up toward the next hill is Liberty Cap, a dormant geyser dome worth noting, and the colorful Mammoth Travertine Terraces with boardwalks scaling up the front side. Do stop for just a few minutes to walk to one of the colorful areas, but don’t take too much time this morning. It’ll be there on return and there is much to see ahead.
Continue on up the hill and around a few corners to the Upper Terrace Drive, the entrance of which is found at the parking lot on the right. This delightful drive takes about 7 – 15 minutes, depending on your time pondering its magic.
Upon exiting, turn south (right) where you will come upon the Mammoth ponds on the left. Bear and elk occasionally hang out here, but drive on by unless you see lots of people with binoculars (not just one or two).
A little further ahead you will see a small road off to the right where you can drive a few hundred feet through the “Fallen Hoodoos.” It’s fun to note the unique travertine rock formations through this entire area.
Up ahead is the Golden Gate Bridge, also known as Rainbow Bridge for obvious reasons. Note the large upright boulder, dubbed the Pillar of Hercules, standing on the left side as you enter the bridge. With any roadwork, this pillar has been removed and lovingly replaced for our viewing pleasure.
From the bridge, you will spot Rustic Falls on the left. This is my (Cindy’s) favorite water fall. Though it’s not the most spectacular in the park, its geological design is lovely.
So far you have traveled about nine miles and 22 minutes excluding stops.
To the left as you peak that hill is Bunsen Peak. Yes, it was named for the German Chemist, Robert Bunsen, who studied geysers and invented the Bunsen Burner.
Ahead on the right will be Swan Lake, the home of a pair of Trumpeter Swans, a species Yellowstone is making good tracks on re-establishing in the park. Look close to see the Cygnets (babies) as well as other interesting water birds such as Eared Grebes, American Coots, and Ring-necked Ducks. You will need binoculars.
From here to Norris Geyser Basin is a bit less than 20 miles. This area is dubbed moose territory, but we’ve only seen two in our almost ten years here. We have, however, seen many bear, both grizzlies and blacks, here. Keep a lookout.
Seven miles from Swan Lake you will see the Obsidian Cliffs on the left with the reader board pullout on the right. We recommend just taking a nice gander while driving slowly by. This cache holds some of the highest quality obsidian in the world, but it’s not all bright and shiny, so look close.
Three miles on ahead, Roaring Mountain will be on your left, and the pullout can’t be missed. On cold, early mornings when traffic is minimal, you can hear the fumaroles roar while the steam gives the visual impression of a roaring inferno.
This might be a good time to mention the four types of thermal features Yellowstone offers:
- Geysers: water erupts from the pressurized pockets in the earth below,
- Pools: just that, a pool of water, varying colors depending on which bacteria are able to tolerate certain temperatures,
- Fumaroles: steam vents from deep, and
- Mud Pots: bubbling pools with soft soil and chemicals at the edge which mix with the water creating very wet mud pies. Some pots may be very liquid and others thick like pudding – pretty cool!
Next is Norris Geyser Basin, home of Steamboat Geyser, the tallest active geyser in the world. It is very unpredictable and sadly slowing down. At this time, we recommend driving right on by. This basin, though interesting, take quite a lot of time (maybe all day). If there is time, catch Norris on the way back up north when it will be less busy. You’re more likely to find a parking place in the basin parking lot instead of on the street with the long walk just to get to the basin. If you catch it on the way back north, come back to the next section below for basin tour tips.
Notes on Norris Basin: Walking one or both loops makes for a long day if you are doing anything else in the park, so if we don't have all day, or don't feel like walking fast, we take the boardwalk on the left to peek at Steamboat and then come back to the trailhead/visitor’s kiosk to walk the smaller north loop (full loop may be closed in 2025, but you can walk out and back). At the very least, we suggest going under the roof of the visitors education station (kiosk) and down the north trail just enough to see and hear the fumarole sound and note the thermal colors in the basin.
Interesting Facts: Steam Boat Geyser will erupt first about 300-ft in the air for 20-ish minutes and then continue erupting for hours at about 20 – 30 feet. Though you will always see steam from Steam Boat, if it’s clearly erupting, it's a good idea to avoid parking in the parking lot as your car may be covered in “steam” made of who-knows-what that can definitely damage paint and windows. If the wind is blowing that way – and it usually is – at least rinse your vehicle as soon as possible. They do have on-street parking outside the lot. Eruptions intervals at this point are generally more than 50 days apart, so your chances of being present at an eruption are pretty slim.
From Norris, you will continue 9 miles south to Gibbon Falls. Drive right on by. It’s beautiful but one of the busiest places on the west side – parking is terrible (as are the restrooms). Catch it on the way back north in the evening when you again will be more able to find a parking spot.
Another five miles gets you to Madison Junction where you can go straight toward geysers or right to West Yellowstone, another beautiful drive with charming city attractions at the end. Should you eat there, we recommend Jake’s Bar and Grill. Though we are teetotalers and can’t speak for their ales, their food is wonderful (just plan to waaaait for it).
Heading back south again from Madison Junction, your first road to the right takes you into the nicest real restrooms you’ll find on the west side shy of Old Faithful Inn, 34 miles down the road (though it can be hours with traffic and buffalo jams). We always stop here, as we don’t want to be forced to use anything between the two. Some can be pretty unreal.
Next is Firehole River Drive just a bit south of Madison Junction. It is a few minutes detour that drops you back on the road south. Sadly, no busses or RVs allowed. This is a gorgeous drive and waterfall worthy of viewing.
Another seven miles south takes you to Fountain Paint Pots. Where this is a lovely walk, it’s also very busy, and there is much more to see down the road. Again, I suggest driving by now and catching it on the way back when it is hopefully less busy. That being said, it’s a great, and maybe only, place to see a mud pot in action on this trip. Catch it when you can, but you may just want to be quick about it ;-)
Two miles Further down the road, Firehole Lake Drive will be on your left. If it’s closed, just drive on by. This is where you’ll find Great Fountain Geyser, by far our favorite – head and shoulders above all the others (although we really enjoy Grand Geyser by Old Faithful, too). Last we knew (2025), Firehole Lake Drive was closed to vehicles due to road damage from the 2022 flood, though it is open to walking. Great Fountain erupts about every 10 - 12 hours. You can tell when it’s close, as water will begin running over the sides of the small terraces, which indicates about 40 minutes before eruption. Because it’s such a spectacular geyser, we often will plan meals there to take up our waiting time. If we have the time, we’ll wait hours for it. Be sure to wait-it-out once it's started, because it will recharge and erupt several times in a row, sometimes to a lesser degree and sometimes even more profoundly.
Just a couple more miles south is Midway Geyser Basin, home of the beautiful Grand Prismatic Spring. You’ll know it when you see the lines of cars parked beside the road. We suggest you drive on by keeping your eyes right to see the pastel colors of steam emanating from the spring. To really see it, drive a couple minutes south to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook parking area and hike the half-mile trail, which is nicely wide with a significant, but not too long, uphill at the end. Parking is a challenge here. Again, it may be quieter later in the day / early evening. Plan at least an hour or more and watch for bison on or near the trail.
Biscuit Basin is about four miles south and currently closed for safety reasons due to the Black Diamond Pool explosion in 2024. Do take note of the debris visible from the road. Some of those rocks weight 1500 lbs. It’s a miracle that no one was injured.
Traffic from here on, and maybe even back as far as Midway Geyser Basin to Old Faithful can be very slow. Plan at least a one hour traffic delay and expect more. Bummer, but it is what it is. That being said, if you can be at the front of a buffalo jam, that hour is pretty cool! Expect those anywhere.
Black Sands is the next basin, is small, and one we love. It’s rarely too busy, and the colorful pools are breathtaking. You can plan about 20 – 25 minutes or less here if you don’t dawdle too much.
Just 1.5 miles from Black Sands is Old Faithful Inn where you will want to park to see Old Faithful erupt. The Visitor’s Center parking area is just way too busy. From the Grand Loop Road, you’ll need to watch your signs closely to be sure to turn off for the Inn rather than go straight to the Visitor’s Center. Don’t be confused by the word “lodge.” There is an Old Faithful Lodge, but you want the Old Faithful Inn.
Just inside the Inn to the right as you enter the hallway you will see a “clock” with Old Faithful’s currently predicted time. We either walk over to the geyser directly or go up to the second floor, grab a beverage at the coffee stand there, and sit on the second level balcony overlooking the geyser. Bear in mind that though it's a fantastic geyser, it's not really the tallest or most spectacular geyser. Its fame comes from its reliability.
The Old Faithful Inn itself is a must see. They host a good buffet for lunch and the gift store is worth a scout out. I understand that if you check in at the bellhop desk, it may be possible to secure a cancellation for a Crow's Nest tour, that's the roof (but shhh, don't tell anyone). We have yet to see it.
Old Faithful area is where you’ll find the Upper Geyser Basin, a 2 – 3 mile loop (and that’s without the Old Faithful Overlook detour). One could spend a whole day just on that loop, and we have. The accuracy of the mileage is questionable as the Internet cannot agree, but it’s a long walk especially if it’s warm. From the Inn, walk west toward the fuel station, and you’ll see the paved path toward the visible Castle Geyser. We recommend getting on Geysertimes.org to see the predicted times, and you should have a little cell service at Old Faithful. Following are our favorites listed below in clockwise order of the loop, so you know what to look for on geysertimes.org.
Castle, Grotto, Morning Glory Pool, Riverside and Grand Geyser - We’ve heard several people ask, “Why does Old Faithful get all the publicity when Riverside and Grand are way more spectacular but not even mentioned or known?” All the other pools and geysers on the loop are also very cool to see.
From Old Faithful back to Mammoth is 1.5 hours without stops or buffalo jams. Please be cautious and slow down at night. Bison fur absorbs headlights and their eyes do not reflect unless looking straight at you. I hope this makes your day a little easier J.
We look forward to Monday!
Cindy and Dan –
Cheap & Cheesy Yellowstone Tours
