Old Faithful Geyser? 3 Things We Learned

Why is Old Faithful so popular on a Montana vacation? It’s Yellowstone National Park’s most regular geyser of the Park’s big geysers. You’ll see a great show. And here’s three things we learned on a recent visit. (If you can’t visit, here’s the Old Faithful Geyser webcam.)

1) Beat the crowds and get to the Old Faithful Geyser early.

Old Pointer says: I don’t beat the crowds, I bite ’em!

Once the daily tour buses show up, it can get pretty busy. No worries. Just try to make Old Faithful the start of your day. How often does the geyser go off? This is the best Old Faithful schedule. And here’s our Old Faithful video:

2) Be VERY afraid of the wild bison wandering around

Wild bison wander freely through the Old Faithful area. There are no fences, so keep your head up, maintain your distance, and stay off of the national news as the latest tourist to get gored. (See the frightening video below.) We watched multiple bulls, all over six feet at the shoulder, wander around the Old Faithful cabins. One even sauntered between our cabin door and our car. Holy!

3) Eat drink and be merry, just not on the boardwalks around the Old Faithful Geyser

People may be tempted, naturally, to eat lunch out on the Old Faithful boardwalks, but that will get you a ticket. The idea is to keep from attracting animals to the geyser areas, so be sure to read the signs and keep the food (and whiskey) away from the boardwalks, and over at the Old Faithful Inn.

Dogs can’t be on the boardwalks either. Sorry, Old Pointer!

Hey, you’re not too far away from Grand Prismatic Spring! Read our post.