West Thumb and Old Faithful are 2 different areas in Yellowstone National Park. And today we will be exploring these areas and more on our 1st Day in Yellowstone. We’ve just spent the last 2 days in beautiful Grand Teton with our daughter and Becky’s mom Gigi. You can read more about our adventures at: Jenny Lake Hikes and More in Grand Teton. But today we’re driving through Yellowstone with our GyPSy Guide stopping at West Thumb and Old Faithful along the way.
Planning West Thumb & Old Faithful
Today we are leaving Grand Teton National Park and headed to our next resort in Big Sky, Montana. And our best route there is driving through Yellowstone to Montana. We will drive north to the south entrance of Yellowstone to the Grand Loop Road making stops along the way. At the Grand Loop Road we’ll stop at West Thumb before turning toward the Old Faithful area. We’ll stop at Old Faithful and plan to have lunch there. And after that, we will see how much more we can see before we need to head to our resort. The Grand Loop Road continues up to Madison Junction where we’ll turn toward their west entrance. We’ll be in Montana by the time we exit, and then we’ll head north to our resort in Big Sky.
Yellowstone National Park is mainly in northwestern Wyoming, but also has parts in Montana and Idaho. And it is the 2nd largest national park outside of Alaska. There are so many places to see here that planning is a must. But luckily we plan to spend multiple days in the world’s 1st national park. Founded in 1872, Yellowstone is celebrating it’s 150th year, and we are happy to be here. Though the park had historic flooding just a few weeks ago so we have been monitoring the conditions closely. It is essential to check their website for up-to-date information at: Yellowstone National Park (nps.gov).
Southern Entrance
We heard you need to gas up before you head into Yellowstone since it’s a lot of driving. So, we stop at the gas station as we leave Colter Bay in Grand Teton. Luckily, we only needed about a half a tank because the gas was $6.19 a gallon for 85! Normally 87 is regular in Florida, but here it is Plus and $6.38. So after over $50 in gas, we grab some water and snacks which essential for any drive into Yellowstone. On US89/191/287 between Grand Teton and Yellowstone, we stop once at Jackson Lake Overlook to get some parting views. Check out more of Our Stops in Beautiful Grand Teton National Park. After 2 awesome days in Grand Teton, we are ready to venture into Yellowstone.
We make it to the entrance sign before 9:00AM. There is a pullout and have no issues taking some photos. From here we can see the entrance and only see a few cars in front of us. We show them our annual pass and have no issues getting into the park. And once in, our 1st stop is only 1.5 miles down the road.
Waterfalls and Stops along the Way
Between the Southern entrance of Yellowstone and West Thumb, there are a few easy stops. The 1st is at Moose Falls over Crawfish Creek, just a couple minutes from the entrance. Though there’s a nice parking lot here, you have to do a short walk to the falls. The path gets rocky and there are some ups and downs. But then you are at the brink or top of this 30 foot waterfall. There are no guard rails here, so you’ll have to be careful. Also looking back up the creek, you can get a good view of the stone bridge from here. Leading down on our right is another short path which gives us a closer view of the falls. We do see some others climb lower to get even closer, but we head back to our car.
Another 8.7 miles down the road is Lewis Falls. As we approach it, there is some construction and the overlook is closed. So we cross the bridge and pull off the road to park. Though the overlook is closed, the view of the falls seems better from the north side of the bridge. You can look down the Lewis River directly at the 30 foot Lewis Falls. And on the other side of the road where our car is, we see a beautiful view looking back at the mountains.
Here we can see a bend in the Lewis River heading through the valley before we get back in our car. Another 5 minutes down the road to West Thumb and Old Faithful, we stop near Lewis Lake. We can get a glimpse of this beautiful clear lake, but we continue another 15 minutes to West Thumb.
West Thumb
We get to an intersection where we can turn right to West Thumb or continue straight to Old Faithful. We turn right and into the large West Thumb parking lot. It has taken us about an hour to get here from the southern entrance including our stops along the way. We park near some restrooms, and even though we use them, the smell of these pit toilets is horrible. So, afterwards, we move our car closer to the West Thumb Information Station. Inside is a park ranger and little store including a passport stamp station. After a brief stop, we grab a trail guide from a box at the trailhead for $1 and head down the boardwalk.
The West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake is a caldera formed by a collapsed volcano that has now filled with water. It is actually a caldera within the larger Yellowstone caldera which has shaped the park today. But just think of West Thumb now as an extension of the much larger Yellowstone Lake. But, the attraction here is the hydrothermal features on the West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail. And now that we have the brochure, we have a map and more information about these features.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
This boardwalk trail has 2 loops that are about a mile total, so we head left first. We pass some fumaroles, or steam vents, where we see the hot steam released from the ground. Fumaroles are the 1st of 4 hydrothermal features found on this trail. And next we head toward some geysers, or hot springs that erupt, called Twin Geysers. Here a park ranger stops to talk to our daughter and gives her some stickers. We are always grateful to the rangers that take their time to talk to us.
Once we get to the outer boardwalk, we get to the edge of the lake. We pass some hot springs, Abyss Pool on our left, and Black Pool on our right. Abyss Pool is deeper, but Black Pool is closer and has colors of blue, green and yellow.
This area has hydrothermal features on both sides of the boardwalk, but the views of the lake are also amazing. And some of these features are underwater including Fishing Cone. This hot spring is typically underwater in the spring and early summer due to melting snow. This geyser became famous in the 1800s for anglers “cooking-on-the hook”.
Fishermen would catch a fish and dip it into the boiling pool cooking the fish without taking it off the line. And past it Lakeshore Geyser and Lakeside Spring are also underwater today. Once we get to the inner boardwalk, we find the last hydrothermal feature here, Thumb Paint Points. They’re mudpots, which are hot springs that lack water and dissolve the surrounding rock. They look like muddy water compared to the remaining springs and pools on this trail.
Old Faithful Inn
After seeing our 1st hydrothermal features in Yellowstone, we are excited to head to its most famous one – Old Faithful. We turn left out of West Thumb back to the intersection, but this time we turn right toward Old Faithful. We are officially on the Grand Loop and it’s 17 miles to Old Faithful. After a quick stop at the Isa Lake turnout that is bisected by the Continental Divide, we exit toward Old Faithful. And this is the biggest area in Yellowstone, so you need an idea of where you want to go first. After looping around once, we decide to park near the Old Faithful Inn.
By the time we get here, it’s right about noon. This is perfect since we planned to grab lunch at one of the multiple options in this area. We check out the Old Faithful Inn first to see if we can have lunch in this national historic landmark. As we walk up to the inn built in 1904, we can see why it’s the most requested lodging facility in the park. Built with logs and stone, the inn is considered the largest log structure in the world. And once inside, the grand lobby is 6 floors high with an 85 foot stone fireplace with a hand-crafted clock. This is a neat place, but unfortunately their dining room is only open for breakfast and lunch. So, we head out the back where we see a sign for Old Faithful Geyser, and the reliable geyser in the distance.
Old Faithful Visitor Education Center
From the 1st Old Faithful sign we see near the inn, we see a boardwalk that wraps around the geyser. So, we head down the boardwalk where we see the constant steam from the geyser. As we continue, we see a lot of seating to watch Old Faithful. But without cell service, we’re not sure the next time it will erupt. But right behind the main seating area is the visitor center. Gigi decides to save some seats, while the rest of use head into the visitor center.
This large visitor center has everything you need here. Of course they have the passport stamp station which is near where you can get information from the rangers. There are also large windows providing a good view of Old Faithful from here. And in the middle of the lobby we see a sign with the next estimated eruption time. We have about 30 minutes until the next eruption, so we plan to hold off lunch until afterwards. And since we have a little time, we check out their store and use the restrooms. Once ready, we head back out to find Gigi and our seats for the show.
Old Faithful
The sign for the estimated eruption time says +/- 10 minutes, so we find our seats 15 minutes early. Many people are now sitting around the geyser, but Gigi saved us a row of good seats up close. And now we wait. There’s no shade sitting here, and we wish we had applied our sunscreen. Because it’s almost 20 minutes before we start to see some water bubbling out. And in the next 8 minutes, there are plenty of false starts where we think it’s gonna blow.
But finally just before 1:02PM, Old Faithful erupts. This is over 10 minutes past the expected time, but we’ve heard it has become less reliable over time. But the eruption itself is a must-see while in Yellowstone. From the safe viewpoint we see Old Faithful shooting into the air for over a minute. And then it slows down to just steam again. A person sitting next to us said he’s been watching all day and there was a larger eruption earlier. And each time is a little different. With recent predictions between 1-2 hours apart, you have the opportunity to watch multiple times during the day. But now, we are really ready for lunch. Paul heads to the car to grab sunscreen while the rest of us head next door to the Old Faithful Lodge.
Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria Lunch
The Old Faithful Lodge built in the 1920s is a historic cabin facility with a 1-story main lodge. And inside the lodge are multiple shops and places to grab something to eat including a cafeteria. We meet back up at the cafeteria which has multiple stations with different options at reasonable prices. They have sandwiches, barbeque, rice bowls and desserts. And they have kids meals at the barbecue station so we order there. We order a barbecue chicken quarter plate and a large bison bratwurst plate each with 2 sides of our choice. Our daughter and Gigi get the hot dog kids meals with a side.
They serve the food up while you’re in line, and afterwards you take your tray to the register. After paying we find a seat near a window where we get a good view of Old Faithful. The barbecue was pretty good though the bison bratwurst taste like normal polish sausage with some sauce on it. And the macaroni and cheese was by far the best side. The hot dogs were also pretty good and perfect for our daughter and Gigi. The seating area here also has plenty of space making this a pretty good lunch spot. And after our bellies are full, we head back outside to explore more.
Observation Point Trail overlooking Old Faithful
We purchased a trail brochure for $1 in the visitor center which gives us a map of this area. And we head past Old Faithful to a bridge crossing the Firehole River. And just past the bridge, we see the sign for Observation Point. The sign says it’s a 1/2 mile walk each way with a rise of 200 feet. And the trail immediately heads up but levels through a forested area of lodgepole pines and wildflowers. We cross a small foot bridge with yellow wildflowers and it starts to climb again. It’s only been about 15 minutes but Gigi stops against a rock. Our daughter climbs the rock and stays with her, while we continue further.
After a few minutes we see a sign pointing 0.1 mile to Observation Point and it looks very steep. Becky decides to head back while Paul heads to the top. On the way up you get glimpses of Old Faithful through the trees. And after a brisk walk for a couple minutes is Observation Point. Though others are already here, you can find a good spot with an unobstructed view of Old Faithful. Looking down over the trees, it’s erupting again! But after only a few seconds, it stops again and everyone starts heading back down.
Paul wants to beat everyone else down so he can meet back up with the rest of us. It wasn’t until looking at pictures from here later that we noticed something else in the pictures… But after we meet-up, we head back the way we came. And once back on the main trail, we turn right up the hill to the start of the Geyser Hill Loop.
Geyser Hill Loop Trail
The trails in this area are part of the Upper Geyser Basin, and Geyser Hill Loop is just the beginning. At the start of the loop are some signs, and a bench. We leave Gigi there as we pass Sulphide Spring on the way to Anemone Geyser. And to our surprise, the geyser erupts right next to the boardwalk. This small geyser only shoots water a couple of feet before completely drying up. But it was so cool, we go back to get Gigi so we all can continue the trail together.
There are many hot springs and geysers here. And like Anemone Geyser, some are much smaller but more active than West Thumb and Old Faithful. However, some like the cone Beehive Geyser can shoot up to 200 feet. But unless you are tracking these geysers, you just have to be lucky to see them erupt. There are also many hot springs here which do not erupt, but can be very colorful. Heart Spring is a pretty blue color with orange leading from it like a flaming heart. And just past it are a group of 4 more geysers called the Lion Group. The largest is just called Lion because of the sound of roaring water as it comes to the surface.
Just past the Lion Group the trail continues further, but we stay on the loop to return back. And on the way back we pass through some bacterial mats. These orange, yellow and brown mats contain thermophiles that produce these colors. You feel like you’re on another planet unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And after 35 minutes on the loop, we are ready to head back.
Heading Back
After we leave Geyser Hill, we go back over the bridge to the Old Faithful Loop. And as we head to the lodge, we see a group of people together. So, we look back at Old Faithful and see a bison! We didn’t notice it until up close, but there were actually 2 of them in pictures from Observation Point. So, not sure if the other one was still on the other side or not. This is the only wildlife we’ve seen today and an awesome experience to see it here at Old Faithful.
After a few minutes we head back into the lodge to get some more water and ice cream. It’s been hot today, so glad to cool off. We also go through the main store in the lodge and find a very good selection of t-shirts and souvenirs. They also have restrooms down the hall. After spending a little time in the lodge cooling off and shopping, we leave to head to our resort.
It actually takes us about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Old Faithful to our resort in Big Sky. We knew we were an hour away from the West entrance when we booked. But we are looking forward to calling Big Sky our home for the next week.
Summary West Thumb & Old Faithful
Today was our 1st day in Yellowstone and our introduction to its hydrothermal features. Driving from the South entrance to the West entrance, we stopped at West Thumb and Old Faithful along the way. While in the car, GyPSy Guide has been awesome pointing out things and providing a lot of information about these areas. We really enjoyed the West Thumb Geyser Basin trail by the lake and its hydrothermal features. We got to see all 4 major features here including our favorite, Fishing Cone, a hot spring currently underwater.
After almost 1.5 hours at West Thumb we went to Old Faithful. You could spend a whole day just watching Old Faithful and exploring the hydrothermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin. We spent 5 hours exploring, but we definitely could’ve spent more time here. The lunch at the lodge was nice and the hike to Observation Point had great views of the whole area. Seeing the other-worldly features on the Geyser Hill Loop was just a part of what they have here. And seeing a bison at Old Faithful was a great ending to the day. We really had a great day at West Thumb and Old Faithful. And we are looking forward to seeing even more hydrothermal features tomorrow!