The Crowd-Averse Guide to Old Faithful

This is the money spot. Taken on my trip to Yellowstone in June 2016.

It’s a weird time right now. Everyone is anxious about COVID-19. Travel plans are being cancelled. National Parks visitors centers are closed, but entrance fees have been waived. Everything feels a little off-kilter. But many people are working from home or practicing social distancing after work, so it’s the perfect time to daydream about vacations to come. As such, here’s my guide to a checkbox that’s common on many people’s bucket list:

Yellowstone is an incredible place. What’s not to love about an earth-shattering supervolcano? Waterfalls, canyons, lakes, geysers, springs, bears and bison and elk (oh my)...it’s no wonder this was America’s first National Park. But, like all national parks these days, it’s plagued by enormous crowds. In 2019, the visitor count was 4.02 million. And although that varies by month, you can still estimate that if you’re in the park, about 11,000 other people are going to be there that day too. And almost every single one of them is going to want to stop off to see the park’s most famous attraction: Old Faithful.

If you’ve never been, you’ve probably still heard of it. Old Faithful is the geyser that erupts approximately 20 times each day, propelling thousands of gallons of water and steam up to 180 feet high, for minutes on end. It’s truly an awesome sight to behold. And it’s predictable to within about ten minutes. That means hundreds of tourists crowd in and elbow their way up to the front for the best view, and then disperse as soon as it’s over. For some people, this is totally worth it - getting right up close and personal, taking photos that have no other people in them when it erupts, and maybe even feeling a little bit of the spray if the wind is blowing in your direction. That would be me too 100%, except that I hate crowds.

If you’re like me, you prefer not to treat a natural wonder of the wilderness like a theme-park spectacle. Let’s be real here, Old Faithful’s blow is BIG. So you really don’t need to be that close to still appreciate the majesty.

Here’s the secret, are you ready?

Order a drink and work your way up to the balcony at the Old Faithful Inn!

After you check out the cool stuff in the visitor and education center (definitely worth it, and also where you’ll find out the predicted time of the next eruption), head over to the Old Faithful Inn. Saunter up to the bar, order yourself a drink (there’s even a local brew called Old Faithful Ale), and then head upstairs to the balcony! There’s nice wooden benches facing the direction of the geyser, and if you’re more than 15 minutes ahead of the next eruption, you’ll be amazed by the fact that there’s almost no one around. You can sit there and enjoy your drink in comfort, make small talk with a few other tourists who know about this semi-obscure spot, and wait for the geyser to work it’s magic.

I’m clearly biased, but this is undoubtedly the best way to view one of the most crowded phenomenons at Yellowstone. You may not be able to avoid the masses of people everywhere else, but at least here, you can sit back, relax, and sip the crowd anxiety away.