Old Faithful Area Day Hikes

Many wonderful trails await you for your hike in the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone. A day hike here offers a variety of geysers, hot springs, meadows and rocky slopes.

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Pine Shadows - condos & motel in West Yellowstone : West Yellowstone, MT
Clean, comfortable year-round cabin-style accommodations for families and groups (up to 8) with kitchens, fireplace and separate bedrooms. Old Faithful hikers, stay with us.

  • Geyser Hill Loop Trail is an easy 1.3 mile boardwalk trail starting at the Old Faithful Visitor Center.
  • Fountain Paint Pot Trail is 0.5 mile easy trail that visits geysers, mudpots, and hot springs.
  • Fairy Falls Trail is a 200 foot tall backcountry waterfall, 5 miles along an easy trail.

After you’ve watched Old Faithful spout, check out other nearby geysers, hot springs and geothermal Park features.

Geyser Hill Loop Trail
Watch the ever-entertaining Anemone geyser every 5-10 minutes and the Beehive with its unpredictable eruptions of 100-150 feet!

  • Trailhead: Boardwalk in front of Old Faithful Visitor Center
  • Distance: 1.3 mile (1.2 km) loop
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy

Observation Point Loop Trail
This trail gains about 200 ft. in elevation to a prominent overlook of the Upper Geyser Basin.

  • Trailhead: Firehole River footbridge behind Old Faithful Geyser
  • Distance: 1.1 mile (1 km) loop
  • Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Mallard Lake Trail
This trail climbs through lodgepole pine forest (some burned areas from 1988 fires) along meadows and rocky slopes before ending at Mallard Lake.

  • Trailhead: Old Faithful Lodge cabin area
  • Distance: 6.8 miles (5.3 km) roundtrip
  • Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Lone Star Geyser Trail
This mostly level trail follows an old service road along the Firehole River through unburned forests of lodgepole pine. The geyser erupts approximately every 3 hours. 

  • Trailhead: 3.5 miles southeast of the Old Faithful area, just beyond Kepler Cascades parking area.
  • Distance: 5 miles (8 km) roundtrip
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy

Black Sand and Biscuit Basin Trails
Easily accessed by short boardwalks, Emerald Pool, Sunset Lake, Jewel Geyser, and Sapphire Pool are found here.

  • Trailhead: 0.5 and 2 miles north of Old Faithful area
  • Distance: Less than 0.5 (0.5 km) miles each
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy

Midway Geyser Basin Trail
The boardwalk leads visitors past Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring.

  • Trailhead: Parking area 6 miles north of Old Faithful
  • Distance: 0.5 mile (0.5 km) loop
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy

Fountain Paint Pot Trail
Yellowstone's four types of thermal features are seen along this loop trail: geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles.

  • Trailhead: Parking area 8 miles north of Old Faithful
  • Distance: 0.5 mile (0.5 km) loop
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy

Mystic Falls Trail
This trail follows a lovely creek through lodgepole pines before reaching the 70- foot falls. An overlook of the Upper Geyser Basin can be reached via switchbacks before looping back to the main trail.

  • Trailhead: Back of the Biscuit Basin boardwalk
  • Distance: 2.4 miles (4 km) roundtrip
  • Level of Difficultly: Moderate

Fairy Falls Trail
Fairy Falls, 200 feet high, has two different trailheads. The first trailhead begins at a steel bridge across the Firehole River and follows the Fountain Freight Road hiking/biking trail about a mile before the hiking-only trail to Fairy Falls branches off on the left. The second trailhead follows the hiking/biking path from the northern end, 1-3/4 miles to the junction with the Fairy Falls Trail.

  • Trailheads: 1) Steel Bridge parking area 1 mile south of the Midway Geyser Basin and 2) Fountain Freight Road parking area, half mile south of Nez Perce picnic area on the Fountain Freight Road
  • Distance: 5 miles (8 km) from trailhead #1; 7 miles (5.5 km) from trailhead #2
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy

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