Upper Geyser Basin was my favourite part of Yellowstone. Upper Geyser Basin also boasts the largest concentration of geysers in the world, including worlds largest predictable geysers. Five geysers in this area are predicted by the Park Rangers. All of these geysers, Castle, Daisy, Grand, Old Faithful and Riverside, are worth seeing but if you can only see one, try to see Grand. You can look at the prediction of all geysers via the official app of Yellowstone and if you are lucky and plan well you might be able to see all 5 geysers erupt. Cherry on top, Upper Geyser Basin also has plenty of colourful pools and hot springs Morning Glory pool being my favourite and not to be missed!!
Initially, we thought of spending half a day at Upper Geyser basin but eventually ended up spending the whole day. We started from the hotel intending to see Riverside erupt but got stuck in traffic at the entrance of the park and missed the eruption by 10 mins. Fortunately on our way to riverside was Daisy Geyser which was scheduled to erupt in half an hour. We decided to stop at Daisy Geyser to watch the eruption. I had heard a lot about Yellowstone geysers and was really excited to see my first geyser eruption. At first, it looked as if the water is bubbling in the pool and slowly was spreading out of the pool, within a few mins the geyser erupted and in another 5 mins eruption was at its peak. It was a sight to behold. Daisy Geyser eruption lasted for around 10 mins and I was astonished by witnessing how a geyser erupts.
Grand Geyser and Castle Geyser was predicted to erupt at the same time but we decided to go for grand as it the tallest predictable geyser in the world and its duration is more than Castle. There was still another hour till the start of prediction interval of Grand geyser so we decided to take a stroll around and admire the beauty of hot springs. There is an uncountable number of hot springs in the area each with its unique feature and colour, but the most unusual of them in Morning Glory Pool. There are no words which can do justice to this pool.
After looking and admiring the hot springs we reached Grand geyser. The number of people waiting to watch grand geyser was at least 20 times more than of Daisy Geyser. There are benches all around where you can sit comfortably and wait for Grand geyser to erupt. We had to wait for more than one and a half hour to watch the geyser erupt. At one point, we were thinking of leaving but we heard a ranger saying geyser should erupt in another half an hour. Just like Daisy, the geyser started with bubbling water and within 10 mins Grand geyser erupted. As the geyser erupted we could hear people cheering, clapping all around. Everyone was just astonished by the geyser. For every burst of geyser, there was a cheer from the crowd. Yellowstone felt like nature’s own amusement park where there is a show/exhibition at every corner. I was mesmerized the by Grand geyser and it took me to the top level of my happiness. The wait for 2 hours was well worth it. I could fly from San Francisco to Yellowstone to just watch Grand geyser erupt. This was the best part of Yellowstone for me.
To our surprise where was also an unpredicted eruption which we could see from our car.
By the time we left Grand geyser Castle geyser already erupted so we headed to Old Faithful geyser. Unfortunately, Old Faithful has also erupted just 10 mins before we arrived and we were very content with Grand geyser so we decided to skip Old Faithful and head towards Yellowstone Lake.
If you have the time and inclination to see the Upper Geyser Basin you won’t be disappointed. Take your time and wait for some of the geysers to erupt. Try to take a ranger-led walk. Explore the basin leisurely. There is a lot to see in the Upper Geyser Basin, but it simply takes adequate time.
The Itinerant Analyst 