Yellowstone National Park Webcam – Watch Old Faithful Erupt

The Yellowstone National Park Webcam looks across the Upper Geyser Basin to Old Faithful, the park’s best-known geyser, from a mount between the Old Faithful Lodge and the visitor education center. Volunteers steer it during daylight hours, zooming in on the geyser when an eruption is due and pulling back at other times to Geyser Hill, where a boardwalk loop threads between steaming vents. When Old Faithful goes, a column of boiling water climbs anywhere from 32 meters (106 feet) to more than 54 meters (180 feet) and can hold for up to five minutes. The stream is made possible by a Canon USA grant to Yellowstone Forever, the park’s official nonprofit partner, and it plays on their website and on the National Park Service webcam page, so the player above opens it there.

About Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin

Old Faithful sits at 2,240 meters (7,349 feet) in the Upper Geyser Basin, in the Wyoming part of the park. Members of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition named it on September 18, 1870, and it was the first geyser in Yellowstone to be given a name. Two years later, on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law that created Yellowstone National Park. It now covers 8,983 square kilometers (3,468 square miles), 96 percent of it in Wyoming and the rest in Montana and Idaho, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1978.

A typical eruption throws out 14,000 to 32,000 liters (3,700 to 8,400 US gallons) of water and averages about 40 meters (130 feet) in height. The length of one eruption sets up the next: a long eruption is followed by a longer wait, and rangers use that relationship to forecast the next one. As of January 2025, the park service put the median interval at 102 minutes, give or take 10 minutes. It also posts predictions for Castle, Grand, Daisy, Riverside and Great Fountain geysers, and Castle and Grand both sit partly hidden at the edge of the camera’s wide view.

Old Faithful is a small part of a much bigger system. At least 1,283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, an average of 465 are active in any given year, and the park holds at least 10,000 geothermal features in all, from hot springs to mudpots and fumaroles. On the Yellowstone National Park Webcam’s wide setting, Geyser Hill shows how busy one slope can be: pale mineral ground, several vents puffing at once and a dark ridge of conifers behind. Wildlife wanders through from time to time, and in winter the whole basin turns white.

Weather and Climate at Old Faithful

Old Faithful is a cold place for most of the year. The NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals for the Old Faithful station give January an average high of -2 C (28 F) and an average low of -17 C (1 F). That cold is good for the picture. Steam condenses into thick white clouds that stand out against the snow, and the Geyser Hill vents that look faint on a summer afternoon read clearly on a winter morning.

Summer is short. From June to September, afternoon highs usually sit in the 60s and 70s F (about 16 to 26 C), but nights stay cold: West Yellowstone, the nearest reporting station, averages about 2 C (35 F) on July nights. Spring and autumn swing between thaw and fresh snow, with April and October afternoons typically reaching about 4 to 8 C (40 to 46 F) and nights below freezing. Snow can still fall at Old Faithful in May.

Things to Do Near Old Faithful

The Old Faithful Inn stands a short walk from the geyser. Built over the winter of 1903 to 1904, the log hotel runs nearly 213 meters (700 feet) end to end, rises seven stories and has 327 rooms. The Old Faithful Visitor Education Center is just as close, and the day’s eruption predictions come from there, so it is worth checking the board before walking out to a bench. Geyser Hill, the slope the Yellowstone National Park Webcam shows when it pulls back, has its own boardwalk loop.

Farther out, Black Sand Basin lies northwest of Old Faithful, and Midway Geyser Basin, home of Grand Prismatic Spring, is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the north. To the southeast, Lone Star Geyser sits 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) from the Old Faithful overpass, and the easy 7.7-kilometer (4.8-mile) round trip to it is open to both hikers and cyclists.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of the Yellowstone country and other big American parks, try these cameras.

• Yellowstone River Webcam in Gardiner
• Grand Canyon Webcam
• Jackson Hole Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Yellowstone National Park Webcam?

Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin around it. Volunteers zoom in on the geyser when an eruption is predicted and pull back at other times to Geyser Hill, with partial views of Castle and Grand geysers at the edge of the frame.

Where is Old Faithful located?

In the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, in Teton County in northwest Wyoming, at 2,240 meters (7,349 feet). The Old Faithful Inn and the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center are both a short walk from the geyser.

How often does Old Faithful erupt?

As of January 2025, the National Park Service put the median interval at 102 minutes, plus or minus 10 minutes. Eruptions last between one and a half and five minutes. Predictions are based on the length of the previous eruption, and none are issued while the visitor education center is closed, typically early November to mid-December and mid-March to mid-April.

Can you watch Old Faithful erupt at night on the webcam?

Not well. The stream keeps running after dark, but the basin goes almost black, with only the lights of the nearby parking area showing at the bottom of the frame. On a snowy winter night with a bright moon an eruption can sometimes be made out, but daylight is the time to watch.

Does the Old Faithful webcam have sound?

No. The official player streams the picture without sound, so an eruption plays out in silence.

Is the Old Faithful webcam on YouTube?

The official stream runs on the Yellowstone Forever and National Park Service websites, which is where the player on this page sends you. Copies of it turn up on YouTube from time to time, but they are re-broadcasts that come and go.

Does this webcam show the West Entrance or the town of West Yellowstone?

No. The camera looks across the Upper Geyser Basin at Old Faithful, and neither the West Entrance nor the town of West Yellowstone, Montana, is in view.

What is the weather like at Old Faithful?

Cold for most of the year. January averages -2 C (28 F) by day and -17 C (1 F) at night, while summer afternoons from June to September usually reach the 60s and 70s F (about 16 to 26 C), with chilly nights. Snow can still fall in May.

Source: Yellowstone Forever