There are almost always large crowds sitting on the benches around Old Faithful waiting for it to erupt.

After the eruption everyone leaves at the same time creating a human tidal wave. This wave is noticeable throughout the geyser basin. Even at Morning Glory Pool, a 1.5 miles walk from the geyser, a MUCH smaller time-delayed wave is noticeable.

The wave is at its worst near the geyser. It is especially bad at the restrooms, Visitor Center, Old Faithful Inn and Lodge, Geyser Hill trail, the parking lot and for about 5 miles in either direction along the Grand Loop road. Probably one of the most aggravating places to get caught in the wave is on Geyser Hill.

There are a couple of ways to avoid the wave.

• The easiest is to never get in the wave in the first place. You can do this by watching Old Faithful from a different vantage point than the benches around the geyser. One good place to watch the geyser erupt is from the bench near Plume geyser on Geyser Hill. Another interesting place is the Geyser Basin Observation Point above Geyser Hill.

• A second way to avoid the wave is to wait until it has passed you by. After the eruption find something to do for 10-20 minutes and the worst of the crowds will already be gone.

Being caught in the wave can be aggravating and has the potential of ruining your time in the geyser basin. Fortunately, once you are aware of the wave you can easily avoid it.

Comments and Questions are Welcome.

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