Sight · Yellowstone National Park
A boiling pool worth seeing even when rare eruptions stay quiet.
Overview
Giantess Geyser is a deep, clear pool on Geyser Hill in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin. It’s worth stopping for the water even when the big show doesn’t happen: eruptions are highly infrequent, so don’t plan your timing around one. When it does erupt, the column has reached 200 feet.
Parkwolf’s verdictA boiling pool worth a pauseMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this place
Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin“You're approaching the Old Faithful area, and I'd make this more than a stop for one eruption. Check the next predicted window at the Visitor Education Center before you start walking.”
Plays as you drive up to Giantess Geyser in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Guide
A boardwalk loops around Geyser Hill, home to more than 50 geysers and a good vantage point for Old Faithful. Stay on designated trails and boardwalks; the thermal water can severely burn, and the mats are easily damaged.
Even in a quiet phase, the pool boils at its center. Look for the thin, solidified mineral rim and bright orange thermophiles along the runoff channel. For a photo, frame the pool and orange channel together from the boardwalk; that contrast is more specific to Giantess than another wide shot of steam.
Rain and snow seep deep into cracks and warm in Yellowstone’s volcanic system. Narrow spots in a geyser’s underground plumbing hold back water and heat; steam pressure builds until it pushes water upward. A USGS photo from 2020 caught Giantess erupting with Old Faithful in the background, a memorable record rather than a timing tip.
Wildlife
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateObservation Point–Solitary Geyser Loop1.9 mi · 2 hr · 0.1 mi awayA short climb trades switchbacks for Old Faithful from above.
EasyOld Faithful to Morning Glory Pool Trail2.7 mi · 2 hr · 0.3 mi awayA level geyser walk ends at a spring changed by its visitors.
EasyGeyser Hill Loop Trail1.2 mi · 1 hr · 0.3 mi awayCompact boardwalk loop past geysers, vivid springs, and steaming runoff.
ModerateMallard Lake Trail7 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.5 mi awayPipeline Hot Springs and a Firehole crossing lead to Mallard Lake.
EasyFern Cascade Loop Trail2.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayA short woods loop slips down to a hidden cascade.
ModerateHoward Eaton Trail: Old Faithful to Lone Star Geyser6.3 mi · 3 hr · 0.7 mi awayBurned hill, spruce-fir forest, and a geyser at the end.
EasyBlack Sand Basin Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 1.2 mi awayShort boardwalk spurs past colorful hot springs and geysers.
ChallengingShoshone Geyser Basin Trail17 mi · 8.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayMore than 80 geysers, with no boardwalks and a long hike in.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayDoublet PoolTwo clear pools, with a pulse that sometimes makes the water jump.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayBeehive GeyserA towering plume with no dependable showtime.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayAurum GeyserA small, gold-rimmed boiling pool on the Geyser Hill loop.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayLion Geyser ComplexSeven thermal features, but Lion’s eruptions keep no schedule.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayOld Faithful GeyserThe eruption is brief; the basin boardwalk makes a longer stop worthwhile.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayObservation PointA steady climb buys a bird’s-eye view of Old Faithful.
Store · 0.3 mi awayOld Faithful General Store - LowerAn 1897 store for a burger and a look at its porch
Sight · 0.3 mi awayOld Faithful InnA six-story log lobby makes this historic inn worth a look.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
