Sight · Yellowstone National Park
Seven thermal features, but Lion’s eruptions keep no schedule.
Overview
Lion Geyser Complex is a group of seven hydrothermal features—four geysers and three hot springs—in Upper Geyser Basin near Old Faithful. The boardwalk brings you close to Lion’s cone. Stop while exploring the basin, but don’t plan around one eruption; its timing is unpredictable.
Parkwolf’s verdictA worthwhile basin 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 Lion Geyser Complex 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
Lion can erupt in a series of bursts within one cycle, with quiet gaps between them. Little Cub, another geyser in the group, has had intervals ranging from about an hour to almost two days since 2004. When Lion stays quiet, keep looking across the other cones and pools.
Geysers have narrow underground plumbing where steam pressure can build; hot springs lack those constrictions and circulate instead. Thermophiles add color: yellow or colorless communities live in the hottest water, while orange, brown and green appear in cooler areas.
Keep to boardwalks and designated trails; hydrothermal water can cause severe burns. From the walkway, you can see the cones and colored mats without stepping into them.
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 · 0.2 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 · 0.6 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 · 1.1 mi awayShort boardwalk spurs past colorful hot springs and geysers.
EasyBiscuit Basin Trail0.6 mi · 45 min · 1.8 mi awayA short boardwalk loop through Yellowstone's blue pools and geysers.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayDoublet PoolTwo clear pools, with a pulse that sometimes makes the water jump.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayAurum GeyserA small, gold-rimmed boiling pool on the Geyser Hill loop.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayGiantess GeyserA boiling pool worth seeing even when rare eruptions stay quiet.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayBeehive GeyserA towering plume with no dependable showtime.
Store · 0.3 mi awayOld Faithful General Store - LowerAn 1897 store for a burger and a look at its porch
Sight · 0.3 mi awayCrested PoolA clear blue spring that boils almost constantly, rimmed in pale sinter
Sight · 0.3 mi awayCastle GeyserA castle-shaped cone, with a major eruption worth a flexible wait.
Gas station · 0.3 mi awayOld Faithful Gas and Service Station - LowerUnleaded, diesel and a seasonal store in Lower Old Faithful.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
