Steamboat Geyser — Attraction in West Yellowstone

This was my Day 2 Travel Plan. It had been 5 days since the last eruption from the Steamboat Geyser and I got caught up in the commotion, since eruptions every 4 days had become kind of expected. I mingled with all sorts of geo-thermal fanatics while I waited. Many had been camped out for days on the boardwalk outlooks that surround the cone! My excitement cooled considerably after 4 hours and a few false starts, with 10 foot eruptions and some exciting noise, but not the real thing, which can go as high as 300 feet in the air and can last over an hour! I was told by a Park Ranger, who claimed to have witnessed more than 1 full tilt Steamboat eruption in the past year, that a major eruption was expected. But by 6PM I had had enough waiting and my hike back to my parking spot would take me at least another hour, and it was getting dark, so I gave up my prime Steamboat Geyser viewing location on the boardwalk perch, which by now was 5 people deep, and started for the trail, expecting to hear the major eruption at any moment. (which never occurred during my entire week at Yellowstone, lol!) The Norris Geyser Basin location is one of the "can't miss " locations to visit in YNP. Don't miss it! You will be moved by the experience, even if you do not get to view a Steamboat Geyser eruption. Keep toddlers under the tightest of tight restrictions. You are strolling across molten earth and rock, don't you know! BTW, the Museum was closed when I hiked here (for Covid 19 Pandemic reasons). There was a Park Ranger stationed there however, who was answering all questions except when the next eruption by Steamboat would occur! She would only tell me when it was likely to occur (today!). She lied! Happy travels! Also see www.geysertimes dot org to get a great review of what geyser eruptions you have missed. Hope you have better...

The one. The only. Steamboat Geyser! This geyser is an absolute monster and a freak of nature. While in full eruption, Steamboat can reach heights of 300+ feet all while projecting rocks and Geyserite within the water column. If that's not cool enough, steamboat has a literal fallout field surrounding it where it's past eruptions have decimated everything including the earth itself. Eruptions are typically infrequent and short in duration, so seeing this mighty monster in action is rare at best. The overflow channels look like mountain stream channels, so I would imagine the discharge is unreal during an event. While I haven't won the geyser lottery myself, others have won the golden ticket and got to witness natures ultimate show. You never know what might happen, so at least stop by and give yourself the chance to witness something...

Tallest geyser in the world and very unpredictable. It's intervals can range from 3 days to 50 years. Don't be fooled if it appears to be erupting when you arrive. Steamboat is almost always spewing some sort of water, but these are called minor eruptions. Major eruptions will be a full column of water hundreds of feet in the air. I personally spent 55 hours waiting to see an eruption, 41 straight hours of sitting. It ended up erupting at around 11 PM so we couldn't actually see the full column of water, but we could most definitely hear it. Well worth the wait, but probably won't wait that long to...