The Classic Exploration of Upper Geyser Basin begins at none other than Old Faithful. Join the streams of visitors vomited from monstrous tour buses at the viewing area surrounding the geyser's plateau, taking a seat and waiting for the show. As always dependable, the geyser begins churning and a thousand cameras rise at once to capture the performance. The geyser blows, the sound of exploding steam and boiling water muffled by countless shutter clicks, immediately followed by the critiques of the onlookers; "that was awesome," "that was it?" "where's the gift shop?" Following the event, most people head back to their cars, RVs and tour buses, or the gift and food vendors, leaving a surprisingly small group of visitors that are interested in more than just the named attraction. With more than 50 different thermal features along paved and boardwalked trails within the basin, you'll want to see every one. Before setting out though, be sure to stop by the visitor center for all the major geyser eruption predictions for the day, then set off across the Firehole River bridge for Geyser Hill to begin. Heart Spring After passing the junction to Observation Point (worth checking out if you have the time), then forking left onto boardwalk, the first features along the walk are Sulphur Spring, Anemone Geyser..., followed by Plume Geyser... Next is Beehive Geyser, a fairly active and reliable feature with a geyserite cone shaped like a beehive, hence the name. Next is Depression Geyser and Arrowhead Spring... After that comes Heart Spring, a brilliant aqua blue pool, backed by the Lion Group of geysers... Pass Goggle Spring and North Goggle Geyser, and come to a junction in the trail. Turning left and heading for the lower portion of the basin, the first feature passed is Liberty Pool, a grungy yellow-brown spring, followed by Tardy Geyser, a small, dried-up looking geyserite crater. Past Tardy is Sawmill Geyser, which puts on a real show. This large, boiling pool erupts in bursts, some up to XX', all the while, making noises sounding like a churning sawmill. After taking in the show at Sawmill, hang a right to Spasmodic Geyser. This geyser is a cluster of different sized springs and craters, all bursting simultaneously. Following that are the Belgian Pool, named for a Belgian tourist that fell in and boiled to death in 19XX, and Bulger Geyser. The side loop then reconnects to the main trail just before the "Grand" show. Chromatic Grand Geyser the tallest predictable geyser on planet Earth, reaching heights of XXX'. Grand erupts every 13 hours, +/- a couple. If you have the time, this one is worth waiting for. There is a viewing area with benches, and while you're waiting, you can enjoy the show put on by West Triplet, Turban and Vent Geysers, all on the same plateau, all connected to the same plumbing system as Grand, and interacting at different times. Following is Economic Geyser, which recycles its own water time and again, Wave Spring, then Beauty and Chromatic Pools. Presently, Chromatic Pool is the more attractive spring, displaying a rainbow of color; Beauty used to be the prettier, but after an earthquake in the 80's, and a change in the chemical makeup of the pool, its color faded. The path again crosses the Firehole River, passes Oblong Geyser, then detours to a viewing platform at Giant, XXX and Catfish Geysers. Giant is just as its name implies, with a 12' geyserite cone and an eruption reaching XXX'. It is also completely unpredictable, the time between eruptions going months or years. At the junction of the boardwalk trail and bike path is Grotto Geyser, an oddly-shaped geyserite mound with multiple vents. Continuing along the bike path, pass Spa Geyser, a bubbling spring that looks dangerously inviting, then take a short side loop to Riverside Geyser which spouts from a vent at the side of the Firehole River. Spouting Daisy Returning to the paved path, cross the Firehole again and notice Mortar, Fan and Spiteful Geysers on the bank above the river. Spiteful Geyser has a nasty habit of spouting directly onto the nearby path, soaking onlookers in boiling spray - beware. Just a short ways farther, the path ends at a viewing platform at the edge of Morning Glory Pool, a large, deep pool of colorfully prismatic boiling water. From here, your exploration is only half over. Heading back down the paved path, past Grotto Geyser, hang a right on dirt trail to Daisy, Comet and Splendid Geysers. Occupying a plateau of colorful bacteria mats, each of these features puts on a show of its own. Daisy erupts diagonally over the plateau, churning like a steam engine as it finishes. Beyond is the White Pyramid, the giant cone of an ancient geyser, then up a short boardwalked loop is Punch Bowl Spring, a scalloped geyserite crater filled with deep blue boiling water. At the fork to Black Sand Basin, turn left and head back past Daisy Geyser to reconnect with the paved trail. Heading back toward Geyser Hill, you'll pass Round Spring a little ways off the path, then along the Firehole to a left junction at Castle Geyser. Castle is one of the more spectacular geysers, erupting out of a large cone, shaped vaguely like a castle; and it continues belching a tall steam column long after it erupts. This one should not be missed. Following Castle Geyser is Tortoise Spring and Crested Pool, another boiling cauldron of colorful water, surrounded by fragile geyserite formations. Cross the Firehole on another bridge, notice Chimney Cone down near the riverside, and come back to the junction at Sawmill Geyser, likely still spouting away. Turn right, and continue back to the junction with the Geyser Hill loop, then turning left to continue around the other side. First pass Ear Spring, a small, gurgling pot, then the upper junction with the Observation Point trail. In rapid succession, come to Beach Spring, Aurem Geyser and Doublet Pool; Doublet is a large xxx. Ahead is Sponge and Pump Geysers, followed by Teakettle Spring. Near the crest of the hill, find Vault and Giantess Geysers... As you near the end of the journey, pass Infant Geyser, one of the few sulphuric features in the Upper Geyser Basin, and finally Dome Geyser... Having completed the entire circuit of Upper Geyser Basin, head back across the Firehole River to your starting point at Old Faithful. If you haven't had enough, take the paved path around the Old Faithful plateau to view xxx.