Old Faithful Geyser of California

Address:	1299 Tubbs Ln, Calistoga, CA 94515, USA
Phone:	+1 707-942-6463
Site:	oldfaithfulgeyser.com
Rating:	3.4
Working:	8:30AM–7PM 8:30AM–7PM 8:30AM–7PM 8:30AM–7PM 8:30AM–7PM 8:30AM–7PM 8:30AM–7PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 11

Timothy Tran

This placr was a solid tourist attraction and would have been better if it wasnt raining. With that being said, the star deduction is for the simplicity of the attraction. There is a geology room which has some articles about the history of the geyser and its relation to earthquakes. It is technically a museum but simple and, for scientists and average person alike, likely adds little value. There is also some animals to see (llamas and goats). When we came the garden was unimpressive and it was hard to imagine it being impressive. Even if it were, itd be small and little value add. For the main event, the geyser was pretty cool. When we went the geyser lasted for short period (1 min) and fired frequently (about every 6 min). But this changes. The cashier let us know this information before we purchased admission. There are a couple of penny press machines.

Tommy Wheeler

Its a geyser!! The landscape is beautiful! There are lots of tables and coverings all around to provide shade while you wait for old faithful to erupt. They have recently added bathrooms to their facility, so dont worry about port-o-potties! The goats and sheep were fun to see and feed, they have food you can buy to feed them. The price was fine, 14 for each adult, not a big price to pay for a couple on vacation. There are also lots of info all around the site that talk about the history and science of the geyser. The only thing that kept me from giving them a 5 start rating was the lack of a restaurant. If they had a restaurant that served some simple lunch courses I think they would have this in the bag. Overall, a great place to stop and check out one of three faithful geysers in the world!

Vidya Girish

This is a nice place for a family with children to picnic after a round of wine tasting. Yes it has an entrance fee which maybe a little much. We visited in winter so the geyser was putting on a show every 10-15 mins or so. It has a nice little info booth - wouldnt really qualify as a museum. Has some great picnic tables and even a lounge-ish shaded area with cushions...which I imagine would be a great relief in the summers. Again as we visited in February it was not very crowded. There are some hoola hoops and farm animals to entertain the kids. Only issue I had with the place was the bathrooms - they are mobile bathrooms..for the entrance fee I expected a better restroom facility! But otherwise a great stop for families.

Mylea Phou

I came during November, after reading all the low-rated reviews on this place. Initially I was a little apprehensive, but the park proved me wrong! If youre looking for a thrilling geyser that shoots hundreds of feet into the sky, this isnt the place. At first I was disappointed but after a few moments and a little exploration I was content. There are goats and llamas available to feed and pet, the facilities are incredibly clean and well kept, plenty of comfortable seating surrounding the geyser, and polite employees. It was relaxing, the air seemed clean and refreshing, the place felt like a small safe haven in its simplicity, and I left feeling soothed. Overall a relaxing escape

Steven Kolden

We almost skipped this based on other reviews. I’m so glad we didnt. We were all fascinated with geyser. In the winter it erupts every 4 minutes. In the summer its 30 to 45 minutes. For once a winter visit is better for something! They have picnic tables and encourage you to bring a picnic lunch. I wish we had. I went and stood under the rain of water it shoots up and was expecting it to be hot but it was cold by the time it got to me. Apparently it’s 350 degrees in the earth. There are not many geysers on the planet and I’m very happy to have seen one. To me the $14 x 4 for the family was insignificant. Oh…children are a little less.

Mark Casey

At $14 per adult entry it is a little overpriced, but its hard even so to wipe the stupid grin off your face when they geyser starts sending steaming jets of water dozens of feet into the air. Apparently the weather has been very rainy in Napa Valley recently, so when I went on 8/4/13 the geyser was spouting every 7 minutes or so. As a bonus for young children, there are some sheep at a neighboring farm. Bring carrots or something like that to feed them, and bring Purell to get the sheep slobber off your hands afterwards. The guy taking tickets at the geyser was friendly and gave one of my boys a free pencil.

Nick Skitch

Im here right now and its clear they are taking advantage of visitors. There are fake reviews that claim there are nice bathrooms and goats etc, but there are two porta potties, and a wimpy little blow hole. If it were 7 dollars maybe..but 14...28 for two people. As soon as we stepped in we felt taken advantage of. Why are they charging so much? Their website pumps this up, but its a case of bait and switch. The owners are earning bad karma in my opinion. The real "old faithful" is in wyoming, this is but a rip off on the name. Disgusting that there are people that take advantage of others like this.

A Private User

Its a roadside farm owned by some lady who happens to have a geyser on her property. The cheesy rocks are so staged, there is a historic looking, empty, rock hot tub next to the geyser that they do not know the history of, its just sitting there, and an old, empty well that they could at least put a little water in. Oh, and the fainting goats are out grazing in the field by the one llama they have. Its a joke, and not worth the $10. When you pull into the parking lot and ask yourself if its going to be worth $10, its not. I was there for 10 minutes. Even the 6-9 year old kids were bored.

Patrick Hung

Id thought that this would be one of those awful tourist traps, but in fact, we think that we got our $15/adults worth. The geysers faithful, alright, and we watched it go off the entire time that we were there. There were many educational signs and even a geology museum on the grounds, so we took time to read those and do some learning. There was also a petting zoo with goats. Lastly, there were shaded outdoor chairs under individual tents where folks could relax, watch the geyser, or take a quick nap. We spent about an hour here, and would recommend to visitors of Calistoga.

Elizabeth Walton

Very cute establishment surrounding active geothermal pools and a geyser. When I visited (March 2017) the geyser was going off about every 10 minutes and shooting 30 feet high. Lots of informational signs about the history of the area and the mineral water. You are permitted to bring in lunch and a bottle(s) of wine - they have kitchenware for use! I would definitely take advantage of bringing in food and wine to sit on a cabana while watching the geyser. Goats, sheep, and alpacas are in pens and small pouches of food are available to feed and interact with them.

John Wyndham

Overpriced, but it is a genuine geyser. You have to watch for several eruptions (which were occurring every 5-7 minutes or so when we watched), because not every eruption will be great. The setup is literally just lawn chairs around a pit in the ground---no obnoxious guard rails or tour guides. However, theyve placed some tacky rocks over the geyser in order to make it look more "authentic," which I found annoying. If this is your only chance in life to see a geyser erupt, its probably worth the price; otherwise, skip it.