Old Faithful Geyser of California

This place was pretty cool, especially when you get to see water shoot up in the air due to heat and pressure! woahhh! They made it all organized.
I didn’t check the bathrooms because the woman’s restrooms were locked but they had the portable potties.
It’s definitely a good place to go to for kids! They have fun little sporty games for them to play and there’s also a petting zoo full of goats! Not that you have to be a small kid to enjoy doing those! For $ 14 regular admission, it can be worth the experience if you make the most out of it. If you’re just going to come and go to see the geyser, it can be worth it due to the fact that where else can you see something like this in CA?! Yes, you’ve seen water boil before, but this is way cooler.

Lots of you seem to have not liked this experience but I thought it was amazing! The geyser was really cool to watch especially when you realize that God is the creator of everything awesome

Spent the day here today and i understand why some are not very impressed with this place. However my family (Aunt, Wife & 1-​Year Old) had a good time. We got a deal on Groupon to come out here for $ 30. We figured a day trip with a stop at this place would be nice as a destination. Probably spent about 1 ½ hours just chilling and spending time together as a family. We watched the geyser for 20 minutes (it’s a hole that squirts water). Then roamed the grounds and bought the $ 3 feed for the goats and sheep. Yeah, it could be cheaper, yeah it could be more manicured, but we had a nice and peaceful time (which is what counts for me).
Would I come recommend coming if it was $ 15 per head? I agree it’s bit pricey. But for half price i think it was worth it and we had a good time.
For those meaning to spend more time here, they do have park benches and tables around the geyser and a manicured enclosed area, great for kids to run around pet/​feed the goats/​sheep and have a picnic lunch (this is what we’ll do next time if we come).
If you grew up on a farm and know what it is to feed goats and sheep, well that aspect might not really appeal to you. Then again, these might be the people who just go and sit in the woods to be closer to nature, who knows. 3-​Stars (nice, and i might come again).

If you are looking to:
–Watch intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam
–Have a picnic in a gorgeous setting
–Play with goats
–Learn about geology
–Hula hoop
–Enjoy a relaxing afternoon
Consider this place!
I have been here a couple of times and I was very surprised when I got on to do my Unilocal Review. The only reason (and I mean ONLY) that I contemplated not giving 5 stars is because I think they could do better the price. Admission is $ 14 per person and for what you get that seems a bit high. However anyone discouraged by this should do what I do and get a Groupon. I can usually find 2 for one deals as I did on our last trip this week and at $ 7 per person, it’s more than reasonable.
The staff here is always nice and they have a VERY affordable selection of snacks and gifts you can buy. We contemplated grabbing sodas on our way but ended up getting them at the Geyser and they were CHEAPER than if we had purchased them at a convenience store. They also have complimentary plates, napkins, cups, etc to make your picnic experience nice.
After watching the geyser and learning a little about geology you can play games or enjoy your lunch before walking around and looking at the livestock. They even have a llama :)
I would recommend this attraction for adults, kids and families alike.

1) I am actually really sad this place only has two stars.
2) It was my first time seeing a geyser and while it was, yes, kind of sad to look at, it was still pretty awesome!
3) UMMMM OK. THE ANIMALS HERE ARE SO CUTE. I REALLY LOVE GOATS AND THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS BORN ON FRIDAY, THE DAY BEFORE I CAME HERE, AND THE BABY KID WAS SO CUTE I think tears of joy were filling my eyeballs. I also loved the guard llama because he is a llama and he guards the goats, which is very nice of him because he’s like the father of the goats I don’t know it is so freaking cute. The llama him/​herself is not that cute but I just love the fact that they are all civil with each other. I wish I had a pet goat and llama.

Great place to go with family. Bring your own picnic lunch. They have Bocce Ball, corn hole, hula hoops, funny mirrors. History signs. .lots of seating to relax. Llamas, sheep and fainting goats (we did not see them faint). Yes maybe a bit steep, but we will be back — they are sometimes on Groupon and I found a coupon online that took $ 4 off adult admission and $ 2 for kids.

Recommend this little Geyser! ~worth the $, gives a little discount if available member. Beautiful and scenic! The geyser has multiple little ones, once an hour it’s high. Definitely stop by and see the petting zoo too!

When I first came to the Old Faithful Geyser a decade ago, it was sad&rather rundown. The new owners have cleaned the place up considerably, adding informational signs, games (like bocce balls&beanbags, because the geyser does take breathers), rental picnic equipment/​utensils, a small garden, and cabanas. They’ve even added clocks showing what time it is at Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Geyser, as well as the New Zealand one. This place needed a lot of love&care, and they put in the elbow grease to do it. Give ‘em credit.
Pros–
–The major cleanup. While it still has a roadside attraction feel; it’s definitely not the National Park, it looks more professional.
–The petting zoo with the goats&llamas has been significantly cleaned up.
–The cabanas/​shaded areas for watching the Geyser. It can get quite sunny&hot.
–The woman who owns the place is very friendly.
–The picnic rentals/food&snack bar are an improvement.
–The Geyser itself. It did some deadpan, meh spitting, before two major eruptions that went on for awhile. It’s got an amazing backdrop of Mt. St. Helena, the Palisades&palm trees.
Cons–
–It’s way overpriced. Only Calistoga residents get the $ 7 admission. The Napa Valley Museum in Yountville has only $ 7 admission, the Sonoma Depot/​Sharpsteen/​California Missions Museums are free, state parks charge $ 8, including
Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma used to charge $ 16 per person… didn’t work out well. Napa’s Copia closed for the same reason.
–They have port-​a-​potties. To their credit, they’re renovating the bathrooms. Totally necessary. The bathrooms must’ve been pretty bad for it to take them this long to renovate them.
–The sad array at the gift shop. Nothing very distinctive.
–The Geology/​history museum was rather disappointing, despite the fact it looks professional&care was put into it. Not much specifics about the geology of the Napa Valley itself (the Yountville museum was more detailed, despite the fact it had only one display on the subject) «Blame the wine, blame the alcohol» as Jamie Foxx would sing. There are claims of Mt. St. Helena&Sonoma Mountain being volcanoes, and that Old Faithful is in the base of a dormant volcano (like the Wyoming one) There are the Sonoma Volcanics, but Napa Valley’s geology, a la Facebook, is «it’s complicated.» The museum has 3 old, non-​functioning seismographs. Cali’s own Old Faithful used to have a seismograph… that worked.
–The capped geyser and the former mineral pool are capped. Rather dreary ruins.
Old Faithful Geyser is California’s own homespun take on Yellowstone. An OK getaway.

Super disappointed in this spot. It is not worth the $ 14 admission or an hours drive out from the main parts of Napa for these reasons:
Geyser not guaranteed to go off. Even when it did go off, it wasn’t that great of a sight.
The tables are first come first serve and there are people just hogging tables.
Needs more tables with shade!
Cool things:
Goats
They allow you to use their utensils to have a picnic, for free. that’s neat.
Don’t make it a priority to visit here.

Smaller Geiger than I expected but what do you expect out of draught Cali in August?
Staffs are cool, sitting areas are relaxing, & it’s cheap. Plan a picnic bring wines beers & salads & pasta & relax.

It’s too bad this place gets such mediocre reviews from folks, and I think it’s for some pretty easily avoided reasons:
* If you’re on a romantic getaway, probably skip the geyser.
* If you’re rushed on time, probably skip the geyser.
* If you’re short on cash, probably skip the geyser (but then again, it’s cheaper than most wine tastings, so what are you doing in Napa?)
* If you’re recently of age and the purpose of coming to Napa is to get wasted in a new way, probably skip the geyser.
However, if you aren’t in a hurry anywhere, are in Napa for a mini-​vacation and don’t mind spending a little extra for a more diverse day/​weekend, could use a breather from the wine tasting, have kids with you, and/​or are interested in the geology of the area, then absolutely come visit.
I also like how it more or less defines the northern terminus of the valley, and provides a natural excuse/​destination to drive all the way up the entire length of the valley, before turning around and heading back south.
It also gives a good appreciation for Napa Valley’s formation. Napa Valley formed from a massive volcanic eruption, not tectonic movement. The volcanic ash present in the northern parts of the valley is what makes the wine different from that grown in the southern part of the valley, which contains sediment from when the San Pablo Bay covered the area.
It also provides terrific views of Mt. St. Helena (4341′), which features the classical volcanic cone shape, and makes you all the more aware that you’re in an area that was formed by geological activity.
Tip: If you liked the geyser and want another non-​wine-​tasting thing to do in the valley, check out the Petrified Forest. If you want a natural destination/​turnaround point in the north of the valley, but want to stay on the classier side of things, see if you can book a mineral spring or mud bath in the town of Calistoga.
Why not 5 stars? The signs were informative but the language was dry; they don’t do the truly impressive phenomenon (there’s only a few like it in the world) any justice. And the guy selling the tickets didn’t know a single thing about the geyser, other than how frequently it erupts, and for how long. For someone who mentioned he’d been working there for several years, he should have been able to answer very basic questions beyond the obvious. And it’s a pity they don’t sell any more substantial picnic foods, as it would make the waiting much more pleasant.

This was a kind of cool experience. We got to watch the last ten minutes of the geyser. There was this little earthquake information building.
The fainting goats were just regular goats, for anyone who was deceived by that. They also have four-​horned sheep and a guard llama that lays in the distance.
The geyser was kind of cool but the animals weren’t anything special really.
The staff was nice.

We still joke about seeing «Old Faithful». Ahhh, what a time.
While up in the area, I saw the reviews for this small place. I took the good with the bad and knew we would end up visiting anyhow.
Was there sort of an odd/​sad/​cute geyser? YUP.
Was there an odd/​sad/​cute visitor’s area? Indeed.
Was there some odd/​sad/​cute picnic tables? WOW.
Were there some odd/​sad/​cute animals? Sure.
Were there plenty of odd/​sad/​cute signs to read? Yes.
However, it all had it’s sort of charm. While we were there, they were putting in some new landscaping and I would imagine this would be pretty nice later on.
*Bring your own lunch and just enjoy the silly geyser.
**My favorite part was learning why llamas cannot hang out together if they are meant to watch over a herd. Why? Because they like to talk to each other! Silly llamas! They like to gab and gossip!

Overall great experience. Fed the goats. Visited the museum. Played some games. Relaxed in the sun. Sipped on some wine and watched nature perform. Came on a date night, but perfect for the family.

I stopped here during a road trip July 4^th weekend. There isn’t a hell of a lot here but it was good for about an hour.
They geyser and erupted for a long time. Longer than any other geyser I’ve seen The surrounding area is nice too. There are some goats for the kids and a garden too. Now for the negative… The men’s restrooms are out of order, so the guys get porta potties. The museum is one room. There isn’t much to it.
That’s about it. Decide for yourself if it’s worth your $ 14.00.

Perfect pit stop for a picnic lunch and rest between winery visits. Share a bottle of wine under a shaded picnic table while watching the geyser gurgle and spray. Play bocce ball and visit the animals.

Great place to bring food and have a picnic! I don’t understand the bad reviews as I believe this place is great to hang out, bring food, maybe kids and just enjoy a morning or afternoon. Yes, $ 15 is a bit exorbitant. However, this place is very well maintained and clean! The staff were great. My sister and I brought snacks, we stayed for about an hour and 15 minutes just enjoying the scenery and relaxing :)
I think this place is great to hold a kid’s or even adult’s low key picnic party!

The geyser was kinda neat to see I guess — especially since I’ve never seen one before — but after the fact, I didn’t really find it worth the price. There’s picnic tables and a small petting zoo with goats, but overall the place didn’t seem very well kept. Besides which, after seeing the geyser go off once or twice, that was enough, so I don’t really think I’d be able to hang out there for a whole day. It looks like there used to be a hot spring there with water from the geyser that people used to sit in, but that’s long been out of use it seems. There’s also a «museum», which is basically one wall of informational posters. I won’t be going back, but I guess it was neat to see it once

I am updating this since I read some other reviews where people were disappointed with this geyser. I do agree that the price increases are rather ridiculous. Not that long ago, maybe 10 years ago, it was only around $ 6 for entry. I do think they are being a bit dumb with upping the entry fee so much each year it seems. Its not like that many come here and less will visit if the entry cost keeps increasing.
One tip I have though is to visit in the early Spring. The geyser is pretty boring in summer and fall. The entire thing relies on the amount of water that is in the ground from rainfall. Summer is so dry, so at that time, the geyser does not go off that often (maybe once an hour at most). The same goes for Fall since in this area, there is just not much rain at all in Summer and Fall (and sometimes not even in Winter). More rain comes in late Winter and then in Spring so visit in the Spring. When I’ve been here in Springtime, the geyser erupts maybe every 20 minutes or more often so is better and more exciting.
Another tip I have is to plan to stay a while. Bring a packed lunch (there are picnic tables). That way, you can eat while you wait for the geyser to do its thing.
I actually like the animals they have here. Its not like they are amazing or rare. They are basically farm animals. But you can feed them and it can be good for kids or adults.
So, in summary, go in Spring! Its better then. Also maybe call ahead to ask the current entry fee cost as it seems to be changing often and in the upward direction unfortunately.
I still do really like this spot.
Edit though, reducing to 3 stars due to the whole rotten price increase thing. I do agree that is not good at all. Almost $ 15 to get in per person seems wrong to me. This geyser should get a grant or something to fund itself.

Here’s the thing, there are only three «old faithful» type geysers in the world. There’s the one here in Calistoga, one in Wyoming at Yellowstone, and another somewhere in New Zealand. So, that’s something. It’s rare. Cool.
But, here’s the other thing, as cool as it is, it still isn’t $ 13.50 per person cool, which is what they charge ($ 3 – 5 per person would make more sense). The thing was erupting every 10ish minutes when I was there. You watch the water shoot into the sky for 20 or 30 seconds (I didn’t time it – but it seemed about that long), then it dies down and there you are. Sure there’s some penned up goats that you can go look at (they were a muddy, mucky mess when I was there). And, yeah, there’s a couple educational signs you can read. And, now you’ve passed another 7 minutes. Only 3 more and you can watch the thing spout for 20 more seconds.
Whoa.
Plus, they encourage picnicking but didn’t have a working bathroom when I was there.
So, you’ll sit there, watching the burst of water, and hearing it tinkling into the pond below. This sound will, of course, bring to mind tinkling of another sort. But no release is on the horizon. You must endure. Because, you must attempt to somehow, some way get your $ 13+ dollars out of this experience (daddy always said to get your money’s worth – and damn it you shall!). Legs crossed, upper lip beginning to perspire, you watch the damn thing blow for another earth shattering 20 seconds. &*&#@!!!
Enough! In a dash that would make Usain Bolt proud, you run through the gift shop, out the doors, and into the parking lot to freedom.
Or…something like that.
Bah!
Seriously, if I am to be charged $ 13.50 for 20 seconds of entertainment, my mind, not my bladder had better be blown.
BLOWN, my people!