Hot Springs

Some Like it Hot

Yellowstone National Park is home to the highest concentration of geothermal features in the world. With so many hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone provides a whole lot of warm water to soak in.

Anyone, be it employee or guest, should familiarize themselves with the safety concerns and policies associated with thermal areas. Entering the source of a spring or making any attempt to alter a thermal area is strictly prohibited. The ground near thermal features is often only a thin crust that may collapse into large pockets of superheated water. Thermal springs have been the cause of numerous deaths in Yellowstone, as the water temperatures often reach over 150 degrees, causing third degree burns.

There are a number of places in the park, though, where the boiling waters from hot springs spill over into cool streams, providing excellent places to soak. Perhaps the most popular destination of this sort is the Boiling River, located just north of Mammoth Hot Springs. The link below will lead you to a site that will tell you more about this unique feature.

Natural Highlights of the Mammoth Area - Yellowstone National Park

There are plenty more places like this in the park. There are also a number of swimming holes that are partially heated by thermals - so they're about as hot as a swimming pool. Some of these places are known by the tourists, but most are kept as "secret" by employees.

Photos of recreation staff enjoying the many hot springs and swimming holes in the park can be found in our Soak & Swim Photo Gallery.