Where can one experience hot springs in Yellowstone National Park?

Where can one experience hot springs in Yellowstone National Park? - Body of Water Surrounded by Mountains

Ok, let me start with the obvious. No, you cannot go swimming in Grand Prismatic Spring or any other geyser in Yellowstone National Park. While it is indeed illegal, the truth of the matter is that most of the natural geothermal features of Yellowstone are just a few degrees shy of boiling water, subjecting the would-be bather not just to federal law, but the law of physics, and near certain death :)

That said, I distinctly remember that in Yellowstone, there are some places in the rivers that you can actually swim and experience a hot springs like effect. Where the runoff from the geothermal features meets the river (like Firehole), the mixture can be quite pleasant.

I am bringing my kids to Yellowstone in August, and I want to take them there. Unfortunately, within my books, I can't seem to remember where one can do this.

To the best of my recollection, on the way up from Norris to Mammoth Hot Springs, there is a place where you can pull off on the side of the road and get in the river, where the runoff from a hot spring naturally warms the river. Does anyone know the name that I could google to do more research?



Best Answer

I recall nude swimming at Boiling River late in the evening years ago when I visited the park as part of a 3300 mile bike trip around the northwest. I was in my teens and we spent a couple of nights camping in the area and visited the hot springs, where, after dark, a few folks dared to bare, mostly a college-aged crowd but a few young teens like myself (I didn't dare to bare it all though :)




Pictures about "Where can one experience hot springs in Yellowstone National Park?"

Where can one experience hot springs in Yellowstone National Park? - Lake With White Steam
Where can one experience hot springs in Yellowstone National Park? - Yellowstone Hot Spring
Where can one experience hot springs in Yellowstone National Park? - People on Beach



Can you get in any hot springs in Yellowstone?

Countless people have been severely burned and even died after intentionally or unintentionally coming in contact with the scalding water that the Yellowstone's springs are known for. In fact, it's so unsafe that it's illegal to swim in any of the park's thermal features.

How many hot springs are there in Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone National Park preserves the most extraordinary collection of hot springs, geysers, mudpots, and fumaroles on Earth. More than 10,000 hydrothermal features are found here, of which more than 500 are geysers.

Where are the thermal pools in Yellowstone?

These places are best for hot springs & geysers in Yellowstone National Park:
  • Grand Prismatic Spring.
  • Old Faithful.
  • Mammoth Hot Springs.
  • Upper Geyser Basin.
  • West Thumb Geyser Basin.


What is the name of hot springs in Yellowstone National Park?

The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.



5 Best Hot Springs \u0026 Geysers in Yellowstone National Park




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