Bear Creek Springs
Bear Creek Springs is a warm seep on Gallatin National Forest ground north of West Yellowstone, thirty-three miles or so from that town. The water is tepid. You could wade it, but it will not warm you up. Access is listed as open, which puts it among the springs where the public is clearly welcome.
It lies at mid elevation in Gallatin County, about seven tenths of a mile from Blanding Road on foot. Snow is serious here, over nine feet in an average winter, and the country stays wet through the year. Forest Service land means no gates, though road conditions in winter are another matter.
Eagle Creek Campground, a Custer Gallatin National Forest site, is a mile away, which makes this an easy add-on to a camping trip. Winter gets the best-season tag on the record, but with this much snowfall a summer or fall walk is the realistic choice. No fee is on file. No water chemistry either. Access is open.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Bear Creek Springs.
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the northwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 412 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 91% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
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Overview Eagle Creek Campground is located 2 miles northeast of the town of Gardiner on Jardine Road and approximately 55 miles south of the city of Livingston along scenic HWY 89 S. At an elevation of 6100 feet, the campground overlooks Yellowstone National Park's majestic peaks. This 20-site campground has gravel roads with unpaved sites that accommodate a maximum of 48’ RVs. The Yellowstone River Trailhead is also located within this campground. Vault toilets, fire rings, picnic tables,...
Bear Creek Springs sits at 5,423 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 22% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Bear Creek Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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