Apollinaris Spring
Apollinaris Spring is a named spring inside Yellowstone National Park, on the Grand Loop Road, about nine miles from West Yellowstone by the record's measure. No temperature is on file, so nothing here should be read as a soaking recommendation. The Park Service sets the rules for thermal features there. A 2006 water sample put the pH on the acidic side.
High ground near 7,600 feet, where the snow piles up past eleven feet over a winter and the summer is short. The spring is a few hundred feet from the Grand Loop Road, so it counts as roadside, with Indian Creek Campground about three miles away inside the park. Public land, Park Service managed.
There is no best-season figure on file and no temperature, so plan around the park's season and the snow. Indian Creek Campground is the nearest camping listed. The only chemistry on record is that 2006 sample, which came back acidic with calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate and chloride all present. Treat the spring as something to look at.
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 Apollinaris Spring.
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 northeast.
- Highest ground nearby
- 353 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, 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 76% 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.
The water at Apollinaris Spring is acidic (pH 5.4).
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Overview Located about eight miles (13 km) south of Mammoth Hot Springs on the road to Norris, Indian Creek Campground—elevation 7,300 feet (2225 m)—sits near the base of the Gallatin Mountains and offers breathtaking views of Electric Peak. The area offers easy access to fishing and hiking. The campground is away from the main road and provides a quieter, more primitive, experience than many other locations. For reservations at the campgrounds managed by Yellowstone National Park Lodges (Fi...
Apollinaris Spring sits at 7,580 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 30% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Apollinaris Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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Springs Near Apollinaris Spring
Acidic Springs (pH ~5.4)
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