Coffee Pot Hot Springs
Coffee Pot Hot Springs is a backcountry thermal area in Yellowstone National Park, seven miles off the Grand Loop Road and more than twenty from West Yellowstone. The water on record is close to boiling. This is a walk-in feature, well above scalding, on Park Service land.
High, around 8,400 feet. Snow on file runs eleven-plus feet, so the season for a seven-mile backcountry approach is short. The nearest road is the Grand Loop, and Tower Fall Campground is about ten miles away. Precipitation totals a bit over two feet a year.
Plan this as a backcountry trip, with the park's backcountry rules in force. The record lists winter as best; the snowfall suggests a summer walk. Water near two hundred degrees will scald instantly. Stay back from the edges. No fee and no chemistry are on file.
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 Coffee Pot Hot 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
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the northeast.
- Highest ground nearby
- 39 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
A slice through the ground from west to east, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
Landsat's thermal camera passed over on a clear winter day, February 21, 2020. This spring's heat shows up from about 440 miles up. The brightest yellow marks the warmest ground, roughly 12°F warmer than the land around it.
Drag to compare. The view is about 2½ miles across, and each thermal pixel covers roughly 300 feet of ground, so individual pools blur into one warm patch.
Thermal: Landsat 8/9 surface temperature, USGS (public domain), via Microsoft Planetary Computer. Aerial: USGS The National Map. More springs seen from space.
That's about twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 82% 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 Tower Fall Campground—elevation 6,600 feet (2012 m)—is on the north side of the steep, winding, road to Dunraven Pass. The campground is near the Tower General Store and Tower Fall. The Lamar Valley, with spectacular wildlife viewing opportunities, is nearby as are several Day Hikes in the Tower and Northeast Area. Roosevelt Lodge, a short drive from the campground, offers dining and horseback riding. For reservations at the campgrounds managed by Yellowstone National Park Lodges (F...
At 8,398 feet, Coffee Pot Hot Springs is in high-altitude territory where the air is noticeably thinner. Soaking in hot water accelerates dehydration and can amplify altitude effects like headache and fatigue. UV radiation is roughly 34% stronger here. Wear sunscreen even on overcast days and take breaks from the water to rehydrate.
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Coffee Pot Hot Springs requires a hike to reach, so pack light but prepared. The water is dangerously hot, so bring water shoes and test pools carefully. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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