Fairy Springs
Fairy Springs is a scalding hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, reached by a walk of about a mile and a half from the closest road. Gallatin County, Wyoming. The temperature on file is near boiling, which means water you cannot put a hand in. West Yellowstone is the town the record names, thirteen miles out. Public land under the National Park Service, open access.
The hike in runs about a mile and a half, and the record does not say which road it starts from. The springs lie a little above 7,200 feet on National Park Service land inside Yellowstone. Snow is the defining thing about the climate here, roughly a hundred and fifty inches a year on top of cold averages. Plan on the ground being white for a long stretch of the year.
Winter months, December through February, are what the record marks as best, which seems odd against that much snow, so confirm trail and road status with the park. Access class is a hike, open to the public. The closest camping on file is Island Park's Big Springs group area, roughly twenty miles away. This water is scalding. Do not leave the route the park allows, and keep skin away from the water.
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 Fairy 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 southwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 92 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southwest
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 2½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 95% 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 Big Springs Group Area is located 22 miles south of West Yellowstone, Montana in beautiful Island Park, Idaho at an approximate elevation of 6,300 feet. Visitors love Island Park for its world-class fishing and outstanding scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities.Recreation Big Springs is the headwaters of Henry's Fork and is one of the largest springs in the country. Henry's Fork is considered one of the best fly-fishing streams in the nation. Fishermen cast for rainbow and brook...
Fairy Springs sits at 7,235 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 29% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Fairy Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. 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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