Hot Springs
Less than a mile from South Rim Drive, in Yellowstone's Gallatin County section, sits a thermal point logged only as Hot Springs. The record marks it hot and carries no temperature. Ownership is the National Park Service, with access open. West Yellowstone, some thirteen miles away, is the town the record lists as nearest.
South Rim Drive is the road listed, with a short walk under a mile. It sits at seventy-seven hundred feet or so. An average year brings eleven-plus feet of snow and a year-round average of thirty-four. Precipitation is moderate. The designation on the land is national park.
The record lists no best months. Go when the road is open and the snow is gone, and ask the park before you drive out. Closest listed camping is Tower Fall Campground, some thirteen miles away. Because no temperature was ever logged, treat the water as hot enough to burn. The public may enter, and no fee shows.
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 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 northwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 188 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 85% 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...
Hot Springs sits at 7,742 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 31% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Hot 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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