Hot Springs On Bog Creek
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
A second set of Bog Creek hot springs sits a little higher and a little farther from the road than its neighbor. The water here is scalding. Gallatin County, inside Yellowstone National Park, on Park Service ground where access is open. Eighteen miles off, West Yellowstone is the town on record.
Five backcountry miles lie between these springs and the Grand Loop Road. Elevation runs nearly eighty-four hundred feet, high enough that the yearly mean temperature sits at freezing. A year's snow comes to about twelve feet. Precipitation is moderate; designation, national park.
The three winter months take the top spots in the record. In practice that is a winter backcountry trip and the park sets the rules on where winter travel is allowed, so ask first. Tower Fall Campground, roughly thirteen miles off, is the closest camping shown. Water this hot will burn skin on contact. No fee is recorded, and 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 Hot Springs On Bog Creek.
- Setting
- Valley floor
- Gentle slopes rise on both sides.
- Highest ground nearby
- 134 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
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, December 30, 2023. This spring's heat shows up from about 440 miles up. The brightest yellow marks the warmest ground, roughly 23°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 79% 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.
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 8,429 feet, Hot Springs On Bog Creek 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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