Hot Springs On Upper Sour 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.
Up Sour Creek, in Yellowstone's Gallatin County backcountry, there are hot springs that run scalding, close to boiling. Nobody sits in this water. National Park Service land; the public can go in. About twenty miles off sits West Yellowstone, the town the record gives.
Between the Grand Loop Road and these springs there are about six miles of backcountry. The elevation is high, nearly eighty-six hundred feet, cold enough that the annual average is thirty-two. Snow comes to roughly twelve feet, and rain on top of that is moderate. It is national park land with nothing built nearby on the record.
December through February are what the record calls best, which for a spot this far into the backcountry means winter travel and a check with the park on what is permitted. The only camping on record, Tower Fall Campground, is about fifteen miles out. Scalding water, so keep back from the source. Nothing on file about a fee.
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 Upper Sour Creek.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the north.
- Highest ground nearby
- 210 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
A slice through the ground from south to north, 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 18°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 71% 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 8,585 feet, Hot Springs On Upper Sour 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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