Hot Springs, Rabbit Creek Group
The Rabbit Creek Group is a cluster of hot springs half a mile and a bit beyond the Grand Loop Road, in Yellowstone's Gallatin County. The water comes up close to boiling. West Yellowstone is about fourteen miles off. A thermal area for looking at, on Park Service land anyone may visit.
Roughly six tenths of a mile on foot, starting where you leave the Grand Loop Road. Ground level is around seventy-four hundred feet. The climate is snowy, more than twelve feet a year, with a mean annual temperature of thirty-six and moderate precipitation. Designation is national park; the Park Service manages it.
The record points to December through February as best months. For a feature this close to the Grand Loop Road, that depends on the road being open to winter travel, which the park decides. Camping closest on file is Big Springs Group Area at Island Park, about twenty-two miles away. Water at this temperature scalds instantly. No fee is on record and the public may enter.
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, Rabbit Creek Group.
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 southeast.
- Highest ground nearby
- 153 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southeast
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, January 31, 2024. This spring's heat shows up from about 440 miles up. The brightest yellow marks the warmest ground, roughly 19°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 80% 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.
Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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...
Hot Springs, Rabbit Creek Group sits at 7,359 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.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Hot Springs, Rabbit Creek Group 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.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Springs Near Hot Springs, Rabbit Creek Group
More Springs Around 198°F
Hike 6 waterfalls near Hot Springs, Rabbit Creek Group
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Hot Springs, Rabbit Creek Group, Wyoming.