Iron Spring
Iron Spring is a warm spring near the western edge of Yellowstone National Park, under four miles from West Yellowstone in Gallatin County. The water is tepid, warm to the hand and nothing more, and the last sample came back acidic. Park Service ownership, access open. A very short walk from the road. It is a spring you look at on the way past.
The record puts the spring a tenth of a mile from the nearest road, which goes unnamed. Elevation is roughly seventy-three hundred feet. A bit over ten feet of snow falls in a year and the year averages out in the mid thirties. Moderate precipitation. It is listed as national park under the Park Service.
December through February are listed as best months. A tenth-of-a-mile walk is only easy if the road is plowed and open, so check with the park in winter. Indian Creek Campground is on file at about sixteen miles. At tepid temperature there is no scald risk. The chemistry on the record comes from a sample taken in 2007, so it is dated. There is no charge on record.
The USGS holds a site record for Iron Spring and sampled the water here in June 2007. The sample came back acidic and showed calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate and chloride.
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 Iron Spring.
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
- Valley floor
- Gentle slopes rise on both sides.
- Highest ground nearby
- 259 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
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 twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 87% 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.
The water at Iron Spring is slightly acidic (pH 5.6).
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Overview Located about eight miles (13 km) south of Mammoth Hot Springs on the road to Norris, Indian Creek Campground—elevation 7,300 feet (2225 m)—sits near the base of the Gallatin Mountains and offers breathtaking views of Electric Peak. The area offers easy access to fishing and hiking. The campground is away from the main road and provides a quieter, more primitive, experience than many other locations. For reservations at the campgrounds managed by Yellowstone National Park Lodges (Fi...
Iron Spring sits at 7,290 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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Iron Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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