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In 1872 Congress established Yellowstone National Park for the purpose of protecting the unique geothermal features found within it. Yellowstone has more than 10,000 geothermal features, including more than 500 geysers! These extraordinary features draw the attention of millions of visitors each year, but with that attention comes the increased chance that visitors may accidentally or intentionally get too close.

Stay on the boardwalks when near thermal features in Yellowstone. NPS/Matt Poyner

It’s up to visitors to know how to stay safe around geothermal features. Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs. More than 20 people have died from burns suffered after they entered or fell into one of Yellowstone’s hot springs.

Here’s how to stay safe around Yellowstone’s most spectacular—and scorching—natural features.

1. Always walk on boardwalks or designated trails. Almost all of Yellowstone’s geothermal features are surrounded by a thin crust. While this might look like solid ground, it is not! The same extremely hot water that gushes through geysers and bubbles up in fumaroles is just under the surface. If you step off the boardwalk and onto the crust, not only are you disrupting the delicate thermal formation, but you will be seriously or fatally injured. Just because you see wildlife walking around geysers doesn’t mean you can.
   

   Safety sign at a thermal area. NPS/Neal Herbert

2. Do not touch thermal features or runoff. Yellowstone’s hot springs temperatures can be 200 degrees Fahrenheit or even hotter! We’re sure you’ve put your hand in a river, stream, or waterfall before. Who hasn’t? But Yellowstone’s thermal features don’t flow cold water like you’re used to. Don’t touch any water in or around thermal features.
3. Never swim, soak, or wade in thermal features. More than 20 people have died from intentionally entering or falling into hot springs.
4. Pets are not allowed in thermal areas, and you’re better off leaving your pet at home. Taking your pet to Yellowstone will seriously limit what you can do and see in the park. We’d recommend leaving your pet at home for your visit to Yellowstone. If you do bring your pet, they must be within 100 feet of roads, parking areas, and campgrounds at all times. They are not allowed on boardwalks or in any thermal areas. In October 2021, for example, a visitor was seriously burned after her dog escaped her vehicle and jumped into a thermal feature (unfortunately, the dog did not survive).
5. Do not throw objects into thermal features. We inherently try and save our belongings. You drop your sunglasses; you pick them up. When near thermal features, hold on to your belongings. Never intentionally throw any items into the thermal features (no pennies) but also never chase your items in.

It’s up to you to stay safe in Yellowstone — for the sake of your health and the health of the geothermal features!

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Friday afternoon: Enter through the Roosevelt Arch

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of crossing into the beauty and magic of Yellowstone. Leave behind the emails and busy schedule and enter a world where you can be astounded by a geyser one minute and awed by a bison the next. 

There’s no better place to make that transition than through the historic Roosevelt Arch!

Start your trip to Yellowstone at the park’s North Entrance and pass through history. 

Friday evening: Explore the terraces at the Mammoth Hot Springs

The Mammoth Hot Springs are a treat for all your senses. Listen to the sizzle and gurgle of the springs and terraces. See the ever-changing colors created by the heat-loving organisms. Smell the sulphur created by these geothermal features!

The boardwalks between the terraces make it easy to take in all of Mammoth. And with the colors always changing and the water constantly moving in new ways across the limestone—every visit to Mammoth Hot Springs is a brand-new experience!

Saturday morning: Get mesmerized by Grand Prismatic

Get out on the Grand Loop Road early and make your way to one of the most photographed geothermal features in the park: Grand Prismatic Spring. Be sure to drive slowly and stop often for wildlife spotting! Sunrise and sunset are some of the best times to view wildlife, including bears, while in the park. 

Make a stop at Norris Geyser Basin on your way. A boardwalk winds through the park’s hottest – and oldest — thermal area. Highlights include Steamboat Geyser, which has been particularly active this year!

By late morning, make your way to the majestic rainbow hues of Grand Prismatic. The spring was named for its colors by the Hayden Expedition of 1871. Learn about the heat-loving bacteria that create these always-changing colors. Walk the boardwalk out to a viewing spot or hike the overlook trail for a view from above.

Saturday afternoon: Old Faithful

Jump back in the car after leaving the Midway Geyser Basin and continue on to the park’s most reliable geothermal feature—Old Faithful! There’s no wrong way to view the geyser, and there’s plenty to explore between eruptions!

Start at the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center to check the next predicted eruption time. While the eruptions may vary from predicted times slightly, there’s a reason Old Faithful got its name!

Exit the back of the visitor center and you’ll walk right toward Old Faithful. Grab a front-row seat in the viewing area for an eye-level viewing of the 100+ feet of boiling water that erupts approximately every 90 minutes.

After your waiting for the next eruption, hike the 1.1 miles up to Observation Point to view the geyser from overhead.

Make sure to spend some time walking around the Old Faithful area. Check out the Yellowstone Forever Park Store in the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center and pick up some educational reading about the history of the park and the science behind the geothermal features.

Visit the Art & Photography Center (open in the summer) for free daily painting activities, to peruse galleries of historic and contemporary Yellowstone art, and learn from artists-in-residence.

Saturday evening: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Take in the sunset at one of Yellowstone’s most grandiose features. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is roughly 20 miles long, 1,000 feet deep, and a natural work of art. The Grand Canyon offers 10 primary overlooks to take in the views. One of the best ways to travel between overlooks is on hiking trails. Hikes range from short half-mile treks, to long and strenuous 7-mile treks!

One overlook not to miss is Inspiration Point. The overlook reopened in 2018 after rehabilitation work was completed (and funded in part by Yellowstone Forever)! Get inspired by this majestic natural canyon before getting a good night’s rest before a morning of wildlife watching! 

Sunday morning: Tower Fall

Make the most of your last day in the park by setting your alarm early! Remember, one of the best ways to catch a glimpse of one of Yellowstone’s 300 species of birds and 67 species of mammals is to spot them at dawn or dusk.

Continue on the Grand Loop Road to Tower Fall. Artist Thomas Moran painted Tower Fall during his expedition with Hayden in 1871. His paintings, including that of Tower Fall, were passed on to members of Congress when the expedition group returned east. Moran’s paintings were part of what pushed congress to designate Yellowstone as the world’s first national park.

The fall itself plunges 132-feet towards its journey to the Yellowstone River. A short hike leads you to an overlook to view the falls and unique tower rock columns created from cooled lava flows. 

Sunday afternoon: Lamar Valley

Take a right at the Northeast Entrance Road at Roosevelt Lodge and make your way to the Lamar Valley. The valley was nicknamed “the Serengeti of North America” because of the abundant wildlife that call the valley home. Animals you may see include elk, bison, mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, wolves, black bears, or grizzly bears.

While you can take your binoculars and head to Lamar on your own, there’s no better way to go wildlife watching in Yellowstone than with an experienced naturalist. These guides can be critical in knowing where to spot wildlife, educate you about the species and their interactions, and provide high powered spotting scopes for a clear view that you won’t get with binoculars. Yellowstone Forever offers private tours with experienced naturalists in the Lamar Valley.

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Sometime in the 1930s, a baby’s pacifier fell into Ear Spring, a placid, ear-shaped hot pool in the Geyser Hill area of Yellowstone National Park. On September 15, 2018, Ear Spring erupted to a height of around 25 feet and the long-lost pacifier was ejected—along with a veritable time capsule of manmade debris.

Ear Spring. NPS / Jacob W. Frank

Also blown out by the eruption were aluminum cans, Polaroid film cases, a grizzly bear warning sign, various beer and soda cans, chunks of cinder block, a glass funnel and rubber tube used for scientific sampling, and nearly 100 coins.

The Ear Spring eruption was part of a series of changes last summer in thermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin, including a record number of eruptions by the fickle and inscrutable Steamboat Geyser. The same period also saw the emergence of a new hot pool that prompted park officials to close portions of some boardwalks and set up new monitoring gear to ensure public safety.

As much as we might want Yellowstone to remain unchanged, a range of natural factors are always shaping the park’s landscape, including fire, erosion, wildlife, and even climate change. And the National Park Service is always responding and monitoring in an effort to keep visitors safe.

Each year, up to 2,000 feet of the park’s 15 miles of boardwalk must be removed, rerouted, or rebuilt in response to changes in thermal features, water flows, and other factors. But for longtime geyser gazers and frequent park visitors, such changes are part of the appeal in returning again and again.

“That’s one of the unique and fascinating features of Yellowstone, [things] shifting around and earthquakes rattling the plumbing system. You’re always seeing something new and getting something different,” said Terry Dolan.

NPS / Jacob W. Frank

A tour guide based in Cody, Wyoming, Dolan has escorted visitors through the park on horseback, snowmobiles, and in autos for 25 years. For the past four years, he has watched as a small puff of steam in the Lower Geyser Basin has grown to a new hot spring more than three feet in diameter.

“It has been growing every year, and you wonder if it will become a mudpot or hot spring or geyser,” Dolan said. “Seeing the start of new features is really cool.”

Another new Geyser Hill thermal feature was born overnight last summer when a small, pulsing water pool emerged underneath the boardwalk west of Pump Geyser and north of Sponge Geyser. Park officials closed the boardwalk and set up monitoring gear to ensure safety and learn more about what was going on, said park geologist Jefferson Hungerford.

Park workers look for changes in ground and water temperature, rising and falling ground, and other factors that signal what’s happening in the area, Hungerford said. Geologists give any new feature time to “settle in” before deciding how close to allow the public and whether to move or build new boardwalks.

Boardwalks are built on wood footings set on the ground, because digging in thermal areas could kill existing features or create a new one, Hungerford said. (Tossing any foreign object into a feature also risks clogging or killing it.) Workers use thermal imaging and other tools to make sure routes are safe and stable, at least for the foreseeable future.

YF / Matt Ludin

“These features are always popping up and dying, because the systems are really dynamic,” Hungerford said. But unexpected eruptions and the emergence of new features “are all within the norm,” he said. “These are dynamic and ephemeral systems. They’re going to turn on and shut off all the time as they change and recharge.”

Yellowstone experiences up to 2,000 earthquakes each year, yet only a few can be felt at the surface. But that shaking can clog or unclog underground pathways for water and steam. The shift of a small steam vent can mean vast new mineral deposits over time, or a major change in the course of flowing water.

“The easiest way to see that these are dynamic systems is to walk around Mammoth Hot Springs,” Hungerford said. “Those travertine systems are highly productive and can build new terraces in a matter of weeks.”

Park managers want to get visitors as close as safely possible to view thermal features. But with rapid and unpredictable changes being so common, it’s important for visitors to stick to established routes in thermal areas.

“We’re really lucky to have so many visitors be able to experience these systems,” Hungerford said. “But we have to be careful we don’t damage them, and that everyone stays safe. So it’s imperative that we always stay on the boardwalks and designated trails.”

This article was originally published in the Spring 2019 issue of Yellowstone Quarterly.

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Have you ever experienced an earthquake in Yellowstone? You might say no, but chances are at least one small earthquake occurred during your visit. On average, approximately 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes take place each year in the Yellowstone area. Most are too small to be felt, but a few—like the famous quake of 1959—are exceptions.

An active seismograph at the Quake Lake Visitor Center

Yellowstone is one of the most seismically active areas in the United States. The park is contained within the Intermountain Seismic Belt, a zone of earthquake activity that runs north-south, from Montana through Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Yellowstone is also an active volcano, and surface features such as its famous geysers and hot springs are direct results of the region’s underlying volcanism.

The combination of tectonic and volcanic activity often results in earthquakes, during which rock fractures along fault lines that have become stressed beyond their breaking point. Energy is then released as shock waves, or seismic waves, that reverberate and travel at high speeds throughout the surrounding rock.

Earthquakes do offer some benefits; if it wasn’t for the many small quakes, Old Faithful and other geysers and hot springs could become dormant. In Yellowstone, earthquakes help to maintain hydrothermal activity by keeping the “plumbing” system open. Without periodic shaking from earthquakes, the small fractures and conduits that supply hot water to geysers and hot springs might be sealed by mineral deposits—perhaps permanently.

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Video courtesy of Tom Murphy

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Getting around Yellowstone National Park in the winter has never been easy. Over the past century, visitors and workers have relied on an array of evolving and sometimes dubious technologies, ranging from plane fuselages mounted on skis to a tractor outfitted with two pontoon-sized augers. Even with modern snowcoaches and snowmobiles, winter travel in Yellowstone still requires what some park veterans describe as “an enhanced sense of adventure.”

But the extra effort required to navigate Yellowstone’s snowy landscape is rewarded with a park blanketed in dazzling white, offering a quieter pace, peaceful solitude, and splendid isolation. For longtime area resident Rick Hoeninghausen, an overnight winter trip to Old Faithful brings opportunities that summer can’t offer.

Day visitors are clearing out by mid-afternoon, and only a few hundred people are around the entire Upper Geyser Basin by dark. “You can go out on the boardwalk and take in a geyser eruption by moonlight. It’s a stunning show,” said Hoeninghausen, former vice president of marketing for Yellowstone National Park Lodges, the park’s lodging concessioner.

The dark skies over the park mean “the stars put on an amazing show on a moonless night,” he said. “Sometimes you can see your starlight shadow on the snow, which I think is just incredible.” Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing continue to grow in popularity, he said, with trails to destinations like Lone Star Geyser offering a singular winter experience in the park.

Hoeninghausen said winter travel in Yellowstone over the last quarter-century has moved away from adrenaline-fueled snowmobile trips to more contemplative outings focused on learning about the park’s geology and ecology. Using low-pressure tires, instead of tracks or treads, has made snowcoaches quieter, more fuel-efficient, and comfortable, he said.

Comfort was hardly a consideration for the park’s earliest regular winter travelers, said Yellowstone National Park Historian Alicia Murphy. U.S. Army soldiers used giant wooden slab-style skis to patrol for poachers. They employed a single long pole, mainly to stop themselves while sliding downhill. “I don’t know how anyone survived that,” Murphy said of the soldiers’ regular patrols between backcountry cabins spread across the park. “Those guys were really tough.”

For decades, skis were the only way to move around the park in winter. In April 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yellowstone, taking a special excursion by horse-drawn sleigh to Old Faithful and Canyon, said Leslie Quinn, interpretive specialist for Yellowstone National Park Lodges.

The first motorized winter vehicle in Yellowstone “was an oddball item called a screw tractor,” Quinn said. The vehicle was essentially a tractor mounted on two cylindrical tubes with raised spirals, which pulled it across the snow while “floating” over drifts. The vehicle shuttled between Roosevelt Lodge and Cooke City, Montana, in the mid-1920s, Quinn said.

Another odd vehicle used by park workers was the Weasel, a bit of military surplus left over from World War II. A tracked vehicle designed for snow warfare, the Weasel was like a small open-air tank without a gun. Quinn said the Weasel was instrumental in the rescue of the lone survivor of a May 1963 B-47 bomber crash near Shoshone Lake.

Snow planes were another novel winter vehicle. Walt Stuart, a West Yellowstone, Montana, mechanic, built three snow planes that were the first used in the park. Used elsewhere since the 1930s, snow planes were enclosed cockpits on skis, with a pusher propeller mounted at the rear. In 1949, Stuart’s three snow planes took a total of 35 people through the park on 19 trips.

“They were phenomenally, wonderfully dangerous things,” Quinn said. The unguarded propeller was at ground height, and the crafts were prone to tipping over during sharp turns.

Snow planes were short-lived in the park, with snowcoaches arriving on the scene in 1955 and snowmobiles entering use in 1963. By the 1970s, snowmobiles were the dominant mode of winter travel in Yellowstone.

Today the road from Mammoth to Cooke City is plowed, offering visitors in autos a chance to watch wolves and other wildlife meet the challenges of winter along the park’s northern range.

The National Park Service continues to require the use of best-available technology for snowcoaches and snowmobiles to ensure cleaner air and quieter winter soundscapes, Historian Murphy said. While park officials would like to see an electric snowmobile developed, the practical implementation of that technology remains out of reach, she said. But such a vehicle could eventually help set a new standard for other parks, just as a group of Army regulars helped set a standard in 1894 when they caught a notorious poacher.

Soldiers patrolling along Pelican Creek during a March snowstorm captured Edgar Howell, who was skinning several bison he had just killed. Howell bragged in front of a reporter as he was being jailed that his punishment would be limited only to expulsion from the park and forfeiting his gear. The subsequent publicity and outrage forced Congress to pass the Lacey Act, a sweeping law protecting wildlife on federal lands.

Before then, weak rules and policies against poaching made it tough to go after offenders, Murphy said. “So that new law forever changed how we protect Yellowstone and any federal preserve,” she said, “all thanks to that winter activity by those tough soldiers on skis.”

This article was originally published in the Winter 2018 issue of Yellowstone Quarterly.

Photos from top to bottom:

• The CallAir snow plane was built by the CallAircraft Company of Afton, Wyoming. The company operated in the 1940s and 1950s. (NPS)
• Snow plane in front of the Old Faithful Inn’s winter keeper’s cabin.
• A modern-day snowcoach-a van with oversized tires that are underinflated to keep the vehicle from sinking into the snow (YF/Matt Ludin)
• YNP’s first oversnow motorized vehicle, the screw tractor, at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch
• A snow plane that was operated in the 1950s (NPS)
• Army soldiers patrolling on skis capture poacher Ed Howell in Pelican Valley (NPS)

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“Snowshoes let you get out of your car and explore more of the park—maybe discover a small waterfall or wander through a forested area looking for birds,” says Yellowstone Forever Institute instructor Julianne Baker. “It’s a fun and convenient way to tour the park on scenic trails, even when the snow is deep. Like walking, it’s easy to balance while carrying binoculars or a camera, and it’s easy to make sudden stops to look around or take photos.”

If you’ve never been on snowshoes before and are intimidated by the prospect, Baker says don’t be. “If you can walk, you can snowshoe.” She explains that there’s a very small learning curve compared to cross-country skiing, and most people quickly find snowshoes easy to maneuver.

Many Yellowstone trails are groomed for skiing and snowshoeing throughout the winter season, including some boardwalks. Thermal areas, such as the Upper Geyser Basin surrounding Old Faithful, are particularly enchanting during the wintertime. “The juxtaposition of colorful hot springs, steam, and cold snow is incredible and well worth braving the cold weather to see,” says Baker.

Baker offers a few tips for beginners, including the use of poles to help with balance and starting out simple by staying on groomed trails before venturing off into parts unknown. Also, the most basic etiquette rule to remember is to avoid snowshoeing directly on ski tracks.

Several Yellowstone trails offer fantastic beginner snowshoeing. Among them are:

Old Canyon Bridge Ski Trail
1 MILE (CANYON)

Upper Terrace Loop
1.5 MILES (MAMMOTH)

Bannock Ski Trail
2 MILES (LAMAR)

Tower Fall Ski Trail
5 MILES (TOWER-ROOSEVELT)

Black Sand Basin Ski Trail
4 MILES (OLD FAITHFUL)

Observation Point Loop Snowshoe Trail
2 MILES (OLD FAITHFUL)

Before You Go

• If you don’t have your own snowshoes you can rent them at the Bear Den Ski Shop in either Mammoth or Old Faithful. Some shops in gateway communities also offer rentals.
• Inquire at the Ski Shop about current trail conditions and whether trails that interest you require a shuttle drop-off. You can also get ski shuttle information at ynplodges.com/skiing.
• Wear waterproof, lace-up boots that fit well but provide room to wiggle your toes even with thick socks.
• Be prepared for changing weather conditions. Bring a pack with warm layers, extra gloves, and sunscreen. Also bring extra water—snowshoeing can be vigorous exercise.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2018 issue of Yellowstone Quarterly.

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Visit a hydrothermal area

Do what the wildlife does and visit a hydrothermal area like the Upper Geyser Basin or the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. Animals of all sizes congregate near the park’s geysers and hot springs for warmth.

Take a guided (and heated!) snowcoach tour

Book a snowcoach for a scenic tour of the park, and to reach Old Faithful, which is only accessible in the winter by over-snow vehicle.

Check out a Visitor Center

The Old Faithful Visitor Education Center and the newly renovated Albright Visitor Center are open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. throughout the winter season. They offer interactive exhibits, films (at Old Faithful), and the opportunity to chat with a ranger.

Join a Yellowstone Forever Institute program

Choose from a Private Tour or Field Seminar where you’ll practice cross-country skiing while learning about Yellowstone’s wildlife, geology, and history from a park expert.

Claim a fireside chair

Grab a book and relax hearthside in the lobby of the Old Faithful Snow Lodge or the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.

Drive the Northern Range

Assuming your car has heat, you’ll have a warm front-row seat to see wildlife and some of Yellowstone’s most open and scenic vistas. This route from Mammoth to Cooke City is the only road open to wheeled vehicles year-round.

Attend an evening Ranger Program

Yellowstone offers free, indoor Ranger Programs several nights per week throughout the winter at Old Faithful and Mammoth. Each one highlights a fascinating aspect of the park’s natural, cultural, or scenic wonders.

Stop by a warming hut

If you’re feeling chilly, thaw out in one of Yellowstone’s warming huts, which are scattered throughout the park.

Keep moving

Walk, ski, or snowshoe to keep your blood moving while enjoying the snowy landscape. Yellowstone has many accessible winter trails, several of which are groomed for Nordic skiing, and equipment is available to rent. You can even go ice skating on the rinks at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge.

Photos, top to bottom: Lamar Buffalo Ranch –  NPS/Neal Herbert; Snowcoach – NPS/Jacob W. Frank; Albright VC – YF/Matt Ludin; Snow Lodge Fireplace – Xanterra; Skiers – YF/Matt Ludin

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