YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — In a video posted to the “Tourons of Yellowstone” Instagram page on Tuesday, two people disregarded a Yellowstone National Park (YNP) rule to stay on park boardwalks and attempted to touch a nearly 175 degree thermal pool.
The video was taken at Silex Spring on the Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail, a feature that overflows most of the year, YNP says. Silex Spring has an average temperate of 174.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 79.3 degrees Celsius.
“Hot!” The woman in the video shouted after touching it and running away. “Very hot!”
According to YNP, walking off boardwalks and touching thermal features or runoff is prohibited.
“Boardwalks and trails protect you and delicate thermal formations,” YNP says. “Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs.”
In the Instagram caption for the video, the person who captured the moment claims they told the man it was a bad idea but was given the response, “whatever man.”
YNP operates a 24-hour anonymous tip line at 307-344-2132 where violations and information should be reported.
“The video is under investigation,” YNP told Buckrail. “We don’t have any additional information to share about it at this time.”
Violations in YNP thermal areas is not uncommon. In recent years, two women have been sentenced for being off-trail, children, adults and dogs have suffered thermal burns and people have died as a result of leaving boardwalks to approach thermal features.
