YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — As Yellowstone National Park (YNP) prepares to welcome spring visitors with opening announcements for roads and park facilities, it appears that Biscuit Basin will not be open for exploring anytime soon.
Biscuit Basin, a geothermal area of the park roughly two miles northwest of Old Faithful, has been closed to visitors since a massive hydrothermal explosion tore up a boardwalk in July of 2024. Following the explosion, the park announced that the area would remain closed to visitors for the remainder of the 2024 visitor season. That closure has extended into this year as a protective measure, according to the park.
“The parking lot and boardwalk at Biscuit Basin is closed for safety reasons until further notice due to the possibility of another event,” YNP’s Public Affairs Office confirmed to Buckrail via email. “We will continue to monitor activity and do not have a date when it will reopen.”
Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Michael Poland shared that “small explosions” continue to be observed in the area, adding that his team hopes to install additional monitoring equipment this summer to track activity.
Luckily, no one was harmed in the incident last summer. In an interview following the explosion, Poland told Buckrail that YNP takes visitor safety “extraordinarily seriously,” and noted that visitors should be vigilant in the park’s hydrothermal areas.
“Hydrothermal hazards are the most underappreciated hazards in Yellowstone,” Poland said. “I’m hopeful this hazard won’t be dismissed, especially by visitors, now that [footage of the July 23 explosion] is out there.”
For more on YNP’s opening dates, see the park’s website.
