This Has To Be The Dumbest Tourist Mistake To Make At Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone, America's first national park, spreads across Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. As the 4th most-visited park in the states in 2023 (per the National Park Service), it provides enough space for everyone (covering 3,472 square miles), seating itself as one of the country's biggest national parks. It's a wilderness recreation area that sits atop a volcanic hotspot creating half of the world's active geysers, with over 10,000 hydrothermal sites. It boasts about 300 species of birds, 16 species of fish, five species of amphibians, six species of reptiles, and 67 species of mammals making it a wonderful area for wildlife viewing. And with over 900 miles of pristine hiking trails, it won't let hikers down.

Yellowstone is utterly otherworldly and a valid addition to your bucket list. Hot springs and geysers burble up from the ground in vibrant blues, greens, and yellows, and provide a soundtrack of hissing, vibrations, and seismic noise. The most renowned geyser in the park is Old Faithful, and visitors travel near and far in the hopes to watch the geyser erupt. With it's endless attractions, it's no wonder Yellowstone is one of the most visited national parks, but its allure also makes it one of the most dangerous parks. The dumbest mistake a tourist can make at Yellowstone is touching the geothermal pools and hot springs.

The geothermal pools and hot springs in Yellowstone National Park can be dangerous. With this in mind, there are important safety precautions visitors should be aware of: Never touch them, as the water can be boiling and burn you. Be careful of unstable ground near the springs, and stay on boardwalks and designated trails. Don't throw things into the springs, and keep an eye on children. Ultimately, you are responsible for your own safety.

Regardless of the frequency and availability of the park's warning signs, some choose to ignore them. In 2023, a visitor chose to dip their foot into the geothermal pool Silex Spring at Fountain Paint Pot Trail. The unidentified visitor walked into a restricted area, sat down near the pool, and dipped their finger into the scalding waters, only to yell "that's hot!", immediately yank it out, and scurry off. The account @TouronsOfYellowstone, known for reposting tourists behaving like morons in Yellowstone, posted the viral video, and the online backlash was full of burns, with comments like "Not the sharpest tool in the shed" and "People like this ruin things for other people." Beyond the momentary pain and embarrassment, this incident was incredibly dangerous.

The allure of getting up close and personal with nature, combined with our society's modern desire to create viral, online content, can create havoc. Many visitors underestimate the power and temperature of the geothermal activity at Yellowstone, perhaps thinking dipping a finger in will be harmless. But Yellowstone's warnings are not simply suggestions — they are life-saving guidelines. According to the United States Geological Survey, the first noted death by hot springs at Yellowstone was in 1890, and the current total death toll by hot springs and geothermal pools in Yellowstone is now over 20. While this specific tourist may have gotten away with simply a burn, previous visitors haven't been so lucky. 

In 2022, a 70-year-old man from California died when he walked into the Abyss hot springs pool at Yellowstone Lake's West Thumb Geyser Basin (via Outside). He wasn't found until his shoe was discovered floating in the 140-degree water. In 2016, a man from Oregon illegally left the boardwalk with his sister, when he slipped and fell to his death in a hot spring. The danger resides from not following park rules, and the consequences of this recklessness are far reaching and preventable. Do yourself, the park rangers, and the fragile ecosystem of Yellowstone a favor and stick to the curated trails, boardwalks, and guidelines. And whatever you do, don't try to touch the geyser, hot spring, or geothermal pools. The dumbest tourist mistake at Yellowstone is treating its geothermal pools like harmless attractions rather than the dangerous fragile ecosystems they are. Ignorance of their power can lead to serious harm.