This Popular National Park Has The Most Hot Springs (And It's Not Even Hot Springs National Park)

You'd think that a national park named for its hot springs would be the undisputed world capital of glorious hydrothermal soaking spots, but there's a U.S. national park with far more geothermal pools than Hot Springs National Park. If you're judging this contest by the sheer number of hot springs found within its boundaries, rather than hot springs you can actually swim in, Yellowstone comes out on top.

Though this might not be the winner travelers expect, Yellowstone National Park is renowned for having the world's largest concentration of hydrothermal features. The park is home to more than 10,000, from geysers like the famous Old Faithful to fumaroles emitting boiling-hot steam, and, of course, hot springs, heated by the underground volcanic magma. Though there is no official figure available on the exact number of hot springs, they're more abundant in Yellowstone than in any other national park.

That said, most of Yellowstone's hot springs are boiling wells of colorful water more suitable for admiring from a boardwalk than for swimming. They include favorites like Grand Prismatic Spring, a jaw-dropping, photogenic, rainbow-colored wonder, or Mammoth Hot Springs, where its acidic water has carved step-like formations into the stone. While these are beautiful to see and photograph, they're not safe for swimming. In fact, over twenty visitors have died in the park's hot springs. Visitors should avoid straying from the path near these scalding pools, which is just one of the unwritten rules you should know before visiting Yellowstone.

Though Yellowstone National Park has allowed swimming in a handful of natural hot springs in the past, most spots are presently closed due to damage from a 2022 flood. As we've already mentioned, this isn't a park where you can simply determine if a natural hot spring is safe to swim in. If you're hoping to bathe in the region's thermal waters, your options at the time of this writing are mostly developed hot spring resorts just outside of park boundaries, where the area's ultra-hot spring water has been cooled and channeled into manmade pools at bathing-safe temperatures. 

The closest option to the park is Yellowstone Hot Springs, a resort area with cabins and RV hookups just north of Yellowstone National Park's north entrance near Gardiner, Montana. Chico Hot Springs Resort & Spa, hidden in Montana's Paradise Valley, is another nearby option, located about a 30-minute drive north of Yellowstone Hot Springs. This century-old resort offers rooms in its historic lodge, heated with geothermal radiant heat, and two mineral pools with views of the pine-covered hills. For a slightly more rugged experience with less of a resort feel, Bozeman's Norris Hot Springs offers both public and private soaks with an onsite restaurant and live music. They're also open year-round, including the dead of winter.

Though these options may seem limited compared to the number of hot springs found in the park, these facilities are the best (and perhaps only) places to have a safe, hands-on experience with Yellowstone's geothermal activity. Even if you were envisioning undeveloped solitude, don't let that put you off stopping by for a soak. The stunning natural setting of these spots reminds you that, even at more developed facilities, wilderness isn't far away.