Boiling River

Current status: closed since the 2022 flood

Boiling River is closed, and has been since June 2022. The National Park Service’s Yellowstone swimming page, updated in September 2026, puts it plainly: “No swimming at Boiling River.” It goes on to say that “currently, swimming is not possible at Boiling River because of the impacts to the river from the 2022 floods.”

That is the official position as of October 2026. There is no reopening date and no announced plan to rebuild the soaking area. If you are planning a Yellowstone trip around a soak in the Gardner River, change the plan.

The site had already been shut in 2020 during the pandemic. Then, in June 2022, record flooding tore through the northern part of the park. The Gardner River changed course, and the rock-lined pools along the bank, built up over years by visitors stacking stones, were swept away. The NPS posted before-and-after photos: a crowd of bathers in July 2014, and a bare rocky shore in October 2022.

A park spokesperson told KTVH after the flood that the NPS did not know if or when the soaking pools could be rebuilt. A Cowboy State Daily reporter who asked a ranger at the North Entrance about the site in 2025 was told its official status was “non-existent.” That reporter also described an eroded trail, debris over parts of the area and a streambed that has shifted and narrowed.

What it was like

Boiling River was never a pool. It was a short stretch of the Gardner River where a large hot spring flowed in from the bank and mixed with cold river water. Visitors sat in the shallows where the two met and shifted a few feet upstream or downstream to find a temperature they liked. One travel writer who soaked there before the flood describes water anywhere from about 100°F to 140°F38°C to 60°C depending on where you sat, which tells you how quickly it changed from one spot to the next. The water was too shallow to swim; people sat or lay in it.

That mix of hot and cold water is why it was legal. Yellowstone bans soaking in its hot springs to protect the thermal features and because many of them are hot enough to scald. Boiling River was one of only two designated places in the park where you could get into the water at all, and the other one, the Firehole Swim Area, is a cold river swim, not a hot one.

Where it is

The spring sits in Wyoming, not Montana, about a mile south of the 45th parallel, which marks the state line. It is in the Gardner River canyon between the North Entrance at Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs. People reached it from a small parking area on the North Entrance Road, then walked about half a mile upstream on a flat dirt path along the river.

The flood damaged that stretch of the North Entrance Road badly. KTVH reported that the park rebuilt the Old Gardiner Road as the route between Gardiner and Mammoth, and that this road runs high above the Gardner River. Do not try to reach the old site on foot from the road or the riverbank. Flood-damaged areas in the canyon have been closed, and the NPS has not reopened the site to visitors. Stop at the Albright Visitor Center in Mammoth for current closures.

Rules when it was open

These rules applied before the flood, and they would likely apply again if the site ever reopened. A travel writer who visited many times lists them as follows:

• Swimsuits required. There was a single vault toilet at the parking area for changing.
• No alcohol, and no eating or drinking in the river. Picnics on shore were fine.
• No lifeguards. You soaked at your own risk.
• Seasonal closures. The site usually closed from about mid-March to mid-July every year because of high spring runoff.
• Daylight only.

Yellowstone’s general rules on thermal water still matter for anyone soaking elsewhere in the region. The NPS warns that all thermal waters contain organisms that can cause illness, including skin rashes and rare but life-threatening infections. Keep your head above water, do not swallow it, and stay out if you have diarrhea.

Where to soak instead

The good news is that the Gardiner area still has hot water, just not inside the park.

• Yellowstone Hot Springs is a commercial pool complex on US-89 north of Gardiner, outside the park boundary. It is the closest legal soak to the North Entrance.
• Chico Hot Springs is a historic resort with outdoor pools, north of Gardiner in the Paradise Valley.
• Bozeman Hot Springs is farther north, at Four Corners west of Bozeman, with a dozen indoor and outdoor pools.

Inside the park, the Firehole Swim Area on Firehole Canyon Drive, two miles south of Madison Junction, is the only designated swimming spot. It is a cold river, it is usually closed until mid-summer because of high water, and in big snow years it can stay closed all season. It was listed as closed when this page was checked.

When to check again

If the NPS ever reopens Boiling River, the announcement will appear on the Yellowstone swimming page and in park news releases. Until then, treat any website, app or old guidebook that shows it as open as out of date. Many travel pages written before 2022 still describe the soak and the parking area as if nothing happened.

Where to stay nearby

Gardiner, Montana, right at the North Entrance, has motels, cabins, restaurants and fuel. Inside the park, Mammoth Hot Springs, a short drive south of the old Boiling River site, has a hotel and a campground. North along US-89, the Paradise Valley has more lodging, including the rooms at Chico Hot Springs.

Safety notes

• Flood damage: The riverbank and old trail were reshaped by the 2022 flood. Stay out of closed areas, both for your own safety and because rangers enforce closures.
• Thermal water: Elsewhere in Yellowstone, water in hot springs can be near boiling. Stay on boardwalks and marked trails in thermal areas.
• Wildlife: Elk and bison are common around Mammoth and the North Entrance. The park requires you to stay at least 25 yards from most large animals and 100 yards from bears and wolves.