Teen gets thermal burns after falling through crust in Yellowstone National Park
JACKSON (WNE) — A teenage visitor to Yellowstone National Park was scalded on Monday morning while hiking.
The 17-year-old male suffered significant thermal burns to his foot and ankle after breaking through the thin crust atop a scalding pool of water while on a hike near Lone Star Geyser. Emergency medical staff in the park transported him to a hospital for treatment.
The incident is under investigation, according to a press release from the park.
Thermal features in the park are surrounded by thin, breakable crust. The park recommends that visitors stay on boardwalks and trails, which are there to protect hikers from severe and potentially fatal burns. More than 20 people have died from burns after entering or falling into hot springs in the park.
The incident is the first instance of a visitor falling into a thermal pool since last September, when a 60-year-old woman from New Hampshire suffered second-and third-degree burns to her lower legs after walking off-trail in a thermal area near Mallard Lake Trailhead.
She was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after being evaluated at a park medical clinic.
This story was published on July 31, 2025.