Parking
Boiling River roadside turnout on North Entrance Road (US 89), in Yellowstone's North Entrance area.
Overview
About Boiling River Trail
Why go
- Short, gentle route to a rare meeting of thermal runoff and the Gardner River.
Heads up
- Flooding altered the endpoint; older photos show a different riverbank.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation5,633–5,699 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Yellowstone alerts
- ClosureBiscuit Basin closed after hydrothermal explosionBiscuit Basin’s parking lot, boardwalk, and Firehole River are closed to all travel.Official details
- ClosureMost Yellowstone roads close to regular vehicles November 1Most Yellowstone roads and the West, South, and East entrances are scheduled to close to regular vehicles November 1, 2026, as the park prepares for winter operations.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Hear Yellowstone as you drive it.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this area
The Shock Behind Electric Peak0:00 / 0:32
“Electric Peak got its name from a survey trip that met an electrical storm. Henry Gannett was climbing to measure the mountain's height, carrying scientific instruments.”
Plays on the road 0.5 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Poacher Who Exposed a Legal Gap
- Fort Yellowstone and Mammoth Village
- Mammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces
- A Bird That Walks Down Trees
- 243 audio storiesacross Yellowstone’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Bison, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 167 trails, 192 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Trail guide
Hiking Boiling River Trail
A short walk to the riverThe Boiling River route is a 1.
The Boiling River route is a 1.25-mile out-and-back, measured for the full walk from the North Entrance Road turnout and back. The broad, hard-packed dirt path follows the Gardner River for roughly half a mile each way and changes elevation by about 50 feet. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. Its draw is the point where thermal runoff meets the cold river, not a long or strenuous hike.
Along the GardnerFrom the roadside turnout, the route heads south beside the river and returns on the same…
From the roadside turnout, the route heads south beside the river and returns on the same corridor. Most of the walk stays close to the water on an easy grade. At the historic endpoint, the path reached the hot runoff channel and the river confluence.
A thermal meeting pointHydrothermal runoff enters the Gardner at the route's defining feature.
Hydrothermal runoff enters the Gardner at the route's defining feature. Steam and the contrast with the colder current made this a memorable place to pause. The thermal channel is dangerous: hot water can scald, so stay on the path and keep out of thermal ground.
A changed riverbankMajor floods in June 2022 reshaped the river and the old soaking area.
Major floods in June 2022 reshaped the river and the old soaking area. Earlier photos and descriptions show the previous bank and pool arrangement; they help explain the route's history but do not match the flood-altered setting exactly.
Starting point and limitsThe historic access is the Boiling River roadside turnout on North Entrance Road (US 89), in…
The historic access is the Boiling River roadside turnout on North Entrance Road (US 89), in the park's North Entrance area. Pets are not allowed on Yellowstone hiking trails.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yellowstone
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
