Teen Takes Lone, Errant Step at Yellowstone, Ends Up with 'Significant Thermal Burns'
A 17-year-old boy burned his foot after accidentally stepping into a thermal pool in Yellowstone National Park on Monday.
The boy, whose name wasn’t published, stepped through a thin crust while hiking around Lone Star Geyser, which is near Old Faithful, according to a National Park Service news release on Tuesday.
He reportedly had “significant thermal burns” on his foot and ankle, and a medical team treated him before evacuating him to a hospital.
The incident is still under investigation, but the National Park Service urged Yellowstone visitors to stay on the established paths and boardwalks.
(News Release) On Monday morning, July 28, a 17-year-old male suffered significant thermal burns to his foot and ankle area in the vicinity of Lone Star Geyser near Old Faithful.
The juvenile was on a hike in the thermal area when his foot broke through the thin crust and he… pic.twitter.com/hCI9i8YGrH
— Yellowstone National Park (@YellowstoneNPS) July 29, 2025
“Boardwalks and trails protect you and delicate thermal formations. Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs,” the news release read.
Lone Star Geyser, which erupts about every three hours from a 12-foot cone, erupts as high as 45 feet, according to the National Park Service.
The eruptions last about 30 minutes.
Lonestar Geyser: erupts every ~3 hrs, lasts ~30 min, and shoots ~40ft high. Have you hiked the 5 miles round-trip to see it? pic.twitter.com/Gbuw26iCaQ
— Yellowstone National Park (@YellowstoneNPS) July 11, 2017
The Monday incident was the first thermal injury at Yellowstone in 2025, according to the news release.
In September, a 60-year-old woman severely burned herself after wandering off the trail in a thermal area near Old Faithful, according to another National Park Service news release.
Nothing says “First Day of Winter” like an eruption of Old Faithful on a clear, zero-degree day! Video by Ranger Bach. #WinterSolstice pic.twitter.com/mAe0yjsE4d
— Yellowstone National Park (@YellowstoneNPS) December 21, 2016
Walking with her husband and her dog, the woman stepped through a thin layer of crust and into a scalding pool of water.
The park medical clinic treated her lower leg for second and third-degree burns before transporting her by helicopter to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
Her dog and husband weren’t injured.
“More than 20 people have died from burns suffered after they entered or fell into Yellowstone’s hot springs,” park officials said on Tuesday, according to The Hill.
But it’s not just visitors who should be more careful around the hot springs, one source told Yellowstone National Park Trips in March.
“Geothermal attractions are one of the most dangerous natural features in Yellowstone, but I don’t sense that awareness in either visitors or employees,” Hank Heasler, the park’s principal geologist, told Yellowstone National Park Trips.
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