A 17-year-old hiker has suffered significant burns while walking in a thermal area of Yellowstone National Park.
According to a news release by the National Park Service, the unidentified male hiker was in the vicinity of Lone Star Geyser near Old Faithful on the morning of Monday, July 28, when the incident occurred.
"His foot broke through the thin crust and he suffered burns to a lower extremity. Emergency medical staff responded and transported the patient to a hospital for further treatment," states the NPS.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2025, though there have been many incidents of tourists sustaining severe burns by getting too close to thermal features at the Wyoming park.
The Park Service doesn't mention whether the teenager was hiking off the boardwalks, which have been put in place to protect visitors, saying only that the incident remains under investigation. They did take the opportunity to remind all park visitors to remain on boardwalks and to keep a good distance from all thermal pools and geysers. If you're planning on visiting the park this year, you can learn more in our article on hot spring safety at Yellowstone.
Lone Star Geyser erupts up to 45 feet (13.7 m) from a 12-foot (3.6 m) cone approximately every three hours.
