Scary scene: Woman burned while hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park

A scary moment occurred earlier this week in Wyoming when a 60-year-old woman was injured in Yellowstone National Park.

According to a communicated by the National Park ServiceThe woman had come from the New Hampshire area with her husband and dog when she ventured off trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead, an area nearby and known for the Old Faithful geyser. The area is a relatively popular spot with several hot springs. The trail itself is about three miles one way.

She was walking off trail with her husband and leashed dog in an area known for its hot springs when she broke through a thin crust covering the boiling waters on the trail. The statement also said the woman, whose name was not released by park officials, suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg as a result of the incident.

After initially being treated at the local Park Medical Center, the woman and her family were transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for further evaluation.

The NPS statement urged visitors to “stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution” after the incident. As discovered in the accident, the ground is fragile due to the extremely dangerous hot water that lies beneath the surface in the area.

Yellowstone is a vast park that spans three states, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, with more than 900 miles of hiking trails. Park officials remind visitors in their statement that pets are not allowed in the thermal areas, which cover about 15 miles of boardwalks and trails near some of the geological areas that require the most caution when traveling. Some of the deepest thermal waters in the area can reach temperatures of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park, attracts an average of more than 4 million visitors a year and has seen a high number of injuries from the area’s thermal waters. Since 1890, park officials have reported that at least 22 people have died from injuries related to the hot springs. The incident is still under further investigation and no updates are available at this time. The National Park Service confirmed that this was the first known thermal injury of 2024.