Excelsior Geyser Crater
Excelsior Geyser Crater is what is left of a big fountain geyser that no longer erupts. It sits in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, on the Gallatin County side of Wyoming, with West Yellowstone the closest town on record at around fourteen miles. The water is near boiling. OpenStreetMap tags this spot as Indigo Spring, so expect to see both names. Anyone can visit, and visiting means looking. Soaking is out of the question at that heat.
This one is roadside. The Grand Loop Road passes a couple hundred feet from the crater on National Park Service land. The basin sits at roughly 7,200 feet and the climate on file is cold, with a hundred and fifty inches of snow in a typical year. Expect a long winter.
The record lists December through February as the best months, and since those are also the snowiest, winter access depends entirely on what the park opens up. Roadside access, open to the public. The closest campground on file is the Big Springs group area over at Island Park, about twenty miles away. The water is near boiling and will scald instantly. Keep well back from the rim.
Excelsior was a fountain-type geyser that went dormant, and the name on the map today is Excelsior Geyser Crater. Yellowstone superintendent P. W. Norris named it in 1881. OpenStreetMap records the same spot as Indigo Spring.
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Overview Big Springs Group Area is located 22 miles south of West Yellowstone, Montana in beautiful Island Park, Idaho at an approximate elevation of 6,300 feet. Visitors love Island Park for its world-class fishing and outstanding scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities.Recreation Big Springs is the headwaters of Henry's Fork and is one of the largest springs in the country. Henry's Fork is considered one of the best fly-fishing streams in the nation. Fishermen cast for rainbow and brook...
Excelsior Geyser Crater sits at 7,240 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 29% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Excelsior Geyser Crater is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water is dangerously hot, so bring water shoes and test pools carefully. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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