FILE: Mound Terrace in Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park on May 27, 2021.

There are lots of ways to get in trouble in Yellowstone National Park: get too close to wolves, get too close to bears, get too close to bison. Last fall, a man from Texas demonstrated another way: He got too close to hot springs. 

Eric Bedient, a 50-year-old from Frisco, Texas, stepped off trail and walked on “several fragile and dangerous hydrothermal features” on Nov. 8, 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Wyoming. Last week, he was sentenced to five days in jail as a result. According to court documents, his sentence will be served at a federal facility near his home in Texas. 

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It’s against the law to “thermal trespass” in Yellowstone. It’s also deadly. Thin rock crusts surround hot springs filled with water hot enough to severely burn or kill people. More than 20 people have died from Yellowstone hot spring burns. 

FILE: An aerial view of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park on June 23, 2022.

“Yellowstone’s thermal areas are among the most dangerous natural features in the world,” said U.S. Attorney Darin Smith in a news release. “Mr. Bedient’s disregard for the law could have cost him his life.” 

Bedient walked near Canary Spring, Mound Terrace, Palette Hot Spring and Jupiter Terrace, ignoring prominent signage. All of these springs are part of the Mammoth Hot Springs area. Canary Spring is often a gold color, though it sometimes has splashes of vibrant pink and other neon colors. Nearby, Mound and Jupiter terraces feature hillsides covered in chalky white, limestone, step-like rocks.

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FILE: Marble Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.

Boardwalks with hand rails crisscross the whole area and are the only safe and legal way to experience the hot springs. 

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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the sentence “reflected the extensive nature of violation, the damage Bedient’s footprints left behind and Bedient’s failure to educate himself” about the park’s regulations. 

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“Prosecuting crimes like this deters others from similar conduct — and from risking becoming thermal soup,” Smith said. “We will continue to hold individuals accountable to protect lives and preserve this unique, irreplaceable landscape when their actions threaten these national treasures for future generations.”

FILE: Canary Spring at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. 

Bedient joins the likes of actor Pierce Brosnan and numerous other tourists who’ve walked on delicate thermal features in the past, with varying punishment. Brosnan was fined $500 and ordered to pay $1,000 to the Yellowstone Forever fund in March 2024 after also walking on thermal features at Mammoth Hot Springs and posting on Instagram about it. 

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While Brosnan avoided jail time, others haven’t been so lucky. Two men were sentenced to 10 days in jail, as well as receiving a five-year park ban and being ordered to pay $540 in fines, after trespassing near Old Faithful in 2019. A Washington man went to jail for a week and received a two-year park ban for walking off the boardwalk near a geyser in 2014. 

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FILE: Colorful mineral formations of Palette Spring in the Mammoth Hot Springs area in Yellowstone National Park.

The summer of 2025 was a busy time for hot springs trespassing and burns, as well as trash ending up in hot springs. A teenager went off-trail at the Lone Star Geyser, near Old Faithful, and burned his foot and ankle in July. On the same day, another man reportedly walked near the Grand Prismatic Spring in flip-flops. Footage posted online appeared to show a man drinking from another hot spring in the same month. 

Visitors to Yellowstone this summer should remember to stay on boardwalks and designated trails, not touch (or ingest) thermal features or runoff, and not attempt to swim or soak in hot springs. Pets are also prohibited in thermal areas and boardwalks, even if they are on a leash. 

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