Shocking moment 'tourons' stray off the boardwalk and wade into hot spring at Yellowstone - as experts reveal serious dangers

A group of tourists have been caught on camera straying off the boardwalk in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, almost wading into one of the parks famous hot springs. 

The video, which saw four visitors, some only dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, was posted to an Instagram account entitled 'Tourons of Yellowstone' - a compilation of instances of stupid behavior by tourists to the park.

Yellowstone hot springs are extremely hot, with temperatures either close to boiling point or even hotter. 

Some of the geothermal springs and certain geysers, can have temperatures that far exceed boiling point due to the pressure underground with temperatures of up to 250 Fahrenheit. 

In the video, people can be seen walking through the thermal mist while picking things up from the ground.

Such behavior is advised against by the park wardens. 

'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,' Yellowstone's webpage states.

The tourists risked being badly burned or being overcome by toxic fumes by ignoring signs that stipulate for visitor to stick to the designated paths and boardwalk. 

'Toxic gases may accumulate to dangerous levels in some hydrothermal areas,' signs note. 

Those commenting on the footage online were not impressed with the footage.

'What is it going to take for people to not be so entitled, selfish, careless and reckless? We can all get on here and say we hate them, or wish for the bison win, but real honest to God question... what will it really take??' asked one user.

'Please arrest them and ban them from all National Parks!!!' wrote a second commenter. 

'Why are they just walking off of the path? The dumbing down is apparently complete!!!' added another. 

It's not the only example of bad behavior this season. Last month, a vandal who carved the name 'Nick' into a rockface at Yellowstone draw ire among fans of the iconic park.

A photo shared in the Facebook group 'Yellowstone National Park: Invasion of The Idiots' showed the scribble on a thermal crust off the Biscuit Basin boardwalk. 

The scratching said, 'Nick and [illegible] were here.' Members of the Facebook group have launched an effort to try and identify Nick and his partner in crime.

'Dirty, rotten a******s! Get photographic evidence catching them in the act! They deserve to be reported and publicly shamed! This is getting ridiculous,' said one group member. 

'Please take a picture of the people doing this and follow them to their vehicle and take a picture of their license plate and turn it in,' said another.

'There are only so many Rangers so they need our help with this. Let's not let these people destroy our beautiful parks. Let's get em people.'

The Biscuit Basin trial is a 0.6-mile loop that wraps around hydrothermal features, such as Sapphire Pool, Avoca Spring and Jewel Geyser which erupts every seven to 10 minutes.

Others who viewed the picture expressed their fury over the vandalism and said how'd they like to get revenge towards the people violating the park rules.

'Man if I see someone doing this they will be eating that rock and then nothing solid ever again. People are ignorant and I'm ready to just start shutting people's lights out,' said one person. 

'I’d like to stake them out over a hill full of fire ants,' said another.

As tourists season ramps up in Yellowstone, so do groups dedicated to capturing moron tourists - dubbed 'tourons' - in an attempt to hold them accountable.

The Instagram account is open to submissions as a way encourage visitors to hold each other accountable.

Another recently submitted clip shows three tourists risking their lives for the sake of a snapshot.

'I was at the Upper Falls Middle Brink and three people decided to climb over the stone wall and onto the side of the mountain for better pictures,' the caption of the clip said, citing the user's submission description.

'This video was sent to the authorities. Please do not climb over the railings! This is so dangerous! And if you slip and fall and die then someone has to risk their life to go retrieve your body!' the rest of the caption read. 'Please follow the rules and be safe! You don't want to end up in the new edition of 'Death in Yellowstone.''

Another recent clip from the park's Old Faithful webcam, footage shows a touron within arms length of a bison, venturing off the established trail to interact with the wildlife.

'I was yelling at my computer,' Connie Witte Reynolds told Cowboy State Daily, who watched the scene unfold in a classroom with her students. 'There was actually another bison there with this one a bit later. A person came from the other direction and walked within arm's length.'

'The largest influx of tourists visit Yellowstone during the height of spring or fall. But these tourons are getting a head start this year. 

'We're already seeing new levels of stupidity this year,' Jen Mignard, owner of the Facebook page Yellowstone National Park: Invasion of the Idiots, told Cowboy State Daily. 

'I suspect that with even more tourism, we're going to see a lot more really negative actions coming out of the park.' 

The park's West Entrance and several interior roads opened last month with plenty of videos of tourists wreaking havoc already circulating on social media.

'Someone was lying in the middle of the road, taking a picture of a bison as it walked up the hill toward him. I bet they let him get within 20 feet, then jumped up and ran off the road,' Mignard said.

The man in the video had a large professional lens on his camera, one meant to capture high-quality zoomed-in imaged from a distance. Moving closer to the subject with that kind of lens ultimately defeats the purpose of the attachment, Mignard said.

Per park regulations, tourists are to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards from less threatening animals, such as bison and elk.

Another clip posted earlier in the season sees two tourists walking along the side of the road, coming up right next to a mother and baby bison without any regard for their space.

Tourists close interactions with wildlife are the most common occurrence caught on camera. 

Another video shows a line of cars trying to get into the park, with people getting out of their cars to take pictures of the bison crossing the street.

'Once people are given free rein to take themselves through the park, and they think that there's no one supervising them, rules no longer apply,' Mignard said. 'And then it breaks loose, and they do really dangerous activities.'

Mignard said he believes idealized social media coverage of Yellowstone has desensitized visitors to the real dangers of the wildlife

'It's over tourism and this sense of familiarity that people have because they do see the pictures,' she said. 'And when (tourists) have this false sense of security due to familiarity, that's a recipe for trouble.' 

Last year, tourists wreaked just as much havoc across the national park.

In May 2023, a clueless Yellowstone National Park tourist was nearly covered in boiling hot water after he wandered towards the famous Old Faithful geyser right before it erupted.

The man was filmed strolling towards the hot spring as crowds of panicked people shouted at him to turn back.

He ignored the pleas and casually strolled towards the geyser which is one of just six in the park that regularly erupt at temperatures of up to 244 degrees Fahrenheit.

That same month, two tourists came dangerously close to being gored by bisons at Yellowstone National Park in shocking videos posted within the span of two weeks.

The video captured a woman extending her hand in an attempt to touch the bison.

In a split second, the bison lunged forward, giving the impression that it was about to charge. 

The woman quickly retreated in a panic, stumbling over herself in the process. 

The frightened screams of the group could thenn be heard in the background.