Over 20,000 Items Removed From Hydrothermal Features at Yellowstone National Park

What do a single snowshoe, a baseball cap, a Polaroid picture, a lens cap, and a hotel key have in common? They’re just one of over 20,000 items removed from the hydrothermal features at Yellowstone National Park by park staff so far in 2026. According to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO), this has been a record-setting year for these items.

While these items ending up in hydrothermal features is not surprising — the park sees over 4.5 million visitors annually — it is unfortunate to see them mar this natural beauty. Worse, these objects can negatively impact the fragile life within these features.

Removing these items is not easy, and park staff must be specially trained to do so.

"They have a lot of training in how to work in thermal areas safely, first of all," Michael Poland, the Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, told Discover. "But they also have a variety of tools — for example, a 30-foot grabber! That way, they can "reach" quite far, and can work from areas that they know are safe and extract items from areas that are decidedly unsafe."

Check out some of the interesting items park staff have removed so far, and learn how to prevent your personal items from falling into these features.

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Read More: These Yellowstone Hot Springs Look Peaceful Until They Start Thumping

What Items Did Park Staff Find in Yellowstone Features?

Yellowstone National Park is a unique place. And the hydrothermal features are a wonder to behold. However, because of their extreme temperatures and delicate surroundings, park officials built boardwalks that weave through them so guests can avoid being burned by hot water or damaging the fragile ecosystem.

Many of the items park staff collect come from these hydrothermal areas, including the Old Faithful area and the Midway Geyser Basin, which contains the Grand Prismatic Spring. While accidents can happen, the wind may take a hat, or something falls out of a pocket; some people do intentionally throw things into the features — like rocks, sticks, and even coins. The items pulled from the features can be surprising, while others are not, and so far, they include:

Hats

Park staff have removed more than 280 hats from the hydrothermal features in 2026. They range from baseball hats, including a FIFA World Cup hat, to sun hats to bucket hats. If the hats can be cleaned and are wearable, Yellowstone will donate them at year's end.

Currency

According to the YVO, park officials removed over $18 in loose change from the features. The coins included U.S. currency, euros, Canadian dollars, pesos, and yen. While coins can easily slip from someone’s pocket, some guests purposely toss the coins into the features, associating them with wishing wells. Park staff highly advise against this.

Sunglasses

Yellowstone can be sunny, so many visitors pack sunglasses for their trip. However, this year 36 pairs of sunglasses ended up in these hydrothermal features. They may have slipped off of someone’s head or their shirt.

Camera Lens Caps

Taking photos of features in the park can be a highlight for any visitor; however, keep an eye on your lens cap. Park staff have removed 54 caps so far in 2026.

Children’s Toys

Yellowstone National Park attracts many families, especially those with young kids. Many children bring their toys along as they check out the hot springs, and sometimes those toys end up in the hot springs. Park staff removed toy cars, rubber ducks, toy dinosaurs, LEGO figures, badges, fidget spinners, silly bands, and even slime from the springs.

Staff also removed dozens of binkies and children’s jewelry.

Miscellaneous Items

Surprising finds from the cleanup include an inhaler, hotel keys, and Polaroid pictures of the hydrothermal features themselves.

Dozens of hair ties and clips were pulled out of the features, along with pencils and AirPods. One of the largest items was a single snowshoe.

The grossest things the staff found were 6 Invisalign retainers, 15 fake nails, and used floss picks.

How Do These Objects Impact the Hydrothermal Features

Yellowstone’s thermal features are not only unique, but they’re also very delicate. According to the YVO, foreign items that fall into these features, whether by accident or on purpose, can damage these features. Sometimes they may clog the feature’s water supply or pollute the feature with chemicals or sediment that may be on the foreign objects.

"The biggest issue might be that too much debris (not just hats and coins, but also sticks and stones) can clog up the vents in hot springs, which will lower the water temperature and change the bacterial communities. This has famously happened at several springs, like Morning Glory, which over time changed color and never regained their former colors, even after extensive cleaning," Poland said.

According to the YVO, this damage can take months or years to undo.

"Wind is the real culprit for a lot of this debris. So people should be very conscious of windy conditions, hold onto their hats, and stuff any loose wrappers or other garbage into a pack or sealable pocket," Poland said.

Staff urges visitors to secure their trash and personal items when visiting the park, especially in these hydrothermal areas. Stay on trails and boardwalks, and always remember to leave no trace.

Read More: Recent Hydrothermal Explosion at Yellowstone National Park — Later, a New Thermal Pool Appears

Article Sources

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

• This article references information from the USGS: Caps, trash, and other hydrothermal funky finds: 2026 edition