Just some of the hats collected by the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program from sensitive thermal areas throughout the park in 2025. (Margery Price/NPS via SWNS)
By Dean Murray
Geologists at Yellowstone National Park have pulled more than 300 lost hats from the famous hot springs.
The headwear, estimated to be worth over $6,000, is among a range of items collected so far this year, including a Birkenstock sandal, a stuffed koala toy, and a pizza box with slices still inside.
A researcher collects a sample of thermophilic cyanobacteria from a hot spring in Yellowstone's Lower Geyser Basin. (NPS via SWNS)
A team from the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program is tasked with removing items from the park's sensitive thermal areas.
So far in 2025, the crew has collected more than 13,000 pieces of trash and 4,000 rocks and sticks from hydrothermal areas.
Yellowstone National Park Geology Program team member Mara Reed uses a long grabber pole to remove a park map, presumably blown from a visitor's hand or pack by the wind, from a feature in Upper Mammoth Terraces. (Samantha Hilburn / NPS via SWNS)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said: "To reach this debris, which is often literally floating in boiling water, the Geology team uses a collection of tools: some off-the-shelf and others manufactured in-house using little more than creativity and elbow grease.
"From 2-foot to 12-foot and even 30-foot grabber poles, to fishing rods and extra-long slotted spoons, the team uses (or creates!) any device necessary to remove items safely.
Yellowstone National Park Geology Program team member Margery Price installs a thermal danger sign near Maiden's Grave Spring along Fountain Flat Drive. (Samantha Hilburn / NPS via SWNS)
"With so much time spent collecting debris, it’s only natural to find some bizarre items. Favorite finds from the team during the summer of 2025 include a Birkenstock sandal, a pizza box with slices still inside, a fake Louis Vuitton bucket hat, a stuffed koala toy, a ball cap with the phrase ‘I PEE IN THE LAKE,’ and a Polaroid picture of Excelsior Geyser — which was found within Excelsior Geyser’s crater!"
In addition to hydrothermal trash collection, the Geology team also conducts a lot of scientific work. The staff use water-quality instruments and a network of more than 100 temperature sensors to measure chemical composition and the eruptive activity of features across the park — information that is used by the park’s interpretive staff to help predict geyser behavior.
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