Boiling Spring
73 mi from Louisville · ~2.1 hr drive
Boiling Spring is a boiling spring catalogued in Kentucky by the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System — about 73 miles from Louisville, KY, inside Mammoth Cave National Park. Coordinates and the closest documented metro are listed below; for current access and soaking rules, check with the relevant land manager before visiting.
Safety & access
This feature is inside Mammoth Cave National Park and is federally protected. Stay on designated boardwalks and trails — leaving them damages fragile thermal-features and is illegal. Soaking is prohibited in most NPS thermal areas.
Water in geysers and boiling springs reaches well over 180 °F (82 °C) and can scald instantly. Never enter the water. Steam itself can cause burns.
Before you go: check current conditions and access rules with the relevant land manager — National Park Service unit, U.S. Forest Service ranger district, Bureau of Land Management field office, state-park department, or the property owner if it's private. Wild thermal water can be unsafe to enter without a thermometer; surface temperatures can vary dramatically from the deeper pool. When in doubt, don't soak.
- State
- Kentucky
- Nearest city
- Louisville, KY · 73 mi · ~2.1 hr drive
- Type
- Boiling spring
- Coordinates
- 37.2485°, -86.1710°
- Park
- Mammoth Cave National Park (NP)
- County
- Edmonson
- GNIS ID
- 487629
About Mammoth Cave National Park
Boiling Spring is inside Mammoth Cave National Park, a U.S. National Park managed by the National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, boardwalk routing, and reservation requirements are published directly on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter.
Entrance fee: Free. No entrance fee. Cave tours require ticketed reservations.
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/maca/
Visiting Boiling Spring
The exact location is at 37.2485°, -86.1710° — open in Google Maps for driving directions from your location.
If you've visited Boiling Spring and have current notes (parking, access, soaking rules, fees, ownership), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn more.
Stay nearby
Other hot springs within 30 miles
Sources
Location data for Boiling Spring comes from the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System (public domain), feature class "Spring". We filter the GNIS Spring catalog to thermal features by name pattern (hot spring, warm spring, geyser, boiling spring, thermal). The GNIS records the geographic feature itself; access rules, ownership, and current conditions come from the relevant land manager. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page or contact us.