Visit a Boiling Spring in Indiana That Isn’t Really Boiling

Maybe digging into this unique attraction in the Hoosier State will help explain something I saw in Kentucky several years ago.

While going for a drive in rural Daviess County, I drove out KY 405 and past Carpenter and Kingfisher Lakes. That night--and it was late--Kingfisher Lake appeared to be boiling. I didn't get any pictures because I had no camera on me. It was also before I got a mobile phone. So that should tell you it was more than 20 years ago. I never saw anything about it in the newspaper, and a Google search on such a phenomenon only led me to a scientific explanation that sometimes methane can be present in lake water. Since the colorless and odorless gas doesn't dissolve in water, bubbles form.

Boiling Spring in the Hoosier National Forest

I accept that and have moved on to southern Indiana and Boiling Spring. That's its name but it isn't really boiling. It's part of the Hoosier National Forest's 80-mile-long Lost River, 23 miles of which are underground. Boiling Spring technically known as a rise pool, a part of the river that RISES to the surface for all to see. Our host gets to Boiling Spring at the 2:38 mark:

Why Is Boiling Spring Called Boiling Spring?

Let's get back to the fact that the water isn't really boiling. Can you imagine the temperature of a small body of water freakishly rising to 212 degrees Fahrenheit? No, that is not a concern at Wesley Chapel Gulf. Naturally (no pun intended), the U.S. Forest Service has the answer:

So, yes, there is no reason to be alarmed, but there are plenty of reasons to keep your mobile device charged. If you happen upon Boiling Spring at the right time, you'll hit the photographic jackpot.