A Colorado Springs man will serve jail time and be banned from Yellowstone National Park, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming recently announced. His crime: leaving the trail in a thermal area of the park.

A summer trip to the great outdoors for one Colorado family has turned into a great big mess. 62-year-old Joseph Aita and others he was traveling with accidentally and unknowingly went off the beaten path at Yellowstone National Park, and now the Department of Justice is bringing the hammer down on him.

Yellowstone National Park saw a 16% increase in October visits with 346,025 recreational visits in 2024, up from 299,127 in 2023.

Joseph Aita, 62, was sentenced to seven days in jail, five years of probation with a ban from Yellowstone National Park for those five years and a fine of $3,000 after pleading guilty to destroying a mineral resource.

Thermal springs in Yellowstone are unpredictable in nature and surrounded by possible weak ground layers. Boardwalks are in place to protect you from serious injury or worse, as well as the precious ecosystem the National Park was established to preserve. Staying on the trail could save your life and helps encourage other hikers to do the same.

Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyo. - Yellowstone National Park is seeing more visitors. The park hosted 346,025 recreation visits in October 2024, a 16% increase from October 2023 (299,127 recreational visits). This October's visitation showed a 9% increase from October 2021 (316,662 recreation visits).

A Colorado man was sentenced to jail and banned from Yellowstone National Park after officials say he walked off a designated trail and entered a protected area.

While the 63 national parks across the U.S. delight visitors with scenery and wildlife not found anywhere else, untapped nature also poses many dangers — particularly for those who wander off the official trails.