Pierce Brosnan pleads guilty to illegal hiking charge and agrees to pay $1,500 fine for walking into protected Yellowstone hot spring

Actor Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty to an illegal hiking charge and agreed to pay a $1,500 fine for entering a protected hot spring in Yellowstone.

This comes nearly two months after the James Bond actor pleaded not guilty after venturing off the permitted trail in Yellowstone National Park in November 2023.

Pierce pleaded guilty to one of two illegal hiking charges against him after he allegedly tried to get a closer look at thermals in the Mammoth Terraces section of the park, according to court documents filed Thursday.

The Mammoth Terraces are a popular feature of Yellowstone, constantly changing in color and activity.

Federal regulations require visitors to national parks to stay on the designated walkways. Venturing off the boardwalk is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

The James Bond star, seen here standing on the springs, entered the plea through a paper filing on January 4 in the US District Court for Wyoming

Brosnan pleaded not guilty in January to allegedly hiking into the ‘delicate’ and dangerous hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, despite being pictured standing in the protected area at the time of the alleged trespass.

The James Bond star entered the plea via paper filing on Jan. 4 about the November 2023 incident in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming, according to the Cowboy State Daily.

Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick granted the 70-year-old’s request to cancel his initial appearance and instead set up a virtual conference for February 20.

Brosnan was cited twice for the alleged violations at the thermals in the Mammoth Terraces section of the park, and had been scheduled to appear in court on January 23.

The alleged offenses are said to have taken place on 1 November. A personal photo uploaded to an account exposing Yellowstone ‘tourons’ (tourist idiots) showed him at the snowy springs.

The features are dangerous and fragile. If they are damaged, it can take years to fix them. Several people have been killed by falling into Yellowstone’s scalding pools.

James Bond actor accused of leaving designated walkway and attempting to access thermals at Mammoth Terraces

The Irish star had been in the area filming ‘The Unholy Trinity’, a western starring Brosnan as a sheriff alongside Samuel L. Jackson. He is seen here in ‘Dante’s Peak’

Brosnan is just the latest tourist to try to bend the rules at the fantastic park.

At least 22 people have died from burns in Yellowstone’s springs and geysers.

They include Colin Nathaniel Scott, who is believed to have dissolved in the warm acidic water after leaving the boardwalk at the park’s Norris Geyser Basin in search of a place to soak in 2015.

Similarly, the foot of Il Hun Ro, 70, was discovered by a national park employee after apparently falling in.

In 2021, a Connecticut woman was jailed for seven days, fined $2,000 and banned from Yellowstone for two years for leaving the walkway and approaching the thermals.