The Hot Springs

It’s the gift of these natural hot springs that make this historic
four-season resort seem like it’s a world away from the every day.

Take the plunge into our two open-air natural mineral hot springs pools. Guests soak, swim, play and relax in our chemical-free, geothermally heated pools every day of the year. Watch the sun rise over the Absaroka Mountains or gaze into the night sky while soaking in soothing waters. 

Resort Guests:

Guests staying with us enjoy more access to the pools.

  • Hours: Lodging Guests have access to the pools from 7:00 AM-11:00 PM daily
  • Admission is included in the lodging fee

Day Guests:

Day passes are available for sale in the Saloon, Poolside Grille, Guest Services, and Gift Shop.  Rates: Adults and children ages 7 and up $14.00, children ages 3-6 $8.00 Seniors ages 65+ $8.00. Hours: 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM Daily.  Towel rental $2.50, lockers available.

Details, Policies & Information
  • 7:00 AM to 10:00PM daily for resort guests – admission is included in the lodging rate.
  • No chemicals added, no sulfur, no odor.
  • The temperatures of the hot springs pools fluctuate slightly due to natural elements and occurrences.The large pool averages 96 F and the small pool averages 103 F. During the warm summer months cold spring water is added to maintain a comfortable temperature for our guests.
  • Towels are available at no charge to resort guests and are available to day guests for a small rental fee at Guest Services at the Front Desk.
  • Pool toys are permitted and are also for sale in the Poolside Grille and at the Gift Shop.
  • Lunch, dinner and drinks are available from the Poolside Grille and Saloon.
  • Please do not bring outside food or beverages be brought into the pool area. No coolers or glass is allowed on the pool deck.
  • Locker rooms including showers, changing areas, and lockers are located in the pool area.
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult; there is no lifeguard on duty.
  • Warning – Use of the hot pools by children under two (2) years of age is not recommended. Water above 100 degrees may be harmful to infants. Consult your physician.
  • The Day Spa is located on the hillside above the pools and is the idyllic addition to a soak in the hot springs.
  • Our large pool and restrooms are handicap accessible. For assistance, please contact Guest Services at the Front Desk or call (406) 333-4933.

History of Chico Hot Springs

“I went out to the hot springs and washed my dirty duds.”

These words were the first written record of the hot springs at Chico, noted from the diary of miner John S. Hackney, dated January 16, 1865.

Many gold miners, who worked claims in nearby Emigrant Gulch, utilized the springs. By the late 1890s the natural hot springs flowed into two wooden tubs, each about 4-feet deep and housed inside a small wooden building located where the hot springs come to the earth’s surface.

Of course, Native Indian tribes discovered the hot springs for thousands of years and used them frequently. Paradise Valley was a valued hunting ground for bison, elk and deer. The Crow, Flathead, Blackfoot, Shoshone and Nez Perce tribes, camped and hunted in the area, and used the hot springs for both cooking and preparing hides, as well as bathing.

The Main Lodge of Chico Warm Springs Hotel was opened in 1900 by Bill and Percie Knowles. With the hotel came a larger hot springs pool. The pool was 44 feet in diameter and 6 feet deep; there were also private baths and baths for ladies only.

By 1902 the “Plunge” was doubled in size to include two large oval shaped pools, one 6 feet deep and one 9 feet deep, enclosed in an expansive wooden building and declared a natatorium. Between 1917 and 1919 the “Plunge” was changed again – one large rectangular pool took the place of the oval pools, a lobby was built (the current saloon) and additional lodging rooms were built as a second floor over the top of the pool lobby.

The “Plunge” and building housing the pool went through further changes prior to the 1950s. In May of 1957 the rounded roof over the natatorium collapsed on approximately 70 swimmers. Only two swimmers had minor injuries while everyone else walked away unharmed. Moving forward, the roof was never rebuilt over the large pool and the open-air pool became popular with soakers and swimmers forever after.

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, the “Plunge” was popular not just as a swimming pool, but as therapeutic treatment for a variety of ailments in the early days of the resort. It was heralded as Wonderland and for its Healing Waters. Advertisements promoted the curative powers of the natural mineral hot springs pools for everything from kidney troubles to blood disease and skin disorders. In 1902 the Chief of the US General Survey, Professor F.W. Clark, performed an analysis of the mineral content of the hot springs water. The analysis showed the following solid contents (in 100 parts):

  • Calcium Carbonate 8.65
  • Magnesium Carbonate 2.69
  • Sodium Carbonate 2.74
  • Sodium Sulfate 4.87
  • Potassium Chloride .83
  • Sodium Chloride .58
  • Silica 3.17

Total solid contents 23.53

Geology of Chico Hot Springs

There are times our guests inform us that the water is too hot! They ask if we can please turn it down. Well, no, actually we can’t turn it down…

A hot spring is formed when the earth’s molten rock superheats water far beneath the earth’s surface. This superheated water is forced slowly toward the earth’s surface as a result of convection currents through fractures and fissures in the rock layers of the earth, heating rocks and water closer to the earth’s surface as it moves. As the water makes its way through the earth’s crust, the immense pressure begins to drop as the water comes closer to the surface, allowing for flowing water at the earth’s surface. The mineral content described above may not be the mineral content of the hot springs water at Chico today, as earth’s elements are constantly changing. The superheated water, however, dissolves minerals along its path to the surface and the minerals stay in the hot water as it flows into our hot springs pools.

Chico Hot Springs