Hot springs near Missoula

The Lewis and Clark party came through here on September 13, 1805, and there's been a resort since 1885, on US 12 below Lolo Pass. The indoor pool runs 104-106 degrees in summer, and the larger outdoor pool that runs 78-85 in summer and cools to 74-78 in winter, so in January the real soak is indoors. Day passes are first-come, first-served, with adults at $16 and under-5s free. It's open until midnight on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and until 10pm otherwise. Camp across the road, or book a deluxe cabin, which comes with two day passes.

Down in the Clark Fork canyon at Paradise, Quinn's runs seven pools: five natural flow-through pools from 100 to 106 degrees with a 55-degree plunge, and two salt-treated pools in the upper 90s. Book before you go. Every day-use swimmer needs an online reservation for one of three four-hour sessions, starting 8am, noon and 4pm. Pools are split by age, with pool 1 for 18 and over; under-fives stay out of anything above 100, and there's no lifeguard. From October 1, 2026 it's $21 Monday to Thursday and $23 Friday to Sunday. Cabin and lodge guests soak 8am to 10pm, with adults-only hours either side.

Just over Lolo Pass on the Idaho side, Jerry Johnson is a forest soak you walk to from the Warm Springs Trailhead at milepost 152 on US 12, beside the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River. The rules decide the visit. It's day use only, 6am to 8pm, with no overnight camping at the springs, and officers patrol and write citations outside those hours. If you want to stay, Jerry Johnson Campground nearby has 20 sites with no fee and no water, open June 6 to October 31. The trail length isn't published, so leave daylight for the walk back. Lolo, Montana is about an hour away.

Read this before you drive: Fairmont's pools are open only to overnight resort guests and members, 7am to 10pm, and no day pass is sold. Guests get a lot of water, with a 164 by 59 foot outdoor pool and a 128 by 45 foot indoor pool at 88-94 degrees, hot pools at 100-104, an adult soaking pool, a family soaking pool and a cold plunge around 65. The 350-foot enclosed waterslide, five stories tall, is closed through Thanksgiving 2026 while a pool renovation is finished. The indoor pools also close November 1-6, so check the dates when you book a room.

A historic hotel in a town called, helpfully, Hot Springs, with three outdoor pools: a hot pool averaging about 107 degrees, a lower pool near 101 and a swimming pool near 95. Day soakers are welcome every day, and hotel guests get the pools included. The rules are worth knowing before you pack: no glass, smoking, music, food or animals in the pool area, and children must stay in the same pool area as an adult at all times. Adults pay $15. Staying in the valley a while? The 10-swim punch pass is $70. Towels rent for $2.

Just below Lost Trail Pass at the top of the Bitterroot Valley, this resort has a 20 by 70 foot spring-fed pool averaging 95 degrees, with a 9-foot deep end that shallows to a 10-inch wading section for small children. Add a hot tub at 103-105 and a dry sauna; in winter a dome goes over the pool. The catch is the hours. It opens three or four days a week depending on season, Friday through Sunday for most of the year, so call before you drive. Bring cash, since adults pay $10 and cards add 3 percent. The lodges are named for Sacajawea and Meriwether Lewis.

Between Helena and Butte in the Boulder Valley, this historic inn sells day visitors the whole place for one price: an outdoor pool at 96-100 degrees, indoor plunges at 103-106, steam rooms and dressing rooms. It runs as an alcohol, drug and smoke-free property, so leave the cooler in the car. You'll shower before you get in, there's no lifeguard, and kids under 12 need an adult with them. Day use runs 10am to 8pm every day. Come on a weekday and adults pay $12 rather than $14, and if you'll be back, the 10-pass costs the price of 9.

Helena's hot springs doubles as a gym, and one day rate covers both: five hot pools, two cool pools for contrast therapy, a sauna and steam room, fitness classes and the weights. Upstairs, the Springs pools range from 57 to 104 degrees. Downstairs, the Soaker pools run 97-102 with 50-59 degree cold plunges and a waterfall. The big 89-93 degree recreation pool is listed as closed, so don't promise the kids laps. Monday to Thursday is the cheaper stretch, with adults at $17 against $22 from Friday. A taproom and grill handle the afterwards, and every admission is final sale.

A free hike-in soak south of Salmon, with the trailhead on BLM land and the springs themselves on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. Head 23 miles south of Salmon on Highway 93, turn east just past Elk Bend, and drive 0.3 miles on the county road. The first quarter mile of trail crosses private land on a public easement: keep dogs leashed there, stay on the path, and be a good guest, because courtesy is what keeps that access open. Nobody publishes the trail length, the number of pools or a water temperature, so bring water and decent shoes and give yourself plenty of daylight.

In the small Big Hole Valley town of Jackson, this lodge pairs a chemical-free geothermal pool at 100-106 degrees with rooms, a restaurant and a bar, which covers most of what a long valley evening needs. Two rules decide the trip. Children five and under are not allowed in the hot spring, by state law, and the lodge says so in capitals. And the property is closed to the public midweek, with the pool open Monday only from 8 to 10am. Plan for Thursday through Sunday, when it opens by 10am and stays open until 11pm. Adults pay $12, children $9.

Right on the Salmon River outside Challis, this is a simple, welcome pool stop on the long haul up US 93. The big pool is 100 by 30 feet and kept near 96 degrees in summer and 98 to 100 in winter; the hot pool sits around 105. The odorless water bubbles up through the pools themselves at nearly 3 cubic feet per second. RV and tent sites make it an easy summer overnight. In winter the campground closes, the pools go 18-and-over and they shut Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission prices aren't posted, so call ahead on 208-879-4442.