Hot Springs State Park - Thermopolis, Wyoming
For my July road trip out to Glacier National Park, my dad suggested I make
a stop at Thermopolis, Wyoming to visit the world famous mineral hot springs.
Apparently he and my mom had stopped there on one of their trucking trips
together many years ago so I decided to do as dad says and added it to my itinerary.
Scroll on down to read more about my time in this state park!
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Hot Springs State Park History
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Hot Springs State Park, aka The Big Horn Hot Springs State Reserve, was
Wyoming’s first state park and was established 125 years ago in 1897. When it
was first turned into a state park an agreement was made between the Eastern
Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes when they sold the park to the government
to allow that access to the therapeutic mineral hot springs remain free which is something
the park still adheres to to this day with its free admission and free state bath house
where you can go and soak in the 104 degree hot springs all year round.
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Fun Fact! Over 18,000 gallons of water flows every 24 hours from the hot springs within
the park at temperatures ranging from 128-135 degrees F.
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Day 1:
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I arrived in Thermopolis about 6:45pm and checked into the El Rancho Motel
which would serve as my hotel for the evening. I ended up
pulling a “Ron” (aka my dad who can and will talk to anyone) and stuck up quite
the conversation with the lady at the front
desk, Susan. I told her I was wanting to head into Hot Springs State Park for sunset and she ended
up giving me a full run down on the park and suggested a few things for me to do
that I wasn’t even aware of including checking out the bison! After our conversation
I went and threw my stuff in my room, swung through the McDonald's drive-thru,
and then made my way into Hot Springs State Park.
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Per Susan’s suggestion I made sure to find the Bison pasture first. Fun fact, the Bison herd
you see in the park is actually the central herd for the state parks of Wyoming
and have been a part of the park since 1916.
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There were even some calves!
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After sitting and watching the bison for a little while I continued my drive
on pasture road through the park and then stopped at Joe Sneider point.
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My rental truck for the trip.
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I hiked to the end of the trail and began to feel a little like Simba as he stood
with Mufasa and looked out on all the things the sun touched with its rays.
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After the overlook I drove on and parked the truck at the base of Monument
Hill right in front of the Bison pasture gate.
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I set out on my sunset hike via the spirit/monument hill trail and followed
the curving path through the bison pasture to the top of Monument Hill.
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Trail Name: Monument Hill Trail
Round Trip Length: 0.3 miles
Estimated Hike Time: 15 minutes
Elevation Gain: 177 feet
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The trail definitely was not well maintained and could be best described as a
literal cowpath. I highly recommend wearing hiking shoes and long pants if you
do hike this trail because the grass and stickers are tall and will cut your legs up if you
don’t. The trail, even with its built-in stairs, also has a very steep incline so just
prepare your knees and be sure to bring water!
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When I finally reached the top of Monument Hill I was happy to see that I had
the place alll to myself. I walked around the top looking at the huge rock piles
which were actually built to represent the first monuments that used to sit on top
of Monument Hill. These monuments that used to stand at the top were built by
people who could not walk, but who after spending many weeks bathing in and drinking
the water from the springs were then able to walk to the top of the hill. How awesome is that?!
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One thing that wasn't awesome, however, were the huge colonies of bugs that
had taken over most of the rock piles.
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Ew.
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Doing my best to avoid the bugs I found a place to sit and watch the sunset
for a little while and look out onto the small town of Thermopolis and the state park.
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Before the sun was able to get too far below the horizon I decided to head back
down the hill and went to go check out the swinging suspension bridge
which at night is lit up by red, white, and blue lights!
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After checking out the bridge it was officially dark and I was tired so I headed back
to my motel for the night. (Even though this place might not have been
the fanciest I would definitely stay here again. Susan is so nice and I had zero issues with the room.)
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Day 2:
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I decided to start my day a little on the earlier side and eat breakfast at the
Black Bear Cafe in Thermopolis.
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I ordered myself a ham, bacon, and cheese omelet which came with some
freakin' bomb home fries and toast. It was absolutely delicious and everyone
working there was nice. It was almost like eating breakfast at home.
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With my belly full I headed over to the State Bath House in Hot Springs State
Park to have a soak in their free hot spring pool. While there are other bath houses
you can visit in the park (some of which have bigger pools and slides for kids) this is the
only one inside the park that is free of charge. All you have to do is sign
in at the front desk, shower off, and then you can go and soak for up to 20
minutes in one of the two pools (one inside and one outside) filled with the healing mineral waters!
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I read a little in my current book Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
letting the very warm water (I was legit sweating hardcore) soak into my skin
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annnd then when my 20 minutes was up I tried to leave. I say tried because as I was leaving
I was stopped by this older gentleman (who was easily old enough to be my dad)
that was doing everything in his power to try and get me to stay and become
his girlfriend (definitely learned my lesson about wearing a bikini to a place like this! lol) saying things like I am just so
dang pretty it is making his head spin and offering to spend the day with me and take
me fishing. Eventually I was able to make my escape sans boyfriend by
breaking his heart and lying, saying I was already taken. After that not so lovely
interaction I showered again, changed into some dry clothes, and then decided
to go for a stroll on the boardwalk that ran through the park.
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This reminds me so much of Yellowstone National Park!
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After my stroll I tried to take some pictures of me on the swinging bridge, buuuuut
I think the camera was too far away and I was too short for any of them to really
turn out how I wanted them to. It was a good thought just poor execution. lol
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Can you see me out on the bridge? Look for the little black dot in the middle. lol
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I then walked across the road to check out the Black Sulphur Springs, which really
just looked like a black cavernous hole I knew I didn’t want to fall into, and read a
little more information about the park via a nice big sign posted right next to the springs.
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After that I was off to Casper, Wyoming to do a little thrifting (you can check out my thrift haul here)
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Goodwill bathroom selfie. lol
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and then on to Colorado Springs where I would stay for the night so I could
hike the Manitou Incline the next day!
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And that is going to do it for my time at Hot Springs State Park! This state park might not
be all that big, but I do have to say I was impressed and it is a great place to go if
you are looking for a place to chill, relax, take things slow, and enjoy some
amazing sunset views. Thanks for reading!
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Have you been to Hot Springs State Park before? What was the last place you
went to that surprised you? Where should I go next? Let me know in the
comments and be sure to check out my YouTube video for Hot
Springs State Park below. See ya next time!
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