Steamy Romance Turn up the heat with a visit to a hot spring By Dina Mishev
Hot Springs State Park - Thermopolis Wyoming Travel & Tourism
I’m a little nervous. Second dates do that to me, especially when I actually think I like the guy. This one – an off-season soak in Granite Hot Springs, just south of our homes in Jackson – is doing its best to relax me though. A 20-foot waterfall just upstream and then shallow, burble-y Granite Creek well, burbling right past us provide the afternoon’s soundtrack. We’re sitting across from each other in wonderfully warm water. There might be some foot flirtations going on.
Lying down on river rocks lining the small pool’s bottom, we are covered to our shoulders by the water. Some sort of bird circles overhead and a few small snowflakes drift down. I try to impress my date by catching some – snowflakes, not birds – in my mouth. Mostly they go into my eyes.
It’s a heavenly afternoon. I leave thinking I should do it more often; even without a date it would be great.
Wyoming’s hot springs aren’t the architectural wonders like those built by the Romans – who made it a point to visit a spa (or bath as they called them) at least once a day – millennia ago, but our natural hot waters are every bit as therapeutic, relaxing and healing. Because we have doctors and medications of all sorts, most modern hot springers aren’t looking for therapeutics or healing though. I’ve come to Granite Hot Springs for romance; others come for family fun or just to see what hot springs are all about. Because that second date ended up leading to third, fourth and fifth dates, I feel comfortable recommending them for romance. Thankfully, Wyoming has several that fit the bill.
Granite Hot Springs
Twelve miles down a dirt road (summer) and groomed snowmobile and sled-dog track (winter), Granite Hot Springs is tucked deep in the Gros Ventre Mountains. The first time I hit Granite Hot Springs – on that date mentioned above – we were a few weeks early to have arrived at the springs via dog sled, and we caught the man-made swimming pool while it’s being cleaned so we resorted to natural hot springs about ½ mile down the stream from the big pool. (It’s not nearly as nice.) My second time around, the timing is perfect though.
Jackson Hole Iditarod Sled Dog Tours runs daily roundtrips from their headquarters at the junction of Highway 189/191 and Granite Springs Rd. to the 105-degree public pool at
Granite Hot Springs Rick Carpenter
Granite Hot Springs. While JH Iditarod, owned and run by Frank Teasley, an eight-time Iditarod Veteran, has plenty of qualified guides, they’re happy to teach you enough so you can drive a team yourself. You’ll be dashing through the snow in a 12-dog driven sleigh.
Arriving at the pool, you won’t be the only one there, but it is big and, in winter, steamy enough you’ll feel you have the whole thing to yourself. Soak a bit, enjoy a BBQ lunch prepared by the JH Iditarod crew, and then soak some more before mushing the team back home.
Saratoga Inn & Resort
Saratoga, a hamlet of 2,000 people on the banks of the North Platte River, has a long hot springs history. Even if they were from warring tribes, Native Americans used to sit peaceably side-by-side in the warm waters, which were considered neutral territory. As more and more people began to come to the area, a public bathhouse and pool were built. They’re still around today, open 24 hours a day/seven days a week and free to soak in, but they’re not that romantic. For that, head to the Saratoga Inn & Resort, a historic hotel with rooms every bit as inviting – think featherbeds, Pendleton wool blankets, river rock fireplaces and warm western décor – as the multiple soaking pools. Saratoga Inn’s main pool is 70-feet long and kept at a constant 100 degrees. River rocks ring the top. Five much smaller private pools are made of river rock and, to really ensure privacy, covered by tepees. If you really want to indulge, the resort even has a spa, golf course and microbrewery.
Thermopolis
Thermopolis’ Hot Springs State Park is the most visited park in the Wyoming State Park system. While families love the herd of buffalo wandering the park grounds and the Star Plunge pool with its waterslides, couples migrate to the unromantically-named State Bathhouse. While the State Bathhouse has an indoor and outdoor soaking pool (both of which require bathers to wear swimsuits), it also has clothing optional private tubs where, not only do you get the place to yourself, but you’re also the total supervisor of your soak, able to pick the water temperature you want. The State Bathhouse is open 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. daily.
After your soak, take an amble on the pathways running alongside the Big Horn River with the goal of reaching the Rainbow Terraces. They might have been formed over centuries by sediment, algae, plankton and mineral deposits, all about as romantic as the name “State Bathhouse,” but the result is beautiful – a cascading rainbow of colors.
Take the RV and hit the open road in Wyoming knowing you can stop for the night and need not worry about a place to sleep. The shortest of Wyoming's Interstate Highways, I-90 cutting across the northeast corner of the state from Sundance to Sheridan, is also one of the most scenic routes. This highway rolls over the western edge of the Black Hills, passes near Sundance Mountain and then traverse the northern edge of the Powder River Basin before flanking the east face of the Bighorn Mountains. read more
Bear River State Park and Visitor Center, along I-80 on the east end of Evanston, is a day-use only park that features bicycle and foot paths as well as several picnic shelters. In the winter, the nearly three miles of foot trails double as cross-country ski trails. A footbridge crosses the river and brings visitors to a natural area. read more
