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Hot Springs State Park is a public recreation area in Thermopolis, Wyoming, known for its hot springs, which flow at a constant temperature of 135 °F (57.2 °C). The state park offers free bathing at the State Bath House, where temperatures are moderated to a therapeutic 104 °F (40.0 °C).[3] The petroglyph site at Legend Rock, some 25 miles (40 km) away, is also part of the park.[4] The park is managed by the Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites.

History

The land on which the state park sits was a cession agreement, and the ceded portion was purchased from the Eastern Shoshone by the federal government in 1896, when Indian Inspector James McLaughlin negotiated a purchase price of $60,000 for a 100-square-mile portion (260 km2) of the Shoshone reservation. A 1-square-mile section (2.6 km2) of that land was released to the state in 1897 which became Wyoming's first state park, known as Big Horn Hot Springs State Reserve.[5][6]

Features

The park features a managed herd of bison, a suspension foot bridge across the Big Horn River, picnic shelters, boat docks, flower gardens, and terraces made of naturally forming travertine (calcium carbonate) caused by a flowing mineral hot spring.[3] The park area encompasses commercial hotels and several state-run and privately operated entities including the Gottsche Rehabilitation Center, Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital, the historic Callaghan Apartments/Plaza Hotel, the Star Plunge waterpark, the Tepee Pools waterpark, and the Wyoming Pioneer Home, a state-run, assisted-living facility.

Gallery

  • Travertine formation at Hot Springs State Park
    Travertine formation
    at Hot Springs State Park
  • Winter view of the suspension footbridge over the Big Horn River
    Winter view of the suspension footbridge
    over the Big Horn River
  • Big Horn Hot Springs, c. 1914
    Big Horn Hot Springs, c. 1914

References

  1. ^ a b "Rainbow Terraces". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "Table 1. Facilities managed by Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails" (PDF). SOAR 2021. Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. p. 12. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Hot Springs State Park". Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. State of Wyoming. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "Hot Springs State Park Brochure". Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. State of Wyoming. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  5. ^ Hein, Annette. "Hot Springs County, Wyoming". Wyoming State Historical Society. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "Hot Springs State Park". Wyoming Places. Wyoming State Library. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Springs_State_Park