Soaking in the snow

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

By Brigid Mander

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-There is something about winter weather, ski days, and hot springs that go together.  Something obvious.  Soaking in warm water, heated by the Earth is a perfect complement to bone chilling, blustery days spent outside.  
Historically, many cultures believe that mineral hot springs have healing powers, so it can also be a nice way to try to ease aches accumulated midwinter from say, two and half months of skiing with six days off.

Around Jackson there are a few hot spring options without going too far, but they all require a little bit of effort, especially in the winter. 

Granite Hot Springs is probably the most visited, due to the relative ease of getting there. In summer, it is just a drive down past Hoback and up a dirt road, but in winter the road is not plowed. So, you can either snowmobile, have a very long cross-country ski up the road, or hire someone like Iditarod Sled Dog tours to take you up there. 

This small-developed pool has changing rooms, beautiful views, and a small fee. If you want an undeveloped experience, a short hike from the pool and across the river you can find a couple of natural pools. These are under the falls and really beautiful, but pretty small and shallow, so if there are other people in them, you might have to wait.

The name Huckleberry Hot Springs often comes up, but this one is quite a bit more rustic than Granite.  Accessed from near Flagg Ranch, there is no trail or signage, so you should go with someone who knows the way, and it can be a trek on skis or snowshoes in winter. 

Huckleberry is beautiful and isolated, but it does have a few extra drawbacks that tend to keep people away.  Bison like to hang out near it in the winter by the warm steam, so that can ruin your visit.  It also houses the predatory protozoa Naegleria, which can infect humans if ingested through the nose.

Some people find this unappealing, so you can continue on to Polecat, a pool a bit farther along the path from Huckleberry.  It doesn’t harbor deadly amoebas, but is a longer trek, so luckily there are more options.

About a three-hour drive away is the curious little hippie town of Lava, Idaho. This town is filled with non-sulfurous hot spring pools of all sorts, from a big public pool to many small, tucked away hotel pools, all open to the public and most for free. It’s a big drive, but definitely works for a day, or you can make it into a little trip and stay overnight as well.

If you must go to Idaho Falls, Heise Hot Springs is on the way back.  About 70 miles from Jackson, this hot spring has been open since 1898, but it is not exactly your rustic kind of place.  The pools are developed, and they even have a huge water slide. However, it is still a nice addition to shopping chores in IF. JHW

And if you really want to know about all the hot springs nearby, check out Touring Montana and Wyoming Hot Springs, by Jeff Birkby.

Photo by MOLLY ARMOUR
Jackson locals enjoy a soak after the trek out to Polecat Hot Spring.


PERMALINK:
Soaking in the snow | Planet JH News Article: Snow Report Column

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