Montana has at least 32 documented hot springs, most of them developed resorts and soaking pools rather than wild soaks. 2 are free and 30 are paid resorts, lodges, or managed pools. Quinn's Hot Springs Resort near Missoula and Chico Hot Springs country near Yellowstone anchor the developed end, with soaking pools, lodging, and year-round access across the western mountains.
The town of Hot Springs in the Flathead area holds the densest grouping, a small community built around mineral baths including Symes Hot Springs Hotel, Camas Hot Springs, and Wild Horse Hot Springs.
The Missoula area and Bitterroot Valley form a second cluster, where resorts like Quinn's Hot Springs Resort, Lolo Hot Springs, and Lost Trail Hot Springs line the mountain highways south of town. Bozeman adds the large Bozeman Hot Springs pools.
Near Yellowstone's north entrance at Gardiner, Yellowstone Hot Springs and nearby resorts draw park visitors, while southwest Montana around Dillon holds mountain lodges such as Elkhorn Hot Springs in the Pioneer Mountains.
Montana leans toward historic resorts and soaking lodges rather than the free wild pools of neighboring Idaho. Many sites pair mineral pools with lodging, bars, and restaurants, a soaking culture built around small towns and mountain highways. The springs sit across the western third of the state, most open year-round, making winter soaking under snow near Yellowstone and the Bitterroot a signature Montana draw. The developed focus means most visits center on a resort stay or a day pass rather than a free backcountry soak, with only a handful of wild pools scattered across the western valleys.
Highlights are drawn from the hot springs documented in this directory. Others may exist across Montana's remote western mountains.
Riverside resort pools: Quinn's Hot Springs Resort near Missoula offers graduated mineral pools beside the Clark Fork River, with lodging and a tavern along Highway 135 in the mountains.
Historic bathhouse hotel: Symes Hot Springs Hotel & Mineral Baths in the town of Hot Springs runs baths in a 1930s building, among the longest-serving documented bathhouses in our records locally.
Yellowstone gateway soak: Yellowstone Hot Springs near Gardiner sits by the Yellowstone River just north of the park's gate, with graduated pools open to day visitors.
Pioneer Mountains lodge: Elkhorn Hot Springs near Dillon pairs rustic cabins with outdoor pools and a soaking plunge high in the Pioneer Mountains of southwest Montana.
Large pool complex: Bozeman Hot Springs offers a dozen indoor and outdoor pools at varied temperatures near Bozeman, a family-oriented complex on the way to Big Sky.
Free wild soak: Nimrod Hot Springs near Missoula is a free primitive roadside soak along the Clark Fork, one of the few free wild pools documented in the state.
