Chico Hot Springs, Montana

Needing some R & R we traveled to Pray, MT to the Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa for a soak, have a wonderful dinner and sleep under the ‘Big Sky’ of Montana. RV’s are not allowed to stay there so we spent the night in the Lower Lodge (it was the last room available for our time frame – busy place).

Beginning in the early 1900’s, the natural hot springs has been gradually turned into a vacation resort. The resort consists of two large pools, an “0ld West” saloon, restaurant, gift shop, hotel, conference center, log cabins for lodging, horse stable, Yellowstone River rafting can be arranged at the hotel office, as well as dog sledding, and cross-country skiing in the winter, of course.

The hot springs are associated with a deep fracture zone, but are probably not related to the nearby Yellowstone Hot Spot. The water is collected from the springs for the use of resort guests. These pools are scrubbed down every night in order to prevent the need to use chemicals in the water. The smaller pool is about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, with the larger pool being around 96 degrees Fahrenheit – though the temperatures can vary depending on the geothermal activity.

HISTORY

Native Americans were the first people to use the Hot Springs; they primarily used the water for bathing and laundry. In 1900, a couple, Bill and Percie Knowles, built Chico Warm Springs Hotel. The inn consisted of a full service dining area, and a ‘plunge’ pool. Mr Knowles operated the hotel until his death on April 22, 1910. Percie Knowles then took over the hotel operations.  Under her guidance, the hotel continued to flourish. Percie ran the hotel on her own, but by the 1930’s, the challenges of running the Hot Springs took their toll and she left the operations in the late 1930’s. Her son Radbourne and his wife Sophia took over the business.

CURRENT TIMES

All of the original buildings have deteriorated or been torn down, with the exception of the historic inn. Current owners Mike and Eva Art rebuilt the property in 1973 to what it is today. Some of the newer buildings consist of modern looking cabins and suites. The organic garden produces fresh herbs and vegetables year round from the geothermal heated greenhouse, built in 1996.

OUR STAY

We took the scenic route to Chico along the Chief Joseph Highway  (which is magnificent!) then traversed the NE entrance of Yellowstone in search of wildlife; but sadly it was mid-day so they were all resting in the shade, except for the buffalo, of course. This route does take a bit longer than if we had gone through Billings, MT. But hey, we were in search of R & R anyway. (As a side note; Patti and I had gone to Yellowstone a few weeks ago and saw, for the first time in Yellowstone, Big Horn Sheep).

Arriving around three in the afternoon, we checked in and explored our room, the stables, and the saloon. Yes, this would  be wonderful! Patti and her daughter had been to this hot springs before, I had not; so I was all eyes. We had dinner reservations for 6PM, so we had some time to unwind. The restaurant is a “5 star” dining establishment – so let’s see how it stacks up…

We had a nice dinner; started out with an appetizer, Chico Classic Bruschetta – which was excellent! For the main course Patti’s daughter had Gnocchi which she did not enjoy.  She had had the same dinner before and it was scrumptious – I guess it can’t ALL be wonderful ALL the time. Patti and I DID enjoy our dinners, though.  I had Halibut, and Patti had Crab Cakes and a gigantic Bleu Cheese Wedge Salad. And of course, drinks all around, no liquor was spared for the drinks… I might add! After dinner we went back to our room, changing into our swim suits and made our way to the pools again.

The pools were so soothing especially after our tummies were full to capacity. Drinks could be ordered from the bar window – served in paper cups; no glass allowed in the pool area. I choose the smaller warm pool which was 106 degrees this evening. Patti was in the hotter pool for a while then sat along the pools edge with her knee in the hot water. Patti’s daughter tested out the hot pool then after a while migrated to the larger, cooler pool.  The pools were pretty crowded for a week day, although most people were here for “R & R” also with license plates from many states. The soak was just what the relaxation doctor ordered and when we were sufficiently done we climbed out of the pools and headed to our room.

After showering we sat outside watching the twilight turn to dark and the stars bank the sky. As the evening turned from cool to cold, we ventured in to kibitz about our day and make plans to ‘sleep in’ to finish out our R & R.

The next morning Patti’s daughter had a massage at the day spa, while we toured the grounds, the gift shop, and took a drive to see a ranch from ‘the good ole days’.

When we headed home we choose to go through Billings, MT this time and it was a very good thing, for there was a fire that had started the day before on the road we came in on (that was 1/2 way between Yellowstone and Cody). This fire would consume about 13,000 acres when all was said and done.  We did make it back to Cody all in one piece and were very glad that there was no loss of life with this fire and only 3 structures burned. Thank you to all the fire fighters.