Best Hot Springs in Wyoming

How We Picked These

This list covers springs you can soak in. A few ecologically sensitive sites in Wyoming are closed to soaking to protect endemic species. Kendall Warm Springs near Pinedale, for example, harbors an endangered fish found nowhere else on earth and soaking is off-limits there. The picks here are accessible by road at least part of the year, hold water temperatures between 93 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and have enough facilities that you can show up without a full camping rig and still have a worthwhile experience.

We included both free public pools and paid commercial facilities because the right pick depends on your priorities. If cost matters most and you're anywhere near central Wyoming, the free State Bath House in Thermopolis is the clear answer. If you want a longer session with water slides and more space, the commercial options at Hot Springs State Park cover that. The geological context varies too: Thermopolis sits over a deep carbonate-rock aquifer rather than volcanic activity, which makes its chemistry distinct from the Yellowstone basin springs to the northwest. Cost estimates throughout are labeled as typical ranges as of 2025-2026 and subject to change.

Hot Springs State Park and the State Bath House, Thermopolis

This is the anchor of Wyoming hot springs, and it earns that position. Hot Springs State Park sits within the town of Thermopolis, about 130 miles southeast of Cody and 80 miles north of Riverton on US-20. The springs push out roughly 1,040 gallons per minute of 135-degree mineral water, one of the highest output rates of any mineral spring in the country. The state cools it to approximately 104 degrees Fahrenheit for the soaking pools.

The State Bath House (listed in Wyoming's tour-operator registry as Hot Springs State Park Bath House) is completely free. You walk in, sign the register, get a 20-minute session in either the indoor or outdoor mineral pool, and sign out. The pools are clean, the sulfur smell is present but not heavy, and the travertine terraces along the Bighorn River just outside make for a short walk after your soak. The Spirit Trail climbs the ridge behind the springs in about a mile of switchbacks for a good view of the valley below. A small bison enclosure sits in the park near the river. Most people are surprised by how much ground the park covers for a free stop.

If you want more time in the water or have kids who want slides, the Star Plunge commercial facility within the park is the next step up, with admission running an estimated $15-22 per adult. And while you're in Thermopolis, the Wyoming Dinosaur Center on Carter Ranch Road, about half a mile from the park, runs hands-on fossil programs and displays actual Jurassic-era specimens excavated from sites north of town. It pairs well with a morning at the springs. The drive to Thermopolis through the Bighorn Basin is part of the reward. US-20 from Cody winds through badlands and ranch country that most visitors never see. It's one of the routes highlighted in our guide to the best scenic drives in Wyoming.

Granite Hot Springs, Bridger-Teton National Forest

A signed turn off US-191/189, about 25 miles southeast of Hoback Junction, leads 10 miles up a gravel road into a granite canyon in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The Forest Service pool at the end of that road is a legitimately special place. In summer the water temperature holds around 93-95 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter, when cold air strips heat from the surface at a faster rate, the pool climbs toward 112 degrees. The canyon walls are close, the air smells like pine and sulfur, and there are no cell signal bars.

Admission runs an estimated $6-8 per person. There are basic changing facilities but no lodging on site. The gravel road closes to cars from roughly late November through late April, but the pool stays open in winter, accessed by snowmobile along those same 10 miles, which puts it on the short list of the most scenic snowmobile rides in the state. An October visit is worth planning specifically: the aspen stands in the canyon go full gold, temperatures drop to the point where the pool feels genuinely hot, and the crowds are a fraction of what you see in July. Most visitors base in Jackson, about 35 miles north, or at the small campground near the trailhead. If you're building a few days around the Jackson Hole and Tetons region, Granite Hot Springs makes a half-day side trip that most people leave wishing they'd scheduled a full day for.

Astoria Mineral Hot Springs, Near Hoback Junction

Seventeen miles south of Jackson on US-26/89, where Hoback Canyon opens into the main Snake River valley, Astoria Mineral Hot Springs runs an outdoor mineral pool alongside a campground and RV park. This is a commercial facility, open from roughly May through September. Admission runs an estimated $12-18 per adult. The pool temperature holds around 100-105 degrees Fahrenheit and sits outdoors with open sky above, canyon walls to the east, and the river nearby.

Crowds here stay lighter than you'd expect for something this close to one of the busiest resort towns in Wyoming. It is a straightforward operation: you pay, you soak, and the staff is easy to deal with. No spa upsell, no minimum purchase at a bar. For anglers, the confluence of the Hoback River with the Snake is a short drive from the pool entrance, and that stretch holds solid wild trout water through summer. Our guide to the best fly fishing rivers in Wyoming covers the Hoback and the upper Snake in more detail. For lodging near both Astoria and Granite Hot Springs, the Hotels and Lodges directory lists current options ranging from budget motels to cabin-style resorts, including Cowboy Village Resort in Jackson, which has its own outdoor hot tub and is about 30 minutes from the Hoback area.

Hobo Pool, Saratoga

The town of Saratoga sits on the North Platte River in Carbon County, about 65 miles west of Laramie via WY-130 through the Snowy Range. Hobo Pool is the town's free, open-air hot spring: a small soaking pool right on the riverbank, open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The water comes out of the ground at around 117 degrees Fahrenheit and cools to roughly 100 degrees in the main pool. There's a changing room attached and not much else.

Saratoga is quiet in a way that most Wyoming travel doesn't reach. It has a few restaurants, the historic Wolf Hotel from 1893 downtown, and pronghorn herds working the sagebrush flats to the east. The North Platte here is a blue-ribbon trout fishery and draws serious anglers from spring through fall. If you're building a road trip through southeast Wyoming, routing through Saratoga rather than staying on I-80 adds maybe an hour but takes you over the Snowy Range Scenic Byway (WY-130), which tops out near 10,800 feet before dropping into the Saratoga Valley. That approach is one of the more rewarding non-park drives in the state. The full Wyoming Travel Guide covers how to sequence Saratoga into a broader itinerary from Cheyenne or Laramie.

Firehole River Swimming Area, Yellowstone

This one requires a Yellowstone entrance fee (an America the Beautiful pass covers it), so it's not free in the same way as the state's mineral parks. But the Firehole River swimming area at the far end of Firehole Canyon Drive, a 2-mile one-way spur off the main road near Madison Junction, is worth including because it is genuinely unlike anything else in the state. Geothermal runoff from the Midway and Lower Geyser Basins warms the Firehole River to around 80-88 degrees Fahrenheit through summer, which turns a river that would otherwise be freezing snowmelt into one you can swim in.

NPS allows swimming here. There's a small pullout and beach area at the end of the drive, and the canyon walls are close on both sides. It's one of those places that travel writers don't feature often because 80 degrees doesn't technically qualify as a "hot spring," but if you're in Yellowstone in July and it's 92 degrees outside, it's the most pleasant hour you'll spend in the park. The canyon section alone, with the river cutting through dark rhyolite walls, is worth the 15-minute loop drive even if you don't get in the water. Plan the swim for morning before afternoon crowds arrive at Madison.

Quick Comparison

The two free picks (State Bath House in Thermopolis and Hobo Pool in Saratoga) are worth building a route around even if you're not a dedicated hot-springs traveler. Granite Hot Springs has the best natural setting of any soakable spring in the state. Astoria is the most convenient option if you're already in the Jackson area and don't want to drive the gravel road to Granite. The Firehole swim is a summer-only bonus that rewards any Yellowstone itinerary that ventures off Old Faithful and into the less-trafficked western corridors.