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Assisting the outdoor adventurer in Locating the very best in Northwest Montana
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Montana Hot Springs
THREE HAUTE HOT SPOTS
1. Chico Hot Springs.
At the top of our list is Chico Hot Springs, a rambling, clapboard resort 35 miles north of Yellowstone Park in the celebrity-studded Paradise Valley. The "Elaine's of Montana" lies at the base of 10,900-foot Emigrant Peak and has drawn international visitors for a century. It has also been a hospital, a gambling hall, and a refuge for church groups.
Named after a Mexican gold prospector in the 1860's, Chico is timeless. Dogs bob across the well-kept lawn, and the lobby - with its grand piano, wood stove, and pine floors - is filled with the lazy hum of conversation. In the two open-air pools (94 [degrees] to 104 [degrees]), movie moguls mix comfortably with Montana families.
We drink beer in the intimate wood bar in the back, where a local rancher once met Steve McQueen, shook his hand, and said, "And what line of work are you in, Steve?" In the candlelit dining room with its horse-collar mirror, we indulge on fennel breadsticks, delicate smoked oysters, and buffalo embellished with a woodland mushroom sauce. The poolside grill offers lighter fare and cheaper prices.
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Where: Pray, Montana, on U.S. 89.
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Cost: 49 Victorian-era rooms and 31 modern motel rooms $39-$189; cabins and cottages $69-$275.
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FYI: Cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and dog sledding are also offered here.
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Contact: (406) 333-4933.
2. Fairmont Hot Springs Resort.
In contrast to intimate Chico is large, bustling Fairmont Hot Springs, a 152-room resort and conference center 18 miles west of Butte in the heart of the broad Deer Lodge Valley. The "medicine water" here has been used by Nez Perce and Shoshone Indians, area mine workers, and arthritis sufferers, who drank a soup of hot-spring water, salt, and pepper to ease their pain.
Today children frolic on a 350-foot water slide or in two Olympic-size pools, one inside and one out, heated to between 90 [degrees] and 100 [degrees]. We join the other adults soothing a winter's worth of aches in the 100 [degrees] and 105 [degrees] soaking pools. Afterward, the consistency of rubber, we make our way to the dining room for scaloppine of lamb and raspberry cream cheesecake, and then collapse in our modern hotel rooms, too tired for the video-casino action.
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Where: Between Butte and Anaconda, Montana; take exit 211 off I-90.
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Cost: $74-$109.
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FYI: A big playground, an 18-hole golf course, guided trail rides, and massages are also offered.
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Contact: (800) 332-3272.
3. Potosi Hot Springs.
Just as Fairmont is sprawling, convenient, and child-friendly, the Lodge at Potosi Hot Springs is small, remote, and luxurious. To reach the hot springs, nestled in the Tobacco Root Mountains, we drive past the old mining town of Pony, clutching our directions as the road turns rough. (In the winter months, a four-wheel-drive is recommended; otherwise, the staff will pick up visitors in Pony.)
Just when we're wondering if we've missed a turn somewhere, we arrive at the 1993 resort nestled among the Douglas firs and lodgepole pines and bisected by South Willow Creek.
The site of an 1892 resort, Potosi caters to those who like to rough it elegantly. The four pine-log cabins (with names like Fish Camp and Snorting Elk) are tastefully appointed and have tiny kitchens. In the lodge, we drink Cabero net underneath the deer and elk racks, and wolf down Alaska spot prawns and caviar toast, a prelude to grilled thyme-scented veal in shiitake cream sauce and Italian lemon polenta cake.
The next morning, we hike five minutes to the enclosed soaking pool, just beyond the 90 [degrees] swimming pool built into a granite wall. There, in 103 [degrees] water, we look out at the snow-laden trees over Potosi Creek and forgive winter.
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Where: Pony, Montana (call for directions).
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Cost: Cabins $150 (free tepee with cabin rental).
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FYI: Trail rides and cross-country skiing are also offered.
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Contact: (406) 685-3594.
Other Hot Springs Resorts in Montana.
(All area codes are 406. Room rates are based on double occupancy.)
4. Boulder Hot Springs.
This 100-year-old hotel in the Peace Valley offers seven bed-and-breakfast guest rooms ($70-$90) with four-poster beds, and indoor and outdoor pools. Sunday buffets feature international fare ranging from Mexican to Moroccan.
State 69, Boulder; 225-4339.
5. Elkhorn Hot Springs.
These 11 primitive cabins ($45), a basic full-service restaurant, and two outdoor pools are situated in the Pioneer Mountains 40 miles northwest of Dillon on the Pioneer Scenic Byway (15 miles on a marked gravel road); 834-3434.
6. Fort Lolo Hot Springs.
Where William Clark dipped his finger into the water and "found it boiling hot" stands a modern 34-room motel ($42-$69) and an indoor pool and outdoor pool popular with the snowmobile set. 25 miles west of Lolo on U.S. 12; 273-2290.
7. Jackson Hot Springs Lodge.
Right on Main St. in Jackson, this high-ceilinged log lodge, 16-unit motel ($60), outdoor pool, and restaurant featuring steak and trout are near the headwaters of the Big Hole River; 834-3151.
8. Lost Trail Hot Springs Resort.
Nestled in a thick stand of Douglas firs and ponderosa pines are a knotty-pine lodge and restaurant, eight rustic cabins and eight no-frills motel rooms ($53-$73), and a covered pool and hot tub. 26 miles south of Darby on U.S. 93; 821-3574.
9. Quinns Hot Springs.
This resort on the Clark Fork River features a supper club, five basic cabins and 11 rooms ($40-$45), and an outdoor pool and two whirlpool baths. 20 miles northeast of St. Regis on State 135; 826-3150.
10. Sleeping Buffalo Resort.
Near Nelson Reservoir, it has 17 rustic and 14 modern motel rooms ($31-$36), three cabins, a cafe, a steak house, and indoor and outdoor pools. 10 miles west of Saco on U.S. 2; 527-3370.
11. Spa Hot Springs Motel.
Situated among the Big Belts, Little Belts, and Castle Mountains, the motel offers 21 basic rooms ($42-$46), an indoor soaking pool, and an outdoor pool beneath a colorful mural of area grizzly bears, elk, and buffalo. 202 W. Main St., White Sulphur Springs; 547-3366.
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COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
Montana Natural Healing