Hot Springs State Park

Hot Springs State Park
Wyoming State Park
Country  United States
State  Wyoming
County Hot Springs
City Thermopolis
Elevation 4,363 ft (1,330 m) [1]
Coordinates 43°39′17″N 108°11′55″W / 43.654722°N 108.198611°W / 43.654722; -108.198611Coordinates: 43°39′17″N 108°11′55″W / 43.654722°N 108.198611°W / 43.654722; -108.198611 [1]
Area 1,039 acres (420 ha)
Founded 1897
(as Big Horn Hot
Springs State Reserve)
Management Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites
IUCN category V - Protected Landscape/Seascape
Location in Wyoming
Website: Hot Springs State Park

Hot Springs State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area in Thermopolis, Wyoming, known for its hot springs, which flow at a constant temperature of 135° Fahrenheit. The state park offers free bathing at the State Bath House, where temperatures are moderated to a therapeutic 104°F.[2] The petroglyph site at Legend Rock, some 25 miles away, is also part of the park.[3]

History

The land on which the state park sits was purchased from the Arapaho by the federal government in 1896, when Indian Inspector James McLaughlin negotiated a purchase price of $60,000 for a 100-square-mile portion of the Shoshone reservation.[4] After a one-square-mile section of that land was released to the state in 1897, it became Wyoming's first state park, known at that time as Big Horn Hot Springs State Reserve.[5][6]

Features

The park features a managed herd of bison, a suspension foot bridge across the Big Horn River, picnic shelters, boat docks, flower gardens, and terraces made of naturally forming travertine (calcium carbonate) caused by a flowing mineral hot spring. The park encompasses commercial hotels and several state-run and privately operated entities including the Gottsche Rehabilitation Center, Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital, the historic Callaghan Apartments/Plaza Hotel, the Star Plunge waterpark, the Tepee Pools waterpark, and the Wyoming Pioneer Home, a state-run, assisted-living facility.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hot Springs State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ "Hot Springs State Park". Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. State of Wyoming. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site". Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. State of Wyoming. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Hein, Annette. "Hot Springs County, Wyoming". Wyoming State Historical Society. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Hot Springs State Park". State Parks and Historic Sites. Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. Archived from the original on February 1, 2006. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
  6. ↑ "Hot Springs State Park". Wyoming Places. Wyoming State Library. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
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