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°WCoordinates: 43°39′17″N 108°11′55″W / 43.654722°N 108.198611°W [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
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| 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.
Gallery
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Travertine formation at Hot Springs State Park
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View of the suspension footbridge over the Big Horn River in the winter
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Hot Springs State Park
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Bison in Hot Springs State Park
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Big Horn Hot Springs
References
- 1 2 "Hot Springs State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ "Hot Springs State Park". Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. State of Wyoming. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ↑ "Legend Rock State Petroglyph Site". Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails. State of Wyoming. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ↑ Hein, Annette. "Hot Springs County, Wyoming". Wyoming State Historical Society. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Hot Springs State Park". Wyoming Places. Wyoming State Library. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hot Springs State Park. |
- Hot Springs State Park Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
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