Tracey A.
Yelp
As I drove in through Yellowstone's Gardiner entrance a sign announced that the Boiling River was closed. I inquired as to the reason and the Ranger told me it was because the river's current was moving too fast to be safe.
Later, while in the park, I was looking at a map and unable to even find the Boiling River. I asked a different Ranger where it was on the map and his non-answer (he wouldn't tell me) gave me the impression that Yellowstone wants people to stay out of the Boiling River.
So I did, but it didn't keep me from wanting to go to sit in some hot springs somewhere in the area.
Enter Bozeman Hot Springs, a commercial enterprise which is many things, but most of all a place in which to enjoy natural hot springs. All the pools here are heated naturally, from an underground well.
For a fee of about $10 per person one can enjoy the 8 indoor pools and 4 outdoor pools for as long as desired. You can even get a wrist band and return later in the evening when they might have live music outside.
The indoor pools (all chemical-free though the sulphur scent is strong) range from boiling hot to freezing cold with every variation in between those two extremes. The fun is moving from pool to pool and testing your tolerance levels. I personally couldn't get more than ankle deep into the freezing pool nor even that far in the boiling hot one. Outdoors is somewhat more serene, with 4 chlorinated pools, none of them cold.
I suspect part of the fun here is the fun here. By that I mean that it was a summer weekend when I visited and the kids are allowed to play. Indoors, it gets loud and that only increased when everyone had to come inside during a sudden electrical storm. If you want quiet, try outdoors, midweek, and/or evening.
Bozeman Hot Springs also offers a sauna and steam room.
Showers, locker rooms, outdoor seating, and food/drink (no alcohol) make this a place one could spend the day at. Though the place is clean, germaphobes likely won't find it up their alley but I've never been anywhere similar and for that, I thought the 90 minutes I spent here to be quite a fun and unique experience.