Medicine Hot Springs
Hot water surfaces at Medicine Hot Springs in the Bitterroot National Forest, Ravalli County, Montana, about twenty-nine miles from Hamilton. It comes out above the range most people soak in directly, and a 1976 sample showed alkaline water with iron present. Access is open, the land is Forest Service, and a campground sits practically beside it, so the practical pieces are in place.
Mid elevation in the Bitterroot country, with heavy snow, close to a hundred inches a year, and a wet climate. The nearest road is a tenth-mile off and unnamed on the record. Warm Springs Campground is essentially on top of it. National forest, no fee listed.
Put a hand in before a foot; it runs hot. Warm Springs Campground is right there, which settles where to stay. The record flags December through February as best, but this much snow makes summer the easier bet. Access is open. Chemistry dates to 1976.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Medicine Hot Springs.
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 573 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southeast
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 31% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
The water at Medicine Hot Springs is alkaline (pH 8.6).
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Warm Springs Campground is nestled in a wooded area along Crazy Creek. It hosts 14 sites with picnic tables, fire rings, and vault toilets. There is no garbage service so Pack it in/Pack it out. Campground can accommodate trailers under 26 feet.
Medicine Hot Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water runs hot, so extra hydration is key. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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