Warm Springs (State Hospital)
The Warm Springs listed here is the thermal source at the state hospital grounds in Deer Lodge County, Montana, on land held by the Montana Department of Corrections. It is closed to the public. The water is scalding and far beyond anything a person could enter. The town of Warm Springs is the nearest on record, about nine miles away.
Roadside, a hundred and thirty feet or so from the road, at valley elevation, moderate snow, moderate rain. The land is state-owned, under the Department of Corrections, with no designation beyond that. This is institutional ground.
Do not plan a visit; access is closed. High Rye Cabin, nearly thirteen miles off, is the nearest camp on record, for anyone passing through. The water would scald on contact. A 1978 USGS sample recorded neutral water with iron. The listed best months are winter, which is moot for a closed site.
Montana Department of Corrections holds the land, and a USGS site record exists for the source.
USGS hasn't flown a detailed laser scan here yet, so this view comes from aerial photos and older elevation data.
The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Open ground
- Flat, open ground all around.
- Highest ground nearby
- 9 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southwest
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 39% 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 Warm Springs (State Hospital) is neutral (pH 7.0). It is notably rich in calcium (may support bone density and joint health) and sulfate (traditionally used for skin conditions and inflammation).
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Overview High Rye Cabin is a quaint place to stay, ideally situated for exploring the northern Fleecer Mountains. An abundance of recreational activities are available in this scenic area. The cabin was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps around 1919 and is located in the historic mining district of German Gulch. It was used as an administrative site until the 1940s, when it was opened to the public. The cabin can be accessed by vehicle; however, during the fall, alternative resourc...
Warm Springs (State Hospital) is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water is dangerously hot, so bring water shoes and test pools carefully. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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