Broadwater Hot Springs is located in Montana’s capital city Helena, and the facility has its own notable historic attributes. The world-renowned Broadwater Hotel (after Colonel Charles Broadwater) was built in 1889 which was the year Montana became a designated state.
This grand resort also happened to contain the hot springs, which largely helped it to become a preferred stop-off point for well-heeled travelers heading for Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park.
The hot springs also gained a name for containing the world’s largest indoor pool. At one end of the pool, two waterfalls are formed with the help of giant granite boulders. The result is one flow from the Hot Springs and one from Cold Springs.
The original Natatorium was also installed with toboggan slides, a “plunge” and observation decks, with stained-glass windows and colorful tiles adorning the interiors. This original version of the facility was unfortunately damaged badly by an earthquake in the 1930s to the point where it was condemned and the hotel closed down.
In 1979 though, the Broadwater Athletic Club and Hot Springs officially opened its doors, as did the first of three Hot Springs pools. The recreational pool was opened four years later, and this is an outdoor pool that has remained popular with children and adults alike. A third Hot Springs pool was opened in 1989.
Fast forward to 2015, when the Broadwater Hot Springs & Fitness opened its doors under new ownership, some old pools have been taken out and six new free form pools have been added since 2015, as has the Springs Taproom & Grill.
Come and enjoy a soak in a natural hot springs pool in Big Sky country.
Broadwater Hot Springs Facilities
The Broadwater Hot Springs maintains each of its seven pools at varying temperatures, and the pools feature regular hot springs, jetted hot springs spas, and cold plunges.
The natural hot springs artesian well has temperatures around 150 degrees, and all pools and hot tubs are filled with the therapeutic natural hot springs water from this well, in some instances being cooled to temperatures ranging between 89 and 104 degrees.
All pools and spas are filled with therapeutic Natural Hot Springs water from an artesian well, cooled to comfortable temperatures using only natural cold spring water. The outdoor pools are available to comfortably soak year-round, and lockers are available for day use.
The Recreation Pool is 70 -feet long with a depth between 3 and 10 feet. This pool is maintained somewhere between 89 and 93 degrees. The Soaker Pool is a freeform pool of around the same size although more shallow from 3 to 4.5 feet. Seating surrounds the perimeter of the pool, which also contains a waterfall feature. This is a super-relaxing pool maintained at around 97 to 102 degrees.
In the Springs Pools with hot tubs and cold plunges the tubs are kept between 101 and 104 degrees, and the cold plunges are between 60-70 degrees. The Springs Pool is another 30-foot by 70-foot freeform pool between 3 and 4.5-feet deep. This is an ideal soaking pool maintained at between 97 and 102 degrees.
Taproom and Grill
The Springs Taproom and Grill is where to find quality dishes made with locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible.
The menu is designed with a nod to the nostalgia of the spring’s historic past, as the space that the new taproom and grill now occupy previously functioned as racquetball courts for the Broadwater Athletic Club.
Even the vintage, 1978 wooden floors from the courts were recycled and incorporated into the design and materials of the tabletops. Broadwater’s roots are included in many of the other design elements seen throughout the restaurant.
The owners come from families with roots going back to the Helena Community of their great-grandparents.
Broadwater Hot Spring Stats:
- 30,000 square feet facility
- 7 pools
- Average Temperature 90-plus degrees
- 8am-10pm M-F (shorter hours on weekends)
- Price: $5 annual registration for membership then pay-as-you-go! M-Th $10, Fri-Sun $15. Check out our other membership options for soaking more than a few times a month
- Website: https://broadwatermt.com/
- Helena is the nearest town or city
Getting There
If you are driving to the Broadwater Hot Springs it is located along HWY 12 on the right side of the highway towards the edge of town.
Heading from the direction of Helena towards Missoula, the Broadwater Hot Springs is about a 10-minute drive. The location is in the mountain regions on Ten Mile Creek, just over 5 miles from Helena and 3.5 miles from Carroll College.
From Helena, you’ll first take the HWY 12 from West Euclid Avenue and continue for almost 4 miles before taking a right onto Old Broadwater Lane—on which you will find the Hot Springs Facility on the right. You can actually drive up to the resort, which is also wheelchair-friendly.