Hot Springs State Park
History
The land on which the state park sits was a cession agreement, and the ceded portion was purchased from the Eastern Shoshone by the federal government in 1896, when Indian Inspector James McLaughlin negotiated a purchase price of $60,000 for a 100-square-mile portion (260 km) of the Shoshone reservation. A 1-square-mile section (2.6 km) of that land was released to the state in 1897 which became Wyoming's first state park, known as Big Horn Hot Springs State Reserve.
A small herd of bison was established in 1916.
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 area 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 -
Winter view of the suspension footbridge
over the Big Horn River -
Big Horn Hot Springs, c. 1914