There is a massive hot spring crater shaped like a beehive in Salt Lake City. It holds a 90+ degrees geothermal hot spring - and it's big enough to swim in. The best part? It's open to the public.
The Homestead Crater spring is inside a huge 55-foot tall beehive-looking limestone cave. The cave has been forming over the hot spring for 10,000+ years from the mineral deposits contained in the water.
Snow melt seeped deep within the earth from the Wasatch Mountains to form the crater while heated water from two miles below bubbled up to fill it. As the water traveled upward, it collected minerals, including limestone. Over the years, the limestone deposits formed the beehive while the other minerals create a therapeutic bath. The domed opening at the top lets in fresh air sunlight while the interior stays heated by the water.
The hot spring crater is on the property of the Homestead Resort, but anyone can visit for a small fee.
You make an appointment, and at the designated time, you're allowed to enter a tunnel they've bored into the side of the crater. There is also a large hole at the top, like a volcano, but you can't get in that way, nor would you want to! It's a long way down. But you can take stairs up to the top and look down into the crater.
Inside the hot spring crater, there is a small changing area and a hallway filled with equipment. Guests are required to wear life jackets because the spring is 65 feet deep. It's about 400 feet wide at the bottom, though only the scuba divers go down that far. Yes, this spring is also a mecca for scuba divers looking for the only warm scuba diving destination in the United States.
They host scuba classes, and while my group was soaking in the minerals, we watched two divers go down below and stay down the entire 40+ plus minutes we were there.
The hole at the top of the dome lets in sunlight and cools the cave's interior. But the mineral water from the ground stays between 90 - 96 degrees Fahrenheit.
The clear blue mineral hot spring crater contains including calcium, chloride, sodium bicarbonate, iron, magnesium, potassium, silicate, sodium, lithium, and sulfate. Many believe frequent soaks here can help reduce eczema, acne, improve circulation and other benefits. I believe it's a mysterious balm for your soul too.
To me, the hot water was like a bath. A great big bath with about a dozen other people, but still. There was so much room we could actually swim. Some people used snorkels. I just floated but was careful not to touch the rough crater walls.
After 40 minutes, I got out, my skin was silky smooth, and I felt relaxed and rejuvenated.
The resort hosts soaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, and even paddleboard yoga in the hot spring crater.
Still, some people just come in to look and absorb the therapeutic steam but do not get in. It's a fabulous and unique experience you can't get anywhere else in the country.
It costs $15 - $18 per person to soak in the Homestead hot spring crater. Find the Homestead Crater at 700 North Homestead Drive, Midway, UT 84049.
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