On our first long #vanlife adventure to a family reunion in Utah we wanted to make a real vacation out of it and do some memorable experiences. We were lucky enough to have this unique spot close by to the reunion spot and made this stop a few hours before reunion check in time. Be sure to check out our travel diary (below) to help you get a feel for the cave and feel free to watch our vlog (end of post) where we share more details!
Wow, what a unique experience. To be honest, I don't even know how we found out this was a thing....but it exists and it we did it.
Homestead Crater (in Midway, Utah) is a limestone dome with a geothermal spring inside. It is at a constant temperature of around 90-96F and the mineral water is a popular place to soak. It is also the only warm scuba you'll find in the Continental US.
The crater is located on a "resort" with other things to do, but our visit was just for the crater. You must reserve your spot online/phone ahead of time and they seem to get booked up well in advance. I made our reservations via email about 6 weeks in advance. All my questions were answered promptly and our reservation made--it is worth mentioning that they have no confirmation ticket/ID so you have to rely on your communications as proof of reservation. While this worried me, we had no trouble checking in for our reservations.
They have different pricing for weekends versus weekdays and three different options: soak/swim, snorkel/swim, scuba. Depending on your activity and day it can be $15-$27 per person.
*RESERVATIONS ARE FOR A 40 MINUTE TIME PERIOD (so don't be late!)
We chose to snorkel/soak and here are our thoughts on our experience:
First and foremost, it was really nice. We had spent a night or two in the van after some long drives and so it was nice to just soak in the warm water. If hot tubs are too hot for you, but you love a good warm water soak then you would for sure enjoy this.
We checked in at the activity center (with our towels and swim suits) which wasn't too hard to find, went to the bathroom (they only have a few stalls) and headed over to line up for our allotted times slot. For us, it was a bit of a misty afternoon, but our wait wasn't too too long. We're actually glad we didn't have to wait in the boiling sun! When it was our turn we followed everyone through a metal door into the crater. It's a little squished as everyone gets settled. They have a handful of small changing stalls and some lockers you can use (I don't think there was an extra charge). We showed that we had paid for snorkels and got our snorkels and life vests. Everyone has to wear a life vest, there is NO lifeguard on duty. We didn't love the life vests (we're not sure if they smelled or if it was just sulfur from the natural hot spring), but by the end of it we were fine realizing that it was nice to just float around and not have to exercise.
As mentioned before, we were swimming on an unexpectedly dreary day. Therefore, it was a little dark. It was a little too dark for us to be able to snorkel and really see under the water (check out our video and you can see the difference of when the sun started to come out again). We couldn't really see all the scuba diving going on and returned our snorkels early to just float/swim around.
For us in our session, it was full but not overly crowded. We would've loved to have more space to ourselves but feel like they have done a good job of not overselling slots. The scuba divers do take up some space and it's not always easy to tell where they are.
The soak pools are actually a really fun little touch, especially if you are truly there to just soak and relax in the mineral water.
Overall, we think it was great value. Hardly more than an open swim at your local pool--and this is warm water in a cave! Again, if you are a scuba diver, this is the only warm water dive in the Continental US. That being said, we don't think it's worth going out of your way for, or planning it as a main destination, but if it's nearby or on the way to a destination it's a great stop!
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