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A Hot Time in Montana

by Rita Ariyoshi

The Yellowstone River runs through a wide glen in the Rocky Mountains, between the magnificently craggy Absaroka-Beartooth and Gallatin ranges. The place is called Paradise Valley. It begins on the edge of Yellowstone National Park and follows the languid roll of the river north to the historic town of Livingston, Montana.

Water from natural hot springs fills the swimming pools.

One of the world’s great spa finds is almost lost in the grandeur of Big Sky Country. Chico Hot Springs Resort and Spa has everything a spa should have — natural hot springs for soaking; fine cuisine; a romantic ambience; and a menu of massages, body wraps and other therapies. Plus it’s a true bargain and it’s at the back door of Yellowstone, America’s oldest and by many accounts most splendid national park.

I would go back to Chico again just for the water, reminiscent of Japan’s healing pools. I remember sitting up to my neck with steam curling around me, gazing up at stars and the dark silhouette of a huge mountain. The pool was large with plenty of room for solitude in the midst of other soakers. Hardly anyone spoke, and when they did, the whispers were almost reverential. When I left for my room I carried with me a tranquil silence usually associated with monastic retreats. Perhaps that’s why the blink-and-miss-it hamlet nearby is named Pray.

Above: The resort reflects the charm of the Old West. Below: Furnished with big chairs and sofas, the lobby is a comfortable gathering spot.

Any resemblance to Japanese hot springs spas ends at the edge of the pool. The rest of the resort is honestly, authentically American West. The hotel first opened in 1900, and the original white clapboard building with its dormers and porch is still the heart of the resort. I could almost hear the echo of horses and carriages pulling up to the modest entrance, wooden wheels creaking to a halt, the stomp of boots across the wooden porch, the scraping of soles and then the screen door whining open.

The lobby is crammed with overstuffed chairs gathered around a fireplace. A wooden staircase straight out of “Gunsmoke” leads to guest rooms and the pools. Over the years Chico, with its hot springs, served as a convalescent hospital and spiritual retreat center. In 1973 it was purchased by Eve and Mike Art, who rehabilitated the aging structure and added lodges sleeping up to 20 and rooms and cabins with modern amenities.

They turned the old stone blacksmith’s shop into a wine cellar and the hotel dining room into an experience in fine Western cuisine, fed by gardens and a greenhouse. There’s a riding stable, saloon, day spa and small convention center that accommodates groups of up to 180 people. And, of course, there are the pools, one cool enough for swimming and the other good and hot from water that comes out of the ground at 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chico enjoys the same geothermal system as Yellowstone National Park, which is 35 miles away. Yellowstone claims 10,000 hydrothermal features, half the planet’s inventory. The world’s highest concentration of geysers spouts and fumes within its glorious confines. It is one of Earth’s 30 hot spots and the only one on the North American continent.

True to its name, Old Faithful spouts every 40 to 126 minutes. Photo by Rita Ariyoshi.

Yellowstone, which is bigger than the island of Oahu, was shaped in its present form 640,000 years ago by one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions, a thousand times stronger than the last Mount St. Helen’s outbreak. In 1872, the Organic Act set Yellowstone aside as the world’s first national park to satisfy our “ancestral longing to feed our souls.”

I entered through the North Entrance at Gardiner Gate. Anyone expecting this to be a drive-through game park will be surprised. This is raw wilderness, home to herds of bison, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, deer, black bears, grizzly bears and a sky full of birds, including pelicans, osprey and trumpeter swans. Thirty-one packs of wolves prowl the park. Once eradicated by ranchers, they were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 with 31 gray wolves from Canada. There are now 170 wolves within the park and an additional 260 in the area.

The resort’s wine cellar includes this intimate dining venue.

After lunch at the Park’s oldest hotel, the grand Lake Hotel, I headed for Geyser Basin and Old Faithful. The geyser erupts on schedule every 40 to 126 minutes, the time predicted by the height and duration of the previous eruption. The next one was scheduled for 3:13 p.m. People gathered on the bleachers. We stirred as Old Faithful harrumphed and spit and growled and finally, three minutes late, shot into the air, probably 150 feet high. It was an awesome spectacle.

After a day of hiking and sight-seeing, I was ready for Chico’s pool again, but not until I had satisfied my appetite in the dining room. I tried the signature appetizer, Baked Brie En Croute with Montana huckleberry vinaigrette, and followed it with a perfectly done rack of lamb with mint-basil jelly. The menu also offered Montana beef, Duck Grand Marnier and, surprisingly, seafood. I finished with an orange flambe.

Above: Spectacular waterfalls are among Yellowstone’s scenic wonders. Below: Thirty-one packs of wolves roam the park. Photos by Rita Ariyoshi.

The restaurant has become sort of a celebrity secret. Harrison Ford once piloted his own plane from Jackson, Wyoming and put down at Chico just to dine there. Dennis Quaid and his former wife, Meg Ryan, were regulars when they were in residence at their Paradise Valley home. Quaid brought his band, the Sharks, to perform in the hotel’s saloon, which has live entertainment on weekends.

Chico and Paradise Valley offer some of the best fly-fishing in the country. Other activities include hiking, hunting, big game watching, kayaking and horseback riding. And at the end of the day, those nice warm pools await.

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