Day 8: Excursion to Jackson Hot Springs

June 19, 2025

I had a breakfast burrito and got on the road at 9:01 with mostly empty panniers. Today is an out and back excursion to Jackson Hot Springs.

Beaverhead mountains always visible on the right.

The route from Wisdom to Jackson is very scenic, upstream in the Big Hole valley with continuous views of the Beaverhead mountains to my right. Unfortunately my uphill pace was slow and the wind was calm, so mosquitoes swarmed continuously. Motorists surely wondered why the cyclist randomly waved his arms around.

Beaverhead mountains. The Continental Divide.

I got several bites while riding, and for sure got bites when stopping to take a photo.

Big Hole valley and Beaverhead mountains.

I left Wisdom at 9:01 and arrived at Jackson Hot Springs at 11:10 AM. It took me more than 2 hours to go 19 miles because it's all gentle uphill. Wisdom is 6063 feet elevation, Jackson is 6470 feet elevation.

I bought a day pass for Jackson Hot Springs. I had a soak, had lunch, took a nap, explored the village, soaked again, then had dinner. Pedaled away at 7:15 PM. I spent 8 hours at Jackson Hot Springs.

Jackson hot springs. Pool on the left. Lodge on the right.

The hot spring resort was built in 1950. In 1805, William Clark's expedition party stopped and did some tests at the hot spring. Indians surely knew about the hot spring long before that.

I camped at Jackson Hot Springs in 2013 during my Florence-Missoula-Salt Lake City bike tour. I never soaked during that visit because the hot pool was drained for its weekly cleaning. This is my first time to soak at Jackson Hot Springs.

The hot spring pool was originally covered with a roof. Some of the roof structure is still visible. When it was covered, the pool had a cloud of dense steam during extremely cold weather. One end of the pool is very deep and once had a diving board. Half of the pool is so deep that it's not very usable for soaking.

Jackson Hot Spring isn't quite historic, but it overflows with Wild West charm.

Lodge at Jackson Hot Springs. I had lunch and dinner here.

I took an afternoon nap in an upstairs chair.

The lodge is a stereotypical Montana Wild West experience.

The Village of Jackson, Montana is only 2 blocks long in a very remote valley.

This is about half of the village of Jackson. Population 23.

Today had a high temperature of 75F early in the afternoon. Then it got cloudy and the temperature dropped. I could see rain in the Beaverhead mountains.

Jackson caters to TransAmerica bike route cyclists with a hostel and an adjacent cyclist campground. I didn't see any other cyclists today. Mosquitoes are so bad right now that I can't imagine camping there. Most TransAmerica cyclists start on the east coast and pass through here in late July or early August when there are no mosquitoes.

The Hotel is a hostel and cyclist campsite. This is the TransAmerica bike route.

Jackson is an interesting little village. Worth exploring.

Late in the afternoon I had one more soak before dinner. The pictures show few people but I was actually seldom alone. I had a long conversation with an elderly lesbian couple that live in Virginia City, Montana which is a historic mining town just as remote as Jackson. I have vivid memories of staying there in 2013.

The hot spring pool is surrounded by walls which break the strong winter winds, but also obstruct the potentially excellent mountain views. I think the walls should have big windows.

Dinner took much longer than expected because a large tour group ordered just before me. I left Wisdom at 7:15 PM just as it was starting to rain. Temperature was 60F and I had a very strong tailwind. It was mostly downhill and very fast. But very wet for about 7 miles with thunder and lightning. Sometimes almost directly overhead from cloud to cloud. And I saw lightning strikes hit mountains to the east.

The rain stopped for the final 12 miles. I stopped to take pictures of two rainbows after the rain ended. By the time I got to Wisdom my clothes were dry except for socks. The rain wasn't miserable, and seeing the lightning was kind of exciting.

I arrived in Wisdom at 8:20 PM. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining. The temperature rose to 65F. There wasn't much for me to do in Wisdom because I already ate dinner at Jackson Hot Springs.

Tiny Wisdom is lucky to have a grocery store.

Now 3 photos taken yesterday when it was sunnier.

I had a breakfast burrito both mornings at The Silver Mine. The sign says Store and Saloon, but it is mostly a coffee shop and bakery.

The Silver Mine is a coffee shop and bakery. Not really a saloon.

Wisdom is relatively interesting and charming for such a small town. It's very remote. A 1 hour drive from Walmart and McDonalds.

Home for 2 nights was the 8-room Nez Perce Motel, the only lodging in Wisdom. Small rooms, basic, no A/C.

Nez Perce is the name that French fur trappers gave to an Indian tribe that calls themselves Nimiipuu, which means The People in their language. The name Nez Perce is a French term meaning pierced nose, but this was a misnomer as the tribe did not historically practice nose piercing. Tomorrow I will pass by Big Hole National Battlefield, where the U.S. Army attacked the fleeing tribe in a murderous dawn raid.

Home for 2 nights is the 8 room Nez Perce Motel.

Today was a good day. Many hours spent relaxing at Jackson Hot Springs, so it was somewhat of a rest day. Also many interesting sights in Wisdom, Jackson, and the Big Hole valley. I don't regret spending an extra night in Wisdom for the Jackson Hot Springs excursion.

Mosquitoes are still a frequent nuisance. I should escape the mosquito zone tomorrow.

Distance: 37.6 miles
Average Speed: 12.6 mph
Ascent/Descent: +1037/-1037 feet

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 258 miles (415 km)

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