Homestead Crater; Amazing Hot Spring in Midway, Utah

Homestead Crater is a hot spring in Midway, Utah. It is located in luxurious Homestead Resort, and is open for swimming and scuba.

We often visit Utah as we have some family living there. When we got invited to a wedding in there, we were so excited. Especially since the wedding was held at Homestead Resort in Midway where they have a famous hot spring.

Midway is a small town in Heber Valley at the Wasatch Mountains less than 50 miles from Salt Lake City. Only about 4,000 people live in the area.

Over the years Midway has been tied into its Swiss heritage, and you will be able to see it in the downtown. The town hall for example, looks like something you would see in at the Alps or what we saw in Switzerland.

Every even hour a little dolls come out from the town hall clock and sing. It is really adorable. People gather in front of the building just to watch it.

Every year Midway celebrates the Swiss Days. During this two day festival the locals dress up in traditional Swiss costumes, do parades and sell European treats on the market. I wish we could have been there for that!

Homestead Resort

We arrived at the wedding venue on Friday evening and the place was absolutely beautiful. The main building of Homestead Resort is a white, Federal style house surrounded by a golf course. On the backyard they had a little pond with ducks.

We stayed in one of the guesthouses and they were all adorable. All of them were in a walking distance so we were able hang out with other family members easily.

The original resort was opened in 1891 and was called Schneitter’s Hot Pot. It was built by Maria and Simon Schneitter who immigrated to the area from Switzerland in 1864. The hot springs quickly became popular among the travelers, and they later changed the resort name into Schneitter’s Hotel and Saloon.

In 1907, Simon Junior married Fanny Manhart Miles, and they took over the family business. Fanny’s famous fried chicken is still served at the Homestead Resort, and the Simon’s restaurant offers both brunch and dinner daily.

The resort offers many activities from golf to swimming and snowshoeing. Park City Ski Resort is only 20 minutes away for those who visit during the winters.

It has also grown into a popular party venue and we saw in the first hand why. The wedding venue was just beautiful, and we had such a good time. The ceremony was held outside, we had dinner in a party tent and later there was also dancing inside. We had such a great time!

The crown for the night was the absolutely stunning blood moon!  

SWIMMING IN THE HOT SPRING OF THE HOMESTEAD CRATER

Next morning we headed out to soak ourselves in the warm water of the Homestead Crater. What a perfect start for the day especially after such a busy evening!

The crater is a popular scuba diving site as it is the only warm scuba destination in the continental U.S. They offer scuba lessons, snorkeling and other activities in the caldera. Or you can just choose to swim and enjoy the warm water, like we did..

The crater is quite small so a reservation is required. When you check in, they will give you a safety vest and go over some rules. Even if you are a good swimmer, it comes in handy to have a vest since you wont be able to reach the bottom of the crater at all. 

Swimming in a crater is special and very unique, and even though it was a little bit crowded, we enjoyed the experience.

The caldera was formed tens of thousand of years ago when the hot mineral water raised thru the soil. Water made a tunnel thru a rock and made a hole on top of it. The geothermal spring is still at the bottom of the crater and still pumps water in it.

The caldera water stays 90–96 degrees Fahrenheit even during the cold and snowy winters at the mountains.

The cenotes in Mexico and Montezuma’s Well in Arizona has a similar structure as the Homestead Crater. In some cases the roof of the caldera has collapsed.

The caldera looks a little bit like a bee hive with a hole on the top of it. Before a tunnel with a door was built to it, people used to jump into the water from the top. Now it is mostly there just to bring some natural light in.

We had such a great time at Midway and would love to go back someday. If you are close to it, I definitely recommend checking this place out!

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Utah is such an amazing place and there is so much to see there! They have so much beautiful nature and many amazing national parks. Some of our favourites are Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks and Zion. We were also blown away by the beaty of Grand Straircase-Escalante on a Toadstool Hoodoos Trail.

But if you love soaking in the hot springs like we do, then Homestead Crater is definitely where you want to be at!

Have you visited Homestead Crater or some similar hot springs?

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