Hot springs near Missoula, MT

Missoula sits where the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot valleys meet, in the faulted mountain country of western Montana, where the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology places most of the state's thermal springs. The Lolo National Forest surrounds the city, and the Bitterroot National Forest covers the Bitterroot and Sapphire ranges to the south. U.S. 93 runs south up the Bitterroot valley toward Lost Trail Pass and Idaho's Salmon-Challis National Forest. U.S. 12 runs southwest up Lolo Creek, crosses Lolo Pass on the Idaho line, and follows the Lochsa River through the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, where Jerry Johnson Hot Springs is open for day use only, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Interstate 90 runs west toward Lookout Pass.

The Montana Department of Transportation keeps U.S. 12, U.S. 93 and Interstate 90 open in winter and reports conditions through its 511 system, but snow and ice are common on Lolo Pass, Lost Trail Pass and Lookout Pass. Side roads to backcountry springs on the national forests are often unplowed. In Idaho, the Lochsa corridor of U.S. 12 has long stretches without services.