Pipestone Village and Hot Springs

What to expect

If you search for Pipestone Hot Springs, you will find two things. One is a historic resort that closed in the 1960s and survives only as ruins on private land. The other is Pipestone Village and Hot Springs, a small glamping business on the Delmoe Lake Road that pipes hot spring water into private outdoor tubs. This page covers both, but only the second is somewhere you can soak.

Pipestone Village is not a pool complex. There is no shared pool, no front desk and no day pass. You book a cabin or a dome for the night, and the tub outside your door is yours alone. Its Airbnb listings describe the tubs as fed by natural underground hot springs, and the owners told KXLF that the tubs are filled fresh for each renter, with no chemicals. The Two Tubs dome has a pair of clawfoot tubs; most other units list a hot tub.

Co-owner Brandon Dulaney described the idea to KXLF as a Forest Service cabin with comforts: rustic, but with heat and air conditioning in every unit. The domes have a skylight over the bed for stargazing. The property sits right at the Pipestone OHV trailhead. Water temperatures in the tubs are not published.

The units

The Pipestone Village website lists ten rentals:

• Hotsprings Cabins 1 to 5. One bedroom each. Cabin 4 sleeps six; the others sleep four. Pets are allowed in all five cabins, and Cabins 2 to 5 list a bathroom.
• Five domes: Sunset, Mountain Oasis, Western, Gray and Two Tubs. Sunset and Mountain Oasis sleep four; Western, Gray and Two Tubs sleep two.

Nine of the ten list a hot tub; the Western dome is the one that does not. If the soak is why you are coming, check the amenities on the unit before you book.

Plumbing varies. When the business opened, KXLF reported that there was no running water beyond the tubs. Current listings show a bathroom in four of the cabins, and the Two Tubs dome lists a toilet and sink. Expect simple facilities.

Prices and booking

Pipestone Village does not publish a rate card. Prices appear when you enter dates on its booking page or on its Airbnb listings, where the host profile, “Pipestone Village,” has a long record of reviews. A seasonal “Date Night” add-on was listed at $60 on Airbnb for December 1 to March 31. Book ahead for weekends, and remember that all soaking is tied to an overnight stay.

History: the original Pipestone Hot Springs

The springs at Pipestone have a long history. A rancher named John Paul homesteaded the area in the 1860s. Montana Memory Project records say he bought the ranch with its thermal springs in 1870 and opened it as a health resort in 1878, with a stage running three times a week from Butte. Ollie Barnes, probably his stepdaughter, who became Pipestone’s first postmistress in 1880, built a hotel, barn and guest house, and in 1893 Paul and investors formed the Pipestone Mineral Springs and Townsite Company. The resort was a stop on the Northern Pacific main line, and the post office ran as Pipe Stone Springs from 1887 to 1928.

Around 1918 a group of Butte businessmen, including James Finlen, Roy Alley and John Corrette, bought the property. They added a bathhouse, about 100 canvas-roofed cottages and a sanitarium with a resident doctor. By 1932 there was a large indoor plunge and, briefly, a golf course.

The resort closed in the 1960s (accounts give 1963 or about 1965). The Alley family still owns most of the land around the old springs, near the GNIS-listed site of Pipestone Hot Springs about a mile southeast of the Delmoe Lake Road junction. You can see the ruins of about 19 wooden cabins and two old schoolhouses from the road. They are on private property. Do not go in.

Getting there

Pipestone Village is at 36 Delmoe Lake Road, near where that road leaves Interstate 90 on the east side of Homestake Pass.

• From Butte: Take I-90 east over Homestake Pass and get off at the Pipestone exit. The property is just off the interstate at the start of Delmoe Lake Road.
• From Whitehall or Bozeman: Take I-90 west past Whitehall to the Pipestone exit.

Whitehall and Butte are the nearest towns with fuel, groceries and restaurants; there is little in between. The roads around the property are dirt, but the property itself is close to the highway.

When to go

The cabins and domes are rented year-round. Winter is when a private hot tub makes the most sense: cold nights, snow on the granite and the steam rising off the water. Summer brings off-road riders, mountain bikers and hikers using the trails around Delmoe Lake and Homestake Pass, and the units have air conditioning for hot days.

Note for the 2026 season: the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest closed Delmoe Lake Campground and its day-use area, and Forest Road 9371 into the campground, for repairs from April 1 to October 31, 2026 (order 01020426-01). Delmoe Lake Road itself is not part of that closure.

Rules and etiquette

• Guests only. There is no day use. Do not drive in to ask for a soak.
• Keep the tubs clean. Rinse off before you get in and skip soaps and lotions in the tub.
• Clothing. Each tub is private to its unit, so what you wear is up to you. Remember that neighbors may be nearby.
• Pets. Allowed in the cabins only, not the domes.
• Respect the old resort. The historic springs and cabins belong to private landowners.

Where to stay nearby

You stay on site. For alternatives, Butte has the widest range of hotels, and Whitehall has a few motels. Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, east of Whitehall, has a campground and cabins. Delmoe Lake Campground, up the road from the property, is closed for repairs through October 31, 2026.

Nearby stops worth adding

• The Pipestone OHV area starts at the property, with dirt routes toward Delmoe Lake and the Ringing Rocks.
• Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park has guided cave tours east of Whitehall.
• Boulder Hot Springs is a historic inn with public pools north of Whitehall.
• Renova Hot Springs, south of Whitehall, is closed to the public and should be skipped.

Safety notes

• Hot water: Tub temperatures are not posted. Test with a hand and keep soaks short, especially after drinking.
• Remote nights: Cell service is limited around Pipestone. Know your unit’s address and have a paper map.
• Wildlife and off-road traffic: Watch for ATVs and dirt bikes on the roads, and store food inside, since this is bear country.