Found them. Oh God, found them.

Capa Hot Springs

by Bryan Boyce

So the short answer is hot springs abound between Philip and Pierre. All of them are drilled about 2000 feet deep, which may lead to some of the confusion around nomenclature (What, natural hot springs? We don't have those here) and also explain why they're not on the map. It seems the DM & E railroad drilled them, at least every 10 miles, along the tracks for use in their steam engines. But I've also observed that longstanding ranches are likely to have them on their property too. The water is used for manifold purposes: cooking and drinking and heating in houses,

standalone bathhouses (see figure 1, note billowy curtain),


watering cattle (figure 2, note does not preclude human bathing),


hotels both operating and abandoned (figure 3),


erstwhile under-the-stars bathtubs (figure 4),


veterans' memorials at the state capitol (figure 5,


they are everywhere, right? Perhaps this is what Leif Gilbertson was sprinting to soak in that frosty December evening years ago). Like most destination healing resorts, they appear to have gone out of fashion sometime shy of mid-20th century, followed quickly by the steam engine, and today are more or less regarded by residents as a curious afterthought.

Traveling west to east, there are hot waters flowing in at least Philip, between Philip and Midland, Midland, Matthews Ranch, Capa, Zuccaro Ranch, Van Metre, Wendte, and Pierre (italics denoting sites I did not visit), but of course there are likely more on other ranches.

Of these, Capa is the gem in my book (observe figure 6),


a long pliant pipe running perfect water to an abandoned hotel in a ghost town of one (I didn't get to visit with resident Philip O'Connor, reportedly friendly, due to him being at church -- which incidentally I had stolen a turkey leg from hours before).

My simplest thought for engaging these springs is by bike: most of the route is a forsaken gravel beast and people are generally nicer to you when you're dirty and carrying your own tent. Another possibility is just to make friends with Philip O'Connor,

who judging by his quarters (figure 7)


might appreciate the camaraderie, and ask permission to camp at the old hotel and erect a "pop-up" soak, using like the biggest compact kiddie pool you can find. A step beyond that would be to truck out something more permanent and elegant,

say a clawfoot bath or old school hot tub (figure 8, photo credit Ms. Amal Karim).


For that you might want to dig deeper into who actually owns the place, though -- this isn't the BLM in New Mexico. On which note, you can see from the video my immediate thought was: what does it take to purchase this land? Which is seriously worth considering! Though the cost/benefit of setting up a primitive permanent semi-public soak would have to account for any potential liability incurred.

But let's get back to the real point. There are hot springs in Capa. Nobody is using them for anything at all. I can't express the wonder and otherworldliness of this day of driving, like being on the moon. This is something I didn't think existed in the United States or maybe even the world. For those of you at least a fraction as religious about hot springs as I am, you know how amazing it is to sit out in a tub in the middle of nowhere on a cool night and look up at the stars while perpetually flowing hot water -- sans any electricity! -- melts the world away. This is our Chance to Make History, before the scientologists and visual artists swoop in!

A few other notes: there's supposed to be a primitive soak at the end of Battle Creek in the actual town of Hot Springs, SD, but I think that's the one Allison already knows about.

Also, Midland has this strange trailer behind the gas station that's got a VW van, entrance sign labeled "Happy Hippie Lane," and all sorts of wooden doors and corrugated tin surrounding the yard (figure 9).


I knocked on the door to find no one home, but have to conjecture: how could you be that particular person living in this particular area and not know about hot springs? And what potentially malodorous hydrological secrets might be hiding behind that fence? I've pushed the snowball a bit and am handing it back to you folks on the ground, with intent of learning (and actually soaking!) more on a future visit. Until then, over!

P.S. Laura, sorry I missed you. Hope things are going well at Crazy Horse and that Kyle is managing the transition from Redondo Beach!

Subsequent Visits