Renova Hot Springs

Whitehall, Montana (Madison County)

By the HotSpringsFind editorial team · How we compile records · Reviewed September 2026

Do not enter the water

Free primitive twin rock-walled pools on a Jefferson River side channel ~10 mi south of Whitehall MT (110-122F source mixing with river water); pools themselves sit in the public river channel but the only practical trail crosses a 5-owner private mining claim — Madison County Sheriff has declared it 'off-limits' and the county posted closure signs in 2020, yet informal use continues and enforcement is inconsistent.

The Madisonian — 'Hot spring hangouts' (sheriff broke up ~30-person gathering; mining-claim ownership; health-dept enforcement path)

Field notes — checked September 2026

Hazard: Source vents ~110-122F — hot pockets can scald; stir/test before entering
Hazard: River-current exposure at pool edge during higher flows
Hazard: Dirt-road washouts and winter ice
Hazard: Legal trespass exposure on the access trail
Hazard: No cell service — remote if something goes wrong
ACCESS IS LEGALLY CONTESTED — trail crosses a private mining claim with 5 owners; sheriff declared site off-limits; absence of a sign is NOT permission; leave immediately if confronted
Spring runoff (roughly May-June, Jefferson River >~700 CFS at the Silver Star/Parsons Bridge gauge) submerges/flushes the pools — pools unusable to washed out
7+ miles of dirt road (Point of Rocks Rd) — treacherous when wet or snowy; high-clearance prudent, winter access often impossible
No facilities of any kind — no toilets, trash, water; pack out everything
Riverbank trail is a short but rough ~0.1 mi scramble down to the channel
Closure signage may or may not be posted on any given visit
Crowd spikes and party use have drawn sheriff response (30 people dispersed in 2020) and neighbor complaints

110°F reportedFree when open (reported)

Check access status Browse Montana springs

Current status

Spring

Open

Road

Seasonal

Access

Tolerated access

Soaking

Soaking allowed

Water

Normal

Crowds

Usually quiet

Checked September 2026 · based on recent visitor reports · 4 sources ↓

About this spring

Primitive riverside soak on a side channel of the Jefferson River south of Whitehall, Montana — two rock-walled pools (~104-122°F) dam hot seeps against the cold river at the foot of the Tobacco Root Mountains. IMPORTANT: access trail crosses private land and the sheriff has declared the site off-limits — legal access unresolved; pools also submerge during spring runoff (best ~700 CFS, mid-Jul to early Oct). ACCESS DISPUTED — sheriff posted it off-limits; trail crosses private land. Pools underwater in spring runoff.

Renova Hot Springs is a primitive riverside soak where volunteers have built rock-walled pools in a side channel of the Jefferson River about ten miles south of Whitehall, at the foot of the Tobacco Root Mountains. Geothermal water seeps in at roughly 110–122°F, and the rock dams hold it back from the much colder river, so actual soaking temperature swings with river level — the pools flood entirely during spring runoff and are at their best when the Jefferson drops toward about 700 cubic feet per second, typically mid-July through early October. Legal access is genuinely unresolved: the pools sit in the riverbed, generally public under Montana's stream-access law, but the only practical trail crosses an old mining claim held by five mostly out-of-state owners, and the Madison County Sheriff's Office has declared the site off-limits — a closure the county Board of Health also posted at the trailhead in 2020. There are no facilities and no fee, and local custom is clothing-optional.

Directions & trailhead access

Access is restricted; do not use historical directions to plan a visit.

Montana geothermal context

Montana's springs cluster around Yellowstone's northern margin and along basin-range faults in the western half of the state. A large share of named sites sit on private ranch land or have limited legal access, which is why status notes matter here. Cold winters and heavy spring runoff reshuffle riverside pools every year.

What a private-access site means here

This spring is on private property. Listing it documents the location's existence — it is not an invitation. Visiting requires explicit owner permission, and some sites are accessible only through memberships, hosted events, or arrangements with the land manager. Do not arrive unannounced.

Fact sheet

Source temp (historical)	Not reported
Trail access	Recorded coordinates — access unverified
Access fee	Reported free — verify locally
Geothermal data reference	NOAA Thermal Springs List (1980 archive)
Check land status	Private land — contact the owner/manager for permission