Homestead Crater: 40°31’26.10″N, 111°29’5.96″W
The crater feels almost like it is man made but it is in fact completely natural, except for the tunnel of course. I usually make it out to the crater at least once a year for a swimming or diving trip. It is fun to walk around the resort and even eat at the restaurant there too. I highly recommend spending some time in this area.
You will be inside a hollowed crater that is filled with very warm water. If you are swimming the staff wants you to always wear a life vest. You will be “sweating” underwater if you are in there for a long time so be prepared to drink a lot of water from the drinking fountain in the crater. They have a “drinking fountain” right in the water so you don’t even need to get out to drink.
The water is about 90-96F water temperature. The crater drops about 55 feet below the water level – great for SCUBA divers.
From the parking lot, walk towards the north end of the crater. You will see a large metal door keeping all the warm air inside of the crater. You are allowed to check out the crater for free but if you are not a hotel guest and you want to swim or dive you need to head to the adjacent activity building which is about 100 yards to the west of the crater. The bathrooms are also located next to the activity center.
You can climb the stairs to the top of the crater to get a view down into the open portal. This used to be the old way people would enter the hot springs before the tunnel was dug.
There are changing rooms and a locker area for your clothes and other gear if you want to keep it there. The staff on hand are constantly monitoring the diving and swimming in the crater so if you have any questions they are more than happy to assist you.
The entrance is this metal door you can see below.
This is a fun place to scuba dive! The Homestead Crater is known as the only warm water scuba diving place on the continental United States and it is the place where I certified for SCUBA.
Swimming and snorkeling are also enjoyable here. The staff warns that if you swim or dive please do not touch the walls or silt at the bottom of the crater. The water is really clear except when people touch the walls releasing silt and dirt into the water.
Also, they advise to keep voices down (no screaming and yelling in the crater) to keep with the calm atmosphere.
The crater is not too crowded as people are constantly coming and going. The times that I go are usually not busy at all. The above picture is the tunnel portion of the crater where there are changing rooms, equipment rentals and more.
I enjoy the Midway area. It is far enough away from the big city but not so far away that it takes all day to travel.
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