homestead crater activity center

I have been here several times. The first one was while getting my dive certification. It is a unique experience. The only strange thing is you kind of wonder how dirty the water is? I'll be back for sure.

I was a bit concerned and skeptical when we booked our appointment to go into the crater. I don't know how to swim so I was really nervous about being in a pool that was 90 feet deep. When you go in, the staff makes you feel very comfortable and confident. Everyone where's a life jacket even those who can swim.There are changing "spaces" but I would recommend that you go with your suit already on. When you enter the water, it's so warm and it's very clear. You can see down to the bottom and there are often divers swimming many feet below. You can get a bit of a view of the area below you by the lights from the scuba divers helmets. It's quite a surreal experience and loads of fun. The water is filled with good minerals as well, if you are into that aspect of it. I would recommend this for anyone 10 and up. I say 10 but you would want to gauge your own child. They welcome babies but I'm not sure that I would take one. That could be my own bias however, since I don't know how to swim.If you're in the area, definitely take the time to go into the crater!

My husband and I enjoyed our SCUBA in 93 degree waters! The natural formation that created the crater is very neat to see. There are good platforms under water and different objects to search for. Visibility was not awesome but it was a very cool experience!

The crater itself was cool and very interesting I have to say that I'm glad I was there for scuba diving cause it isn't very big and they jam pack it full of people.. Water was a nice temp however they could do better with changing rooms and more than one bathroom. For the overall price just to swim I would of been disappointed.

Went in looking for a hot spring. Not what we expected. Smelly inside, dirty life jackets, luke warm water. Did not stay longer than 5 minutes.

Small warm bath with strangers. Left after after entering water only minutes after entering. Having to put on the wet slimy life jackets before entering was a bit gross. The swimming area was small and dark. When we got out our thought we all spelt something funny and all looked forward to a shower. Definitely not a "hot springs" type of experience. The lunch at Simon's before was a pleasant surprise and very good.

Soak, swim or scuba dive, however you choose to relax in this natural hot spring crater (Caldera) is likely to be a memorable experience. The crater, has a very interesting history, and is thought to be over 10,000 years old. The dome that covers the springs is approximately 55 ft high and 400ft wide and the water in the crater is about 65ft deep and lies on top of an 8-14ft layer of mineral silt.The centre is very well managed and you would need to book in advance as numbers are restricted for each 45 minute soaking session to ensure the comfort and safety for everyone. You are provided with a flotation device and other equipment is available. You need to bring your own towels and small lockers are provided to store your clothes. The changing cubicles are quite small and you may have to queue for a few minutes and this is the reason for the four stars instead of five. However that is a small price to pay for such a great experience whatever your age. If you are interested you can read the history of the crater in the main Homestead Resort building, in any event it is well worth a visit.

THIS REQUIRES A RESERVATON. If you are staying at the hotel - they do not make this clear in the "online" check in. We got the LAST reservation for the day (I called a week in advance - but booked a month in advance - GLAD I CHECKED OR WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GO) This is the second time I have done the Crater Swim (45 minutes) it was included in our stay. Other than the fact that you sign your life away to get in....everything went really smooth after that. The crater does have a few changing rooms - but no towels - bring a towel - and they have tiny lockers, but no locks - I brought one from home. If not - leave valuables elsewhere. They say no pictures - but people on the platform were taking pictures like crazy and no one said a word. I would have liked to know if you coudl have taken them - we certainly would have. I am not sure how many people they let in at a time, but for "one of the busiest weekends" it wasn't so bad. I enjoyed it. You do have to wear a life jacket - even if you rent snorkling gear. (so the fins are kind of useless - but the rental fee is minimal - we didn't rent gear).

A great place to go and relax. No snow for skiing? No problem. We found this place and half swam and soaked in the 96-98 degree water while U.S. Guys in the other half decided to dive the crater. Max is about 60 ft depth but we stayed above 55 ft so the bottom silt wouldn't get kicked up. It was a fun and enjoyable time for all. Can't ski? Go dive!

I was there for scuba open water certification. This place is busy. Definitely worth the visit, but swimmers would do well to try to schedule time when there are few or no scuba divers. It did get crowded in there and I felt for the swimmers as the scuba groups were instructed to swim back and forth to pass off skills before diving under water.There are buoys in the crater that the scuba groups use to head down. Swimmers are better off heading to the other side of the crater. There are also benches in the water (three benches enclosed in a square on each side) that swimmers can sit on to enjoy the warmth during their soak.Water is warm (geothermal springs!) and felt great in January. There are changing rooms, but you're warm enough to dry off a bit and head back to the hotel if you prefer. There are lifejackets or scuba gear available to rent. Pay your entrance fee in the activity center. Toilet facilities are also in the activity center, not in the crater itself. Makes for a bit of a walk if you have a child needing to go. Parking is separate from the hotel parking. Follow the signs.One more thing: Check Groupon, Social Living, and KSL Deals dot com before coming. Those sites sometimes have coupons for the Crater.

great times, dive in the creator you wont regret it, the water is perfect, i recommend weekdays, weekends area bit crazy

We came to Midway JUST for the homestead crater. I definitely recomment the swim or just float about. Super relaxing, the water didn't smell minerally or anything of the sort. THere were a lot of kids which surprised me and bit crowded. The water wasn't too hot either it was very nice. My partner and i were super relaxed after the swim. Will return in the future.

Would have been great if I were in to SCUBA...but I'm not. Crowded, Noisy, Uncomfortable slimy lifejackets, stange scuba encounters, are what I remember most. The scuba divers on three occasions accidently "bumped" into my wife on their way to the surface. We are happy we were able to see this amazing natural feature once. Before our session was finished, the scuba divers were practicing their CPR skills on each other...well most of the these scuba divers are old men with grey hair and translucent white skin. When they pretend to be a victim, they really look dead. My 5 year old daugher did not immediately understand that they were just practicing, and were not actually dead. Disturbing Soak

I first learned about Homestead Crater while watching the travel channel and its been on my bucket list ever since. I was happy to cross it off for New years this year. The water is just the right temperature, not to too hot, and it doesn't have that sulphur smell that hot springs normally do. I even accidentally got water in my mouth and there was no taste or anything. The Crater is owned by Homestead Resort so you have to pay to use it. But what’s cool is that the resort offers snorkels and diving equipment/lessons because the water is so deep!You’re required to wear a life jacket which is a good thing because it’s so much easier to float around than tread water for an hour, the pool is DEEP. We had a snorkel we shared and took turns swimming around the crater. There’s not a lot to look at deep down (except the divers) but seeing the rock formations on the side of the crater was pretty cool so I would suggest renting one snorkel ($5) and sharing it with your group.Also, try to schedule a time that won’t have too many people. The resort takes reservations to ensure the crater doesn’t fill up too much (it’s not very big) but by the time we left, there were so many people coming in they ran out of life jackets.The worst part about the crater is getting out and having to change in those teeny tiny change rooms that are right next to the door. The door was constantly being opened and blasts of cold air shot through the change rooms. It’s one of the fastest I’ve ever changed.Overall, it is such a fun experience and I highly recommend it to all ages!

We traveled here with our Ft. Collins, Colorado, outfit to finish our Open Water certification. Really warm crater (no wetsuits allowed!), which was fantastic compared to the fact that it was snowing outside and through the top of the crater. Bring a robe or lots of towels to help in the transition from warm to cold if you're here in the winter. Though a lot of people go here, they manage the crowd fairly well by allowing specific times to each group. Not a huge site, but worth visiting at least once.