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Of all the unique and wonderful activities you'll be part of at the Homestead, there is nothing quite like the Homestead Crater.

It is a 55-foot tall, beehive-shaped limestone rock that nature has hollowed out and filled with 90° to 96° water.

We have created a tunnel through the rock wall at ground level and built decks and a soaking area for our guests and the public to access the crystal clear mineral water. You can go swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling or enjoy a therapeutic soak. The Homestead Crater is the only warm water scuba diving destination in the continental US and it attracts many diving enthusiasts and those wishing to get certified in a comfortable environment.

But you don't have to get wet to have a one-of-a-kind experience inside the Crater. Many guests just enjoy the informative Crater tour where we discuss the history, geology and archeology of this unique natural phenomenon.

The Crater began forming about 10,000 years ago. Water from snow melting on the Wasatch Mountains seeped deep within the earth. Two miles below the surface, the earth's interior heated the water and sent it skyward. As it percolated upward, it picked up minerals and they eventually formed the beehive shaped limestone deposit called the Homestead Crater.

The hole at the top of the dome lets in sunlight and fresh air while the interior stays heated by the mineral water. Below the surface divers can descend 55 feet into the hour glass shaped depths.

Crater Rates

Each of the following activities can be made into a customized package with lodging. Please call our reservations department for more information. Homestead guest receive a 10% discount. All reservations are subject to a 72 hour cancellation policy.

Crater Tour
The roots of the Homestead start in the depths of the blue water of the Crater. The unique nature of this geologic and archaeological anomaly is sure to fascinate the curious. The Crater is open to the public for viewing every hour on the half hour. For more information about the Crater and hours of operation please contact the Adventure Center.

Soak, Swim or Snorkel
Take a 40-minute therapeutic bath or swim in our natural mineral water.

Weekdays: $ 11
Weekends: $16
Snorkeling equipment: $5

Children must be 5 years of age or older to swim in the crater.

Scuba Experience
A one-hour scuba diving introduction with equipment included.

Weekdays: $75
Weekends: $100

Scuba Dive
Certified divers can explore the warm waters of the crater for a maximum of 35-minutes and a depth of 55-feet.

Weekdays: $22
Weekends: $27
Rental equipment: $25
Tank only: $7.50

Scuba Tune-Up
A two-hour class with workbook and manual is offered and includes one hour of instruction and one hour of diving instruction.
Equipment not included.

Weekdays: $50 per person
Weekends: $75 per person

Scuba Certification
Public certification classes are also offered at the Crater. Classroom study, homework and in-water pool instruction are included in five sessions. After passing the certification test, students will receive two crater dives over a two-day period. Starting at $500 per person.


 

Crater History

For more than a century, the 55-foot high "calcite" crater dome at The Homestead Resort in Midway, Utah has been a distinctive landmark. An integral part of The Homestead's history, the warm water flowing from the mineral rich "hot spring" was instrumental in the resort beginnings as a place where weary miners and travelers could bathe and soak away their aches and pains. Now the ancient hot spring is ready to offer Utah's newest recreational attraction: year-round warm-water scuba diving. The Homestead crater was opened to the public on July 12, 1996. A newly constructed 110-foot tunnel has been painstakingly hollowed out on the crater's north side, providing access to the crater's inner depths. The calm, azure water maintains a year-round temperature of around 90_, beckoning to scuba divers, snorkelers, swimmers and mineral bathers, as well as those interested in seeing the inside of a geothermal hot spring. Visitors inside the crater can see the cathedral-like opening some 45-feet above the Caribbean-colored water and look down through the crystal clear pool's hour-glass-shaped depths of 65-feet. An 8- to 14-foot deep layer of silt covers approximately 8,000 years of history on the bottom. An ongoing archeological/geological research project under the direction of Dr. Jerry Simons, initiator of the crater project, has discovered thousands of coins and other interesting artifacts.

According to Dr. Simons, also an experienced scuba instructor, "there exists no other warm-water scuba site as unique as the Homestead Crater in the interior of the United States, and possibly the world, where divers also have the amenities of a resort with lodging, excellent food and other recreational activities. The Homestead Resort offers scuba certification, snorkeling lessons, one-hour scuba experiences, therapeutic mineral baths in addition to summer get-away vacation packages featuring golf and scuba, and horseback riding and scuba. Winter activities will include ski and scuba packages, just to mention a few. The Homestead is located in the "Midway geothermal" area. The Midway hot springs have been recognized as an interesting and unusual geologic feature for over 120 years. The Homestead crater is fed by a hot spring and has created the sloping mound of "trifa" or "travertine" that has been built up by periodic overflow of mineral-rich water. Various studies theorize that rain and snow melt in the Wasatch Mountains percolated into the ground, then descended along cracks and fractures to great depths of one to two miles to acquire the observed temperature, and then return to the surface through fractures. At these depths, a major influx of carbon dioxide gas in the water occurs. This allows the water to dissolve substantial amounts of limestone en route to the surface and then deposit that material as "travertine" when carbon dioxide escapes from the water at or near the surface. Travertine, mainly composed of calcium, produces an abundance of white, porous, lava-like rock that is very common in the Midway area. The Homestead crater is the largest mineral dome in the area and is approximately 55-feet high and 400-feet in diameter at the base. The Homestead Resort is owned by Great Inns of the Rockies, a privately held corporation. The Homestead crater is a leased concession by Homestead Crater, Inc. under the direction of Dr. Jerry Simons of Provo, who conceived, designed, engineered and financed the crater project.

Click Here for water anaylsis report on the Homestead Crater.