Hot Springs heats up for Homesteaders Days

For another year, the Homesteader Days festival in Hot Springs has come and gone with happy campers all around.

The scorching heat that began last week subsided enough under a blanket of clouds to keep temperatures down and accompanying winds kept smoke from a nearby wildfire at bay as several thousand residents and visitors participated in the Spa City’s annual wingding. 

“Why are there so few people who live in this town?” asked Linda Bailey, a visitor from the Billings area, tongue firmly in cheek.  “It is a beautiful place to be with the mountains all around.  We’ve been here before; we already knew how nice folks from here are”. 

Bailey and her two teenage boys, Ben and Jessie, said they once again enjoyed the experience as part of their pilgrimage to Glacier National Park, less than 100 miles away. 

“I had never seen rodeo before, despite being from eastern Montana,” said Jessie, 15. “That is one cool sport. Those guys who do rodeo are tough dudes”. 

“And”, added Ben, 16, “the cowgirls are pretty cool too”. 

The event as always included a two-day rodeo at the Hot Springs rodeo arena, with finals Sunday (see accompanying story).  Another highlight was the annual Homesteader Days parade, which traditionally proceeds the rodeo Sunday afternoon. 

And as always, attendees had a wide choice of music (in the bars and on the street), crafts and food as Hot Springs rolled out the welcome mat. 

No official estimate of attendance was available, but one town resident said it seemed like maybe a “slight less” than normal this year. 

The parade featured Hot Springs resident Roy Merritt, the 2025 Grand Marshall, riding in a stretch Cadillac in this year’s parade, along with several floats and groups of horses and riders, as well as a strong contingent of local first responders. 

    Members of the Hot Springs 4-H club ride on a float during the Homesteader Days parade this past Sunday in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    Horse and "honey bucket"? A portable outhouse is pulled by a pair of draft horses during the Homesteader Days parade Sunday in Hot Springs. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
  

    A Hot Springs "pioneer" pulls a "covered wagon" in the spirit of the Homesteader Days during the annual parade this past Sunday in Hot Springs.  (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)