California Hot Springs - A Selfish Guide

This is a catalogue of all 308 (known, past and present) hot springs in California, from the viewpoint of my family living in W. Menlo Park, San Francisco Bay Area — listed in order of travel time from home (but grouped by county).

This work is Copyright © Rick Moen, rick@linuxmafia.com, 2024.





Contents:





Alameda County

Alameda Warm Springs

End of Hidden Valley Terrace, Warm Springs District, southernmost Fremont, Alameda County, below Mission Peak.
Temp: 80°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.503005, -121.907230

This is the eponymous warm springs of Warm Springs District, Fremont. Dumbarton Bridge to I-880 south to Mission Blvd. east to the hills, right on Stanford Ave., right again on Hidden Valley Terrace, and it's on the right before the end. However, please be advised that Hidden Valley Terrace is within gated community "Vineyard Heights", so you probably cannot even get onto the street fronting the historic warm springs.

(Other possible approach are from the end of Raindance Road to the immediate south, or from Mission Peak Preserve to the immediate east, hiking westwards into the former 23-acre Hidden Valley Ranch, now a suburban housing development, but I advise caution about private property, and doubt possible small reward justifies risk of confrontation with aggrieved owners.)

The property was within Mexican land grant Rancho del Agua Caliente, commemorated by a historical marker. The ranch was granted to Fulgencio Higuera in 1839, who in 1850 sold it to French entrepreneur Clemente Martin Columbet, who established Warm Springs Hotel and Spa as a famous resort for San Franciscans, as the first hot springs resort on the West Coast, and also established a vineyard, winning prizes at the 1856 State Agricultural Fair in San Jos´. Columbet's Warm Springs Hotel was destroyed by the 1868 Hayward earthquake, whereupon, in 1869, he sold the resort and winery to Leland Stanford, Sr., who enlarged the winery and characteristically renamed it after himself. (Stanford was such a relentless self-promoter that, to this day, most sources incorrectly credit him, not Columbet, as the winery's founder.)

Leland Stanford Winery was notable as the first winery to produce sparkling wines in California, and by 1876 was producing 100,000 gallons/375,000 litres annually, making it the second most productive winery in the country.

Stanford considered the area for his university, but his wife Jane preferred the San Francisco Peninsula. (His brother Josiah and family lived there and ran the property's businesses, retiring to Oakland in 1883.)

The hotel deteriorated, and was closed by damage from the 1906 earthquake. One adjoining hotel also on the resort grounds, A.A. Cohen Hotel, survived physically, but burned down in 1992. Frankel Enterprises then demolished all the ruins, and built the existing 18 luxury houses on the historic ranch site. For its part, Leland Stanford Winery (1544 Stanford Avenue) was bought out by Weibel Champagne Vineyards in 1945, which closed the operation in 1996. All but one historic brick building has now been redeveloped into housing. There is a historical marker from the California State Park Commission, number 642 (on the north side of the road), in front of the sealed-up building.

1915 note3: Four warm springs that issue on the hillside bordering the lowland at the southeast end of San Francisco Bay have given the small town of Warm Springs [RM: since 1956, a city of Fremont neighbourhood] its name. They are situated about 2 miles/1 km northeast of the town, within the private grounds of Mr. Joseph W. Stanford. One of the springs rises in the lawn adjacent to Mr. Stanford's residence. It has been enclosed to form a covered reservoir about 12 feet square (4 metres square), which furnishes part of the domestic supply, and yields perhaps 5 gallons / 19 litres a minute. Two other springs rise beside a walk, a few feet/metres away, in open basins, from which there are flows of approximately 1 and 4 gallons (4 to 15 litres) a minute. The larger of these two springs has a temperature of 86°F/30°C. The fourth spring is 300 feet/180 metres southward, in a little swale on the southern side of a knoll. It yields perhaps 5 gallons / 19 litres a minute, of water 90°F/32°C, which is collected in a small covered reservoir and piped to the grounds, for domestic and garden use.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unknown
Distance: 25.1 miles, 37 mins

Crohare Spring

Livermore, Alameda County
Temp: 70°F/21°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.632, -121.76 (approx.)

South of town towards Wente Vineyards, Arroyo Road to Arroyo Del Valle Regional Trail, trail about ⅕ mile.
Cost: free
Distance: 38.2 miles, 52 mins





Santa Clara County

Mineral Springs

Alum Rock Park, San Jose, Santa Clara County
Status: CAPPED (except for one source, left running)
Temp: 84°F/29°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.399395, -121.796900

This was founded as California's first municipal park in 1872, and a hotel and European-style spa with baths and natatorium created near the springs feeding Penitencia Creek. Its hot spring (then issuing at 98°F/37°C) was discovered4 in 1896. A narrow-gauge railroad line from downtown San Jose was added by 1887, electrified in 1901, and operated until March 1911, when erosion made the line unsafe in the flooding of that year. It was rebuilt, but then closed a second time permanently with the market crash of 1929. Only a few remnants of the historical structures remain.

Access: US-101 to I-680 to Alum Rock Ave, to the park. Enter Alum Rock Park, park where Penitencia Creek Trail begins. Walk 1⁄10 mile (160 metres) along that trail. It will be to the left, where the creek is.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $6 park admission (if by car)
Distance: 32.6 miles, 44 mins

[notable]Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs / Gilroy Hot Springs

13800 Gilroy Hot Springs Road, Gilroy, Santa Clara County
Status: OFF-LIMITS FOR NOW (except arranged tours)
Temp: 106°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.110143, -121.479160

Needs long and detailed reconstruction, but was once wonderful, and some day may be again. Just west of Henry W. Coe State Park. In 2020, new volunteer group Gilroy Hot Springs Conservancy was granted permission by California State Parks to restore the resort's 22 surviving structures and rebuild the historic hotel and clubhouse, and the volunteers worked towards that goal. Meanwhile, the Conservancy offered 60-90 minute guided tours, typically on 3rd Saturdays, with reservations being required.

Sadly, since 2022, the Conservancy has found that California State Parks, rather than supporting its volunteer work to preserve and rebuild the historic structures, has piled more and more obstacles in their way, and now requires event permits and liability insurance for even those monthly guided tours, such that those can no longer be held, and the entire restoration project is (as of 2024) in doubt.

1915 note3: Gilroy Hot Spring is situated on the side of Coyote Creek canyon, in the southeastern part of Santa Clara County. The spring, which has an observed temperature of 110°F/43°C and a flow of perhaps 15 gallons/57 litres a minute, issues in a ravine on the western side of the canyon, 200 feet/60 metres above Coyote Creek.

The spring has been used as a resort since the seventies, and in 1908 a hotel, annex, and cottages provided rooms for about 125 guests.

From a cemented and covered reservoir that has been excavated at the spring the water flows into two small plunge baths and is also piped to bathtubs. Besides its use for bathing, the water is much used for drinking and has been carbonated and bottled for a number of years by the soda works at Gilroy.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 63 miles, 1 hr 16 mins: S, off US-101, east into foothills

Sargent Estate Warm Spring

South of Gilroy, Santa Clara County
Temp: 77°F/25°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 36.938, -121.565 (approx.)

West of the west frontage road of US-101.

Antonio and Faustino German were awarded the Mexican land grant Rancho Juristac (also called "La Brea"), noted for its liquid petroleum deposits, in 1835. In 1856, James P. Sargent of New Hampshire bought the property and renamed it Sargent's Ranch, including various enterprises including a vacation spot near Pajaro River. The ranch probably was shuttered in 1956 when the last family member died.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 57.2 miles, 56 mins





Marin County

[notable]Rocky Point Springs / Steep Ravine Hot Springs / Red Rock Hot Spring / Marin Tidal Hot Springs

Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.886493, -122.630712

Right on the Marin County coast between Muir Beach and Stinson Beach, north of the mouth of Webb Creek, next to a big rock on the shore past the north end of Steep Ravine Beach, and accessible only for about three-hour periods at (rare — only a few times per year) extreme low tides (must be ½ foot below Mean Lower Low Water). Primary access is via the west end of Steep Ravine Trail, which is slippery, steep, and a bit dangerous. Highway access to the trail is near mile marker 1120 on Shoreline Highway (CA Route 1). Beware of poison oak on both sides of the trail.

Alternatively, and more dangerous, one can access the site by scrambling over wet rocks north from Steep Ravine Beach, just north of Steep Ravine Cabins and Campground.

Tub can hold up to 24 people.

Because it's safe to use only a few times a year, is famous, and is right next to the S.F. Bay Area's cities, expect that it may be crowded. Many enthusiasts make a point of going once, just to be able to say they did.

1915 note3: In the Coast Ranges north of San Francisco Bay are a number of thermal springs that form a general group in the older sediments of this part of the state. A warm spring that is mildly sulphureted rises on the beach about 6 miles/9 km northwest of Point Bonita. It is locally known as Rocky Point Spring, but is exposed only at low tide, and is of little importance.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 53 miles, 1 hr 22 mins: G.G. Bridge to Marin County, CA Route 1 to the coast.





Contra Costa County

Bareges Sulphur Springs

1750 Heather Drive, Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County
Status: CAPPED
Temp: 75°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.917983, -122.041889

Best guess is that this historical group of warm sulfur springs lay mainly underneath the modern-day Clarke Memorial Swim Center in Heather Farms Park, though the smell of sulfur dioxide gas also still emanates from the entrance to adjoining St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1650 Ygnacio Valley Rd., just west of Heather Farms Park.

Historically, this was Jose Ygnacio Sibrian's Sulphur Springs Ranch, on which Dr. A.H. Rowan built a hotel and spa called Bareges Sulphur Springs, destroyed by fire in 1875. (Ygnacio Valley Road and Ygnacio Valley are named for the aforementioned pioneer rancher.)

1915 note3: A group of sulphur springs lies near the northeastern base of a low ridge, about 2 miles/3 km northeast of the town of Walnut Creek. The largest spring is on the ridge about 300 feet/90 metres from its eastern base and 75 feet/23 metres north of the county road [RM: Ygnacio Valley Road]. When the place was visited, the water rose in a board-curbed pool, protected by a latticed house and was piped to a cattle trough a few feet/metres away. It yielded about 3 gallons/11 litres a minute of mildly sulphureted water, 81°F/27°C. Five other smaller springs issue in a belt extending 1050 feet/320 metres along the base of the ridge, in and near the barnyard of Sulphur Springs farm. Two of them have been piped to watering troughs nearby. The other three are of seeping flow, and form only small marshy places.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 58.6 miles, 1 hr 2 mins

Deer Spring

Lime Ridge, Concord, Contra Costa County
Temp: "warm" per NOAA: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.929059, -121.965139 (approx.)

Ygnacio Valley Road over Lime Ridge to right onto Pine Hollow Road, right on Rolling Woods Way, left on Crystyl Ranch Road, right on Deer Creek Circle. The spring is alleged to be east of the east point of the street (probably just north of the no-trespassing area fenced off as "Crystyl Ranch Reservoir & Pump Station").

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 64.2 miles, 1 hr 13 mins

Marsh Creek Springs

Marsh Creek Road to just past where Morgan Territory Road branches south, on the east side of Mount Diablo, Contra Costa County.
Temp: 70°F/21°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.895, -121.874 (approx.)

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 70.5 miles, 1 hr 22 mins

[notable]Byron Hot Springs / Mead's Hot Salt Springs

5400 Byron Hot Springs Rd., Byron, Contra Costa County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 96°F/36°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.847305, -121.632704

CA Route 4 to County Route J4 (Byron Highway) to right on Byron Hot Springs Road. Ruins of a grand old resort that owners still dream of reopening. Even though it's an academic point, as the property is off-limits, urban explorers (i.e., trespassers) report seeing no current spring emissions.

The original resort was opened by Lewis Mead in 1889, as Mead's Hot Salt Springs, with a three-story wooden hotel and several cottages, a laundry, gas plant, and ice plant. All structures were destroyed by fire on July 25, 1901. A replacement hotel, wood-framed with a Moorish-style, stucco exterior, opened in 1902 and was considered one of only a few five-star hotels in the state, but likewise burned in 1912. The third, current structure, a four-story hotel, was constructed of brick in 1914.

By the 1920s, the resort had become a popular spot for celebrities, business tycoons and other wealthy patrons, but closed in 1938 after a series of lawsuits. During WWII, the US Army leased it (as "Camp Tracy") to serve as a facility for interrogating Japanese and German prisoners of war. In 1947, the Greek Orthodox Church bought it, and operated it as Monastery Saint Paul until 1956. Later owners repurposed it as a resort, country club, and private residence.

1915 note3: On the western border of San Joaquin Valley, near the southeastern corner of Contra Costa County, a number of mineralized springs — Byron Hot Springs — rise in a saline flat that is partly enclosed by low hills. A large, well-appointed hotel (this hotel was destroyed by fire in July, 1912, but the resort was not closed, and a new hotel was opened in July, 1914) and four or five cottages have here formed one of the most noted spring resorts of the State. The place is easily reached by automobile from the eastern side of San Francisco Bay.

In 1908, eight springs were improved and used. A small warm sulphur spring supplies a drinking basin in the main grounds; warm sulphur mud and water baths and a sulphur plunge are about 750 feet/230 metres southeast of the hotel grounds. A strongly sulphureted spring, 83°F/28°C, forms a slightly used drinking pool at one side of Sulphur Plunge, and on the opposite side is a well from which mineral water is pumped to bathtubs in the hotel.

In the summer of 1908, the water in this well stood about 8 feet/2.5 metres below the surface, and its temperature was 112°F/44°C to 115°F/46°C. About 750 feet/230 metres beyond the Sulphur Baths and Sulphur Plunge is an enclosed swimming pool, known as the Gas Plunge, in which the temperature is about 88°F/31°C. Between the two bathing establishments are two cemented drinking springs, known as the Hot Salt and the Liver and Kidney springs: The Hot Salt Spring, at 120°F/49°C and a flow of about 2 gallons/7 litres a minute, rises in a small, domed, concrete house; the Liver and Kidney Spring rises in a concrete basin 75 feet/23 metres southward. In 1908, it was 73°F/23°C, but its flow was not appreciable. Near the base of a low hill 750 feet/230 metres to the southwest is a tile-lined basin or well, marked "Surprise", which contains strongly saline water about 70°F/21°C.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: off-limits, for now
Distance: 67.1 miles, 1 hr 18 mins





Solano County



Vallejo White Sulphur Springs / Blue Rock Springs

Blue Rock Springs Park, Vallejo, Solano County
Temp: 68°F/20°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.125223, -122.188100

The site is now a popular Vallejo city park. The apparent site of the spring is a (cold-water) pond.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $5/car park entrance
Distance: 64.6 miles, 1 hr 9 mins

Unnamed Spring

Vallejo, Solano County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.101050, -122.169083
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 71.9 miles 1 hr 25 mins

Tolenas Springs

Vacaville, Solano County
Temp: 68°F/20°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.310291, -122.053596

After a long decline, according to a Solano County General Plan history report, the remains of the historic resort burned down around 1924. The site is now on private property, with no known public access.

Season: n/a
Cost: no public access
Distance: 83.5 miles, 1 hr 34 mins





Sonoma County

[mn=]Boyes Hot Springs, now enclosed by Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa

100 Boyes Boulevard, Sonoma, Sonoma County
Temp: 112°F/44°C and 135°F/57°C (two sources)
Lat./Long.2: 38.312893, -122.482663

Dr. T.M. Leavenworth originally developed this site commercially in 1840, calling it Agua Rica Farm, but it was then acquired in 1883 by Captain Henry E. Boyes, who operated it as Bigelow Ranch. In 1895, Boyes drilled for a water source to a depth of 70 feet/21 metres, and found bounteous 112°F/44°C hot mineral water, developing Boyes Hot Springs Hotel within a few years.

The hotel was destroyed in a catastrophic 1923 wildfire, then reconstructed by Fred Partridge and Rudolph Lichtenberg as a grand Mission-style resort hotel, opening in August 1927 and being renamed in Feb. 1928 as Sonoma Mission Inn, and supplemented with the 238-acre Sonoma Mission Inn Golf Course and Country Club, later that year. A large bathing pavilion with two auxiliary tanks, each holding 150,000 gallons/570,000 litres of water, opened in April 1930, whereupon the operating company went bankrupt during the Great Depression.

Emily Long purchased and renovated the site. During WWII, the US Navy operated the site a "rest center" for sailors and marines returning from the Pacific War.

At war's end, Long passed ownership to San Francisco hoteliers E. B. Degolia and George T. Thompson, who re-opened it in Feb. 1948. Thompson's wife Vee Thompson eventually sold it to real estate mogul Richard Bristol, who in 1980 sold it to Ed Safdie, who extensively remodeled the hotel, then selling it to Rahn Properties in 1985, which sold it to Crescent Real Estate Equities, which in 2002 sold 20% of equity to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which manages it and has rebranded it as The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa.

Main pool is seasonal.

1915 note3: A number of small warm springs issue along Sonoma Creek, a few miles/km north of San Pablo Bay. Artesian wells that also yield warm water have been drilled at several places on the eastern side of Sonoma Valley, and at three places where such wells have been obtained resorts have been built up that are well patronized during the summer months, as they are only a two and a half hours' ride by train from San Francisco. Boyes Hot Springs, about 2 miles/3 km northwest of Sonoma, is the southernmost of these resorts. Here, a hotel and several cottages and tent houses are situated in a grove of oaks, and, ¼ mile (400 metres) northwest of the hotel, a large swimming plunge and tub baths are supplied by water pumped from two wells. These are said to be 200 feet/60 metres deep, and the temperature of the water is reported to be 114°F/46°C and 118°F/48°C.

The wells, the first of which was drilled about 1890, flowed until a short time after the earthquake of April 18, 1906, but the water usually stands a few feet (about a metre) below the surface. A third, unused well 900 or 1200 feet / 270 or 360 metres (to the east was flowing about 3 gallons/11 litres a minute in December, 1909. The water is bottled for table use.

Links:

Season: year-round

Cost: If you have to ask, you can't afford it. In theory, you might be able to buy a day pass at the Fairmont's Willow Stream Spa subsidiary.
Distance: 77 miles, 1 hr 41 mins: N of S.F. Bay

Fetters Hot Springs / Eleda Hot Springs

Agua Caliente, Sonoma County
Status: LOST
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 38.321356, -122.487241

In 1907, George and Emma Fetters of Pittsburg bought out an old ranch a mile north of Captain H. E. Boyes's 360-acre Bigelow Ranch (that is now the site of Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa). A year later, the Fetters opened Fetters Hot Springs Resort, later leasing leased the property to Morris Levy. Levy operated it as Eleda Springs until 1911, when the Fetters reassumed management. George Fetter lived until 1964. Accounts of local history say fabled local restaurateur Juanita Musson bought the resort complex in 1975, but it then burned down a month later. Fetters Apartments opened on the site in 2017.

1915 note3: During the summer of 1909 a bathing establishment which is supplied by four drilled wells was erected about 600 feet/180 metres east of the Agua Caliente baths. A hotel was opened on the grounds, and the place was advertised in 1910 as Eleda Hot Springs, but has since become known as Fetters Hot Springs.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 77 miles, 1 hr 47 min

[notable]Agua Caliente Springs (Sonoma County) / The Oasis Mineral Pool and Spa

17350 Vailetti Dr., Agua Caliente, Sonoma County
Temp: 97°F/36°C to 108°F/42°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.321417, -122.489868

Not to be confused with the Agua Caliente Springs in San Diego County.

The historic resort that existed on this site at the turn of the 20th Century is no more, but has been repurposed as The Oasis Mineral Pool and Spa (previously, Sonoma Fit Pool Club), a set of three swimming pools plus a swimmable outdoor mineral spring.

1915 note3: About 1 mile/1.5 km northwest of Boyes Hotel a similar resort has been built up at Agua Caliente Springs. A hotel and cottages here provide for about 300 people. A large swimming plunge and tub baths are supplied by five flowing wells ⅓ of a mile / 500 metres southward. The wells are drilled about 300 feet/30 metres deep, and the reported temperatures of the waters range from 97°F/36°C to 108°F/42°C. In 1909, Agua Caliente water was bottled and marketed, both carbonated and natural, for table use.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 78.6 miles, 1 hr 41 mins

Warm Springs of State Home at Eldridge

15000 Arnold Drive, Eldridge, Sonoma County
Temp: 72°F/22°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.347577, -122.519342

The Sonoma State Home at Eldridge, 15000 Arnold Drive, Eldridge, CA, evolved into the Sonoma Developmental Center, which finally closed on Dec. 31, 2018.

1915 note3: Warm springs that seem to be similar in origin to the artesian waters of the resorts just described issue at several points north of Sonoma Valley. At the vegetable and dairy farm of the State Home at Eldridge, water 72°F/22°C is obtained from a spring that yields about 10 gallons/38 litres a minute of water, that is used in the dairy and for irrigation. The water broke forth at this spring at the time of the earthquake of April 18, 1906, and a flowing well 150 feet/45 metres northward ceased to flow.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 79.2 miles, 1 hr 47 mins



Unnamed Spring at John Mesa Dairy

John Mesa Dairy, Glen Ellen, Sonoma County
Temp: 70°F/21°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.356945, -122.508954
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 79.6 miles, 1 hr 41 mins

[notable]Morton's Warm Springs Resort / Los Guilicos Warm Springs

1651 Warm Springs Road, Glen Ellen, Sonoma County
Temp: 88°F/31°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.394669, -122.551380

Site for picnics, reunions, daily recreation, etc. Two warm mineral spring pools, BBQ and picnic sites, wading pool, baseball field, volleyball court, horseshoe pit.

Part of the former Rancho Los Guilicos.

1915 note3: On the banks of Sonoma Creek, about 1 ½ miles / 2.4 km southwest of Kenwood are two springs that yield, respectively, about 2 and 3 gallons (7 and 11 litres) a minute of water at temperatures of 78°F/26°C and 82°F/28°C.

In 1909, there was a small bathing pool and an old hall or pavilion at the spring near the eastern bank of the creek; at the other spring, on the opposite bank, there was a small pool enclosed by an old bathhouse. The place was used as a camping resort, and several cottages had been erected among the trees nearby.

Links:

Season: May to September
Cost: $15
Distance: 83.7 miles, 1 hr 48 mins

Ohms Spring

8661 Bennett Valley Road, Glen Ellen, Sonoma County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.388791, -122.566759

1915 note3: About ½ mile / 800 metres southeast of Boyes Hot Springs is another drilled well whose water was used to some extent in 1909 for bathing. The property was open to the public under the name of Ohms Spring, and accommodations were provided for about 20 guests.

Season: year-around
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 87.2 miles, 1 hr 40 mins: N of S.F. Bay

Mark West Springs, at Mark West Lodge Event Center and Restaurant

2520 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County
Status: NOT AVAILABLE
Temp: 88°F/31°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.548827, -122.720303 (approx.)

Mark West Lodge is the oldest resort in California, whose lodge building was built in the 1840s by William Marcus "Mark" West, with the hot springs resort then being added by Judge Albert Overton in 1871, by 1900 accommodating 200 people. It was rebuilt several times after the original building was destroyed, most recently (as of 2024) in 1981 following a 1979 fire. In the past, the property was a spa resort, but currently is solely an event centre: Some time prior to 2009, the former pool was redecorated as a sunken dance floor and eating area. Hence, apparently no current access to the hot spring.

1915 note3: In the canyon of Mark West Creek, about 9 miles / 14.5 km north of Santa Rosa, are three warm springs that issue a few feet apart along the east bank of the creek, and supply a small plunge bath and a bathhouse containing a few tubs. The waters are not notably thermal, being about 65°F/18°C to 85°F/29°C, but the springs are most appropriately mentioned in connection with the other thermal springs of eastern Sonoma County. The waters of the three springs are noticeably sulphureted. On the west edge of the creek, a small, cool, sulphur spring forms a drinking pool, and five other cool mineralized springs issue on the property. Of these, Magnesia Spring forms a drinking pool at the creek side, near the baths, and two others, known as Arsenic and Iron springs, seep from a tuffaceous bank in a small gulch north of the main grounds. On the west bank of the creek, below the baths, are two other small, iron-stained pools. The Mark West springs have been improved as a resort since 1880 or earlier. In 1909, accommodations were provided chiefly by tents, and it was visited mainly as a boating and fishing resort.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 94.7 miles, 1 hr 43 mins

Warm Springs on McEwan Ranch

Sonoma County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 38.394600, -122.589282 (approx.)

1915 note3: Large warm springs that are probably similar in origin to the Los Guilicos springs and others farther south, issue on the McEwan ranch, about 1 ½ miles / 2.4 km west of Los Guilicos Warm Springs. A part of their yield is used for irrigation, but the springs have not been efficiently developed and improved.

The hilly country southeast of Santa Rosa is composed largely of lavas, and it is probable that tuffaceous layers associated with the more compact phases of the stone afford storage for the warm water that issues on the McEwan ranch, and in other similar warm springs in the region.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 97.5 miles, 1 hr 50 mins

Skaggs Springs

3495 Skaggs Springs Rd., Geyserville, Sonoma County
Status: SUBMERGED
Temp: 135°F/57°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.687787, -123.023216

This was a large hot springs resort, Skaggs Springs Resort, complete with Skagg Springs hotel and cottage, able to house 300 guests, established by Alexander Skaggs and in operation from the 1850s to 1942. The ruins and hot spring now lie beneath Lake Sonoma, since 1982. If perchance Lake Sonoma's surface level drops by 240 feet/75 metres, the old Skagg's Hot Springs soaking pools next to Little Warm Springs Creek will become accessible. (Warm Springs Dam, impounding Lake Sonoma, is a US Army Corps of Engineers rolled-earth embankment dam, 319 feet/97 metres high.)

1915 note3: Along the southwestern bank of a tributary of Warm Spring Creek in northern Sonoma County three hot springs issue in a distance of 225 feet/70 metres. At this locality is one of the oldest resorts of the State, opened to the public in 1857. In 1909 water from the lowest spring was piped to baths, that from, the central spring was piped across the creek to the laundry, and that from the upper spring rose in a cemented drinking basin. The observed temperatures were, respectively, 120°F/49°C, 122°/50°C, and 135°F/57°C, and estimated flows about 7, 5, and 3 gallons (26, 19, and 11 litres) a minute. A fourth spring, which is cool and of small flow, formerly issued from the sandstone at the creek side 300 feet/90 metres above the upper hot spring, and formed a drinking pool, but, in recent years, it has ceased to be important. In 1909, a frame hotel and about a dozen cottages provided accommodations for 150 guests, and there is ample space for erection of tents.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 116 miles, 2 hrs 9 mins

Hoods Hot Springs / Fairmount Hot Springs

10 miles W. of Cloverdale, Sonoma County
Temp: 100°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.803635, -123.159777 (approx.)

In the canyon of Dry Creek, near the northern edge of Sonoma County.

1915 note3: Warm water issues at Hoods Hot Springs in the canyon of Dry Creek, near the north edge of Sonoma County. The springs are of small flow, and have been used only locally for bathing. They are probably the same that have been sometimes referred to as Fairmount Hot Springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 131 miles, 2 hrs 10 mins

The Geysers

Sonoma County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 214°F/101°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.774947, -122.755017

A 30-square-mile region surrounding The Geysers (centered around Geyser Canyon and Cobb Mountain, and so extensive that parts of it are in Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) has been developed, starting 1960, as the world's largest geothermal field, for power generation using superheated steam, via 18 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, operated by four private operating companies. The historical "geysers", named by 1840s settlers, were not actually geysers, but rather fumeroles. The Geysers Resort Hotel operated at the site from 1848 until a series of disasters (landslides and fires) claimed the structures, the last being dismantled in 1980.

1915 note3: The Geysers of Sonoma County have become widely known, both for their scenic features and for their scientific interest, but it is only proper to state that there are no true geysers, intermittently throwing out hot water, at this place.

The locality is said to have been first brought to public notice in 1846 by a party of hunters. Its unusual character soon became of more than local interest, a resort was early opened near the springs, and a hotel and baths have been erected for nearly half a century. During recent years, several cottages and additional bathing facilities have been constructed, so that in 1909 about 75 people could be comfortably taken care of. A narrow but well-graded road extends from Cloverdale to the hotel grounds. In the spring of 1910, a better road was completed from Healdsburg into the locality, and it was thus made easily accessible to automobiles.

The main group of hot springs and vapor vents that constitute the so-called geysers issue on the northern side of the canyon of Sulphur Creek, within an area that extends about 900 feet/270 metres along he canyon side and about an equal distance north from the creek. In this area, 12 flowing hot springs of note, 10 hot pools, and 12 vapor vents and areas of vaporous exhalations were counted. A cool iron spring at the north edge of the creek and a cool sulphureted drinking spring near its southern bank may be added to the number of springs in this area.

Most of the springs and vents are along a ravine that extends northward up the canyon side.

Several cooler pools are used for bathing the feet or the eyes and have received such names as the Com Spring and the Eye Spring. A number of others have been given descriptive names such as Teakettle, Wash Tub, and Gluepot. Most of the hot water is strongly acid, or sulphureted, or both. Crystals of native sulphur and of acid salts are deposited at many small vents, and efflorescent deposits of Epsom salt are formed under several overhanging banks.

Although most of the springs issue in the ravine, those of perhaps largest flow issue 525 feet/160 metres eastward, on the steep slope 50 feet/15 metres above the stream. Water from these springs is piped across the stream and supplies the baths. Vapor from a large vent at the base of the slope below the springs is also piped across, and supplies vapor baths. The most noted vent, which is known as Steamboat Geyser, issues on the slope 600 feet/180 metres north of the large springs.

The steam is said to have issued originally from a small orifice, but a few years ago a short piece of 1 ½-inch pipe was firmly inserted over it in a vertical position. In 1909, the vapor issuing through this pipe was 205°F/96°C. A steam whistle was at one time attached to the pipe, but its noise so disturbed the guests that it was removed.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 122 miles, 2 hrs 45 mins

Little Geysers

Somona County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 210°F/99°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.767, -122.748 (approx.)

In the modern era, this site is almost certainly within the boundaries of The Geysers's geothermal field, and therefore inaccessible to the public.

1915 note3: About 4 miles/6 km above The Geysers, at a locality known as Little Geysers, vapor and hot water issue in notable amounts. At this place, there is an area of perhaps ¼ of a square mile on open slopes, within which the rock has been bleached and altered, but the surface activity of heated water is now mainly confined to an area about 600 feet/180 metres in diameter. Three small hot springs, seven hot pools, and four vapor vents were counted here. A cabin has been built nearby, and a small bathhouse at one of the springs has been used by miners, and, in summer, by campers. About 750 feet/230 metres below the cabin, the largest hot spring that was noted in this locality rises at the creek edge, and is used as a drinking pool. It yields about 5 gallons/19 litres a minute of faintly sulphureted water, 160°F/71°C.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 121 miles, 2 hrs 45 mins

Unnamed Spring

Sonoma County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 120°F/49°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.777, -122.763 (approx.)

This appears to be one of the many springs feeding Big Sulphur Creek in the vicinity of The Geysers, and more than likely is part of that geothermal complex, off-limits to the public.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 122 miles, 2 hr 47 mins

Sulphur Creek

Sonoma County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 120°F/49°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.788234, -122.782000

I'm pretty certain this creek and its entire surrounding area are part of The Geysers geothermal complex, off-limits to the public.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 125 miles, 3 hrs





San Joaquin County

Lone Tree Mineral Spring

West of Vernalis, San Joaquin County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.573281, -121.446867

At the end of a dirt road, reachable in theory either by taking a fork SE from near 34492 Corral Hollow Road and going several miles/km into the hills and taking several turns (but the entrance to this dirt road shows in Google Maps Street View as posted "No Hunting, No Trespassing", and gated), or taking I-580 and CA Route 132, to exit south onto S. Bird Road, passing under I-580, taking the immediate right to Lone Tree Ranch, then a left fork, then a right fork to the end. I have no idea if the latter is a private road, however.

The spring appears to be on the north side of aptly named Sulphur Spring Gulch, and feeds into the Middle Fork of Lone Tree Creek. You would definitely need a map, to navigate by road (if it is even feasible and lawful).

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 79.4 miles, 1 hr 44 mins





Napa County

Unnamed Spring

1021 Hagen Road, Napa, Napa County
Temp: 83°F/28°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.320942, -122.271011

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 82.4 miles, 1 hr 40 mins

St. Helena White Sulphur Spring

White Sulphur Springs Inn and Spa, 3100 White Sulphur Springs Road, St. Helena, Napa Valley, CA
Status: NO PUBLIC ACCESS
Temp: 97°F/36°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.490743, -122.498362

Not to be confused with White Sulphur Springs aka Soboba Springs in Riverside County.

Private retreat operated by Hoffman Institute Foundation. The spring feeds a natural sulfur soaking pool. There is also a whirlpool spa and swimming pool.

At least three grand hotels on this site, since its founding in 1852 (making it the first resort hotel in California), have repeatedly been destroyed by wildfires. The latest loss (as of 2024), Hoffman Institute Foundation's retreat, was mostly (17 out of 20 buildings) destroyed by 2020's Glass Fire, including the 200-person conference centre.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: no public access
Distance: 99.3 miles, 1 hr 55 mins: NE of S.F. Bay

Napa Soda Springs / Napa Rock Soda Spring / Phillips Soda Spring / Priest Soda Springs / Jacksons Napa Soda Springs

Napa County
Temp: 78°F/26°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.518783, -122.260774

Site of one of the greatest of historic resorts in California.

In 1850, Dr. John Henry Wood, a pnysician, bought the hot springs site with grand plans to turn it into a health spa to rival those of central Europe, and, in 1856, had Amos Buckman build a hotel there — that almost immediately burned. Meanwhile, another entrepreneur, Charles Henry Allen, started bottling and selling the site's soon-famous mineral soda water. In 1870, Colonel John Putnam Jackson of Kentucky bought out then-feuding Wood and Buckham, and set about expanding the resort.

The resulting, striking and large resort structures, on a hill with a commanding view, and fully open for business in 1881, soon became a Napa County landmark and major destination, declining only with the rise of easy car travel, but partially burned in 1913 and completely burned in 1944. Nothing but ruins remain — except a haunting stone entrance archway, facing the road. However, as of 2022, RH, Inc. (formery Restoration Hardware) has bought the derelict site, and hopes to rebuild it.

The soda water bottling plant likewise burned to the ground, from an arson fire, in the 1960s.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: no public access
Distance: 100 miles, 1 hr 56 mins

[notable]Dr. Wilkinson's Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs (formerly Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort)

1507 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga, Napa County
Temp: 85°F/29°C, 95°F/35°C, and 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.580639, -122.577478

Motel. Outdoor pool, bath houses, mud baths, physical therapy.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: bundled into resort/spa services
Distance: 105 miles, 2 hrs 1 min: NE of S.F. Bay

[notable]Golden Haven Hot Springs Spa and Resort / Lincoln Avenue Spa

1713 Lake Street, Calistoga, Napa County
Temp: 150°F/66°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.585864, -122.581134

Family-owned, motel-style lodging. Covered swimming pool, jetted tubs. Mud baths, massages, facials.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: Day pass can be purchased including ½ hour massages, or stay at the resort.
Distance: 105 miles, 2 hrs 6 mins

[notable]Calistoga Spa Hot Springs / Calistoga Hot Sulfur Springs

1006 Washington Street, Calistoga, Napa County
Temp: 84°F/29°C to 104°F/40°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.578983, -122.577263

Luxury resort and spa, founded in the early 1900s, and continuously operated since then. Includes four heated outdoor pools filled with natural geothermal mineral water. Spa offers (distinctive) "Volcanic Ash Mud Bath".

1915 note3: At Calistoga, near the head of Napa Valley, are several hot springs, at which during the seventies [RM: 1870s] there was a large resort. The hotel burned in the late seventies or early eighties, however, and, since that time, the springs have not been of more than local importance. In 1910, the caretaker of the property had provided two bathhouses of two tubs each, half a dozen small cottages on the place were rented, and a few campers had pitched their tents nearby. Hand pumps supplied hot water directly to the tubs, and cool water was piped from a tank. Four main springs rise at the base of a knoll of buff-colored tuffaceous material at the northern border of the meadow land, and a few pools and seepages of hot water appear in the meadow itself. Observed temperatures of the principal springs range from 126°F/52°C to 173°F/78°C, and their flows from about ¼ gallon to 5 gallons (1 to 19 litres) a minute. The hottest spring, which yields about 1 gallon/4 litres a minute, appears to be the most strongly mineralized, though its mineralization is only slightly perceptible to the taste. Algae probably give it the slight flavor that has caused it to be called a chicken-soup spring. At Calistoga Hotel, about 1200 feet/370 metres west from the springs, a dug well supplies warm water for tub baths and a swimming plunge. Warm water is also obtained in several other wells nearby, and there is one strongly flowing artesian well.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $50 day pass (subj. to availability), 10am-9pm, or be a hotel guest
Distance: 106 miles, 2 hrs: NE of S.F. Bay

[notable]Indian Springs Calistoga

1712 Lincoln Avenue, Calistoga, Napa County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 38.581707, -122.575246

Lodge, cottages, bungalows, standalone houses. Mineral-water-fed pools, spa, mud baths, Sam's Social Club restaurant.

Resort was founded by San Francisco pioneer and California Star newspaper publisher Samuel S. "Sam" Brannan, Sr., who in 1861 purchased over 2,000 acres of the historic Rancho Carne Humana, with intent to develop a spa reminiscent of Saratoga Springs in upstate New York. Brannan gave the town its name through a slip of the tongue that turned "Saratoga of California" into "Calistoga of Sarafornia". He opened his hotel/spa as Brannan's Hot Springs Resort in 1862, which was later renamed to Indian Springs Resort and Spa, still later renamed Indian Springs Resort, and is now named Indian Springs Calistoga.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: bundled into resort/spa services
Distance: 106 miles, 2 hrs 1 min: NE of S.F. Bay

Nance's Hot Spring Resort

1614 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga, Napa County
Status: DESTROYED BY FIRE, 2003 (but see note)
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 38.581188, -122.577225

However, online drawing/maps suggest that this small, beloved resort has been incorporated into the campus of neighbouring Indian Springs Resort (which please see), and its rebuilt buildings renamed The Lodge and Terrace Room.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 105 miles, 2 hrs: NE of S.F. Bay

[notable]Aetna Springs

1708 Aetna Springs Rd., Pope Valley, Napa County
Temp: 91°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.630990, -122.479824

The 1877 Aetna Hot Springs resort (created by Napa resident Chancellor Hartson) is still here, but derelict at last report (2000), and has 33 buildings, of which three including the historic Winship Hotel were allegedly designed by Bernard Maybeck. Reports say the 100-foot hot spring pool is now clogged with tule reeds.

Happily, a revival is underway. In 2018, Aetna Springs Resort LLC bought a large parcel of land including the 672-acre resort, and, as of January 2023, aims to renovate and reopen the resort as early as 2026.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear, condition is doubtful
Distance: 119 miles, 2 hrs 26 mins

[notable]Roman Spa Hot Springs Resort

1300 Washington Street, Calistoga, Napa County
Temp: 92°F/33°C to 104°F/40°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.579347, -122.580096

Hotel with 60 rooms and suites, indoor and outdoor heated pools and water spas, two Finnish saunas. Full-service spa including massage, facials, and mud baths.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: bundled into resort/spa services
Distance: 123 miles, 2 hrs 11 min: NE of S.F. Bay





Monterey County

Sulphur Hot Spring

Sand City, Monterey County
Status: DESTROYED (paved over)
Temp: 100°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.618, -121.845 (approx.)

I suspect this spring is lost to development. The map says the nearest address to NOAA's GPS coordinates is 828 Playa Avenue, a strip mall in a built-up commercial area, for what it's worth.

Links:

Season: Year-round
Cost: n/a
Distance: 89 miles, 1 hr 27 mins

[notable]Tantalus Hot Springs / Hot Springs on North Fork of Little Sur River / Little Sur Hot Springs

Little Sur River, Big Sur, Monterey County
Temp: 114°F/46°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.329462, -121.833136 (approx.)

My guess is that this spring is on private land, so you would need the property owner's cooperation, or navigate up or down the river itself. Easiest land-based access (if feasible) appears to be CA Route 1 to its crossing of Little Sur River, then left onto Granite Rock Road, then proceed about 2 ½ miles/4 km to a trail northwards (that may or may not exist) to the south side of Little Sur River.

1915 note3: Several thermal springs arise in the bed and along the banks of North Fork of Little Sur River, about 2 miles/3 km above the point at which the stage road crosses the stream. The springs in the stream bed form a warm pool, and on its right bank two or three flows, having a maximum temp of 114°F/46°C, issue from crevices in the rock and fill a small natural basin. The springs are in a narrow, rugged section of the canyon, in a granitic area.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 109 miles, 2 hrs 20 mins to the trailhead

Paraiso Hot Springs

38060 Paraiso Springs Road, Soledad, Monterey County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 98°F/37°C, 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.330602, -121.368010

A 19th Century resort on this site was destroyed by fire repeatedly, first in 1891, then again in 1928, then a third time in 1954, with additional flood and fire damage in 2002.

In 2003, out-of-state real estate speculators Bill and John Thompson ("Thompson Holdings, LLC") bought the Victorian resort and bulldozed its twelve historic buildings without permit. Now, they seek to build a luxury hotel, spa, vineyard, and 77 timeshare units. For now, the site is off limits.

In October 2019, Monterey County Planning Commission approved these scofflaws' development proposal, issuing a permit requiring beginning of construction by October 2024, but then the developers returned nine months later applying for a five-year extension, citing "pandemic-related uncertainty" and "supply-chain issues related to timing and cost of construction". They also sought to amend the property status to "residential", so that timeshare units could be sold to investors, who could then rent them out. Both amendments were granted. Last, they sought and received a variance for the county's fire-safety requirement that dead-end roads be no longer than a mile, while Paraiso Hot Springs road is 1.5 miles — despite the increased fire risk — on the questionable grounds that the site's in grasslands rather than forest. Construction can now start as late as 2029.

1915 note3: Paraiso Hot Springs are situated near the head of a small valley that opens eastward to Salinas Valley. Underground water lies at a shallow depth near the springs, beneath an area of several acres, within which at least five mineral springs rise. The largest of these, which is known as the Soda Spring, has an observed temp of 111°F/44°C and a discharge of perhaps 8 gal/min / 30 litres/min. About 120 feet/40 metres away, two small sulphur springs rise with temps of 88°F/31°C and 102°F/39°C, and 300 feet/90 metres further east there are two drinking springs, each of which yields perhaps ¼ gal/min / 1 litre/min. These are known as the Iron Spring and the Arsenic Spring, and have temps respectively of 68°F/20°C and 65°F/18°C.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 110 miles, 1 hr 50 mins

[notable]Sykes Hot Springs

Ventana Wilderness, Monterey County
Temp: 101°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.251515, -121.690154

Drive to Big Sur Station ($10/day parking), and find the beginning of Pine Ridge Trail. which crosses Post Creek, then ascends steeply, passing a left side-trail to Ventana Camp at 3.9 miles, then reaches Terrance Creek Camp at 5.3 miles, then makes a descent to Big Sur River at Barlow Flats at 6.7 miles, then does another up and down to Sykes Camp at Big Sur River. Trail from Sykes Camp to reach the springs goes downriver 0.4 miles, crossing Big Sur River twice. Springs will be on your left. There are usually three hot spring pools (depending on storm damage and volunteer rebuilding efforts).

Realistically, this is either an overnight camping hike, or an all-day, summer-time day hike starting out at daybreak (and not spending very long soaking): Hiking Pine Ridge Trail in the dark sounds chancy.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free, not counting day parking permit and a challenging 10 mile hilly hike from trailhead at Big Sur Station (parking), 47555 California Route 1, Big Sur, Monterey County. Hike is 4+ hours each way.
Distance: 123 miles, 2 hrs 13 mins (to the trailhead): drive to Big Sur coast

[notable]Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and Hot Springs

Buddhist monastery operated by SF Zen Center
47791 Tassajara Road, Carmel Valley, Monterey County
Temp: 100°F/38°C to 140°F/60°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.233937, -121.549038

Since 1967, this is primarily a retreat for Zen Buddhist meditation and study, but accepts both day and overnight guests by arrangement. (Assume a reservation in advance is required for anything.) Lodging in yurts, cabins, stone rooms. Bathhouse is Japanese-style and has separate sides for men and women, but co-ed bathing is permitted in the evenings. Each side includes a tiled indoor hot plunge, an outdoor plunge, large decks appropriate for sunning and yoga, a steam room, showers, and a small private bath with hot springs and cold water spigots. There are also steps leading down to the creek. The approach road is steep, and recommended for manual transmission only. The last 45 minutes of road is gravel, and it's recommended to take the shuttle bus (by reservation, at additional cost), instead of driving it.

Vegetarian lunch ($15) is by reservation only. There is no cellular reception or Internet access, and only limited electricity. There is one pay telephone.

1915 note3: A large amount of hot water issues at Tassajara Hot Springs, which are in the canyon of Arroyo Seco, in the southern part of Monterey County. About 17 thermal springs may be counted here, in the bed of the creek and along its southern bank. They range in temp from about 100°F/38°C to 140°F/60°C, and from mere seepages to flows of 7 or 8 gal/min / 26 to 30 litres/min. The thermal waters issue from a gneiss that is exposed along the creek for a distance of 600 feet/180 metres or more.

Links:

Season: summer (May - Sept.)
Cost: $30 day pass 9am-9pm, reservation required, call less than 2 weeks before
Distance: 127 miles, 3 hrs 12 min: S to Salinas, CA Route 68 to Laureles Grade to Carmel Valley Road to Tassajara Road

[notable]Slates Hot Springs, aka Esalen Institute Hot Springs

55000 California Route 1, Big Sur, Monterey County
Temp: 122°F/50°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.123018, -121.636335

1915 note3: Slates Hot Springs is on Mr. J.A. Little's ranch. The water here issues at ten principal points in a distance of 375 feet/110 metres, halfway up the face of bluffs, that here border the ocean. A small private bathhouse has been built near the easternmost spring. The waters range in temp from 110°F/43°C to 121°F/49°C. About ¼ mile northwest of the main group, on the left bank of Hot Creek, is another spring, 98°F/37°C.

This spring yields perhaps 5 gal/min / 19 litres/min, and is used for laundering clothes.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $20/person bet. 1-3am, reservation required (rumoured to be no longer offered), or stay / attend a conference
Distance: 137 miles, 2 hrs 41 mins

Table Mountain Spring

Parkfield, Monterey County
Temp: 88°F/31°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.907333, -120.366987 (approx.)

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 201 miles, 3 hrs 40 mins





Merced County

Spring in O'Neill Forebay

West of Los Banos, Merced County
Temp: 70°F/21°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.083, -121.042 (approx.)

Straight shot out CA Route 152 almost to I-5, then left on Santa Nella Blvd, left again at the second left, go a bit over a mile, and it should be on your left.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 94 miles, 1 hr 35 min





Stanislaus County

Salt Grass Springs

West of Patterson, Stanislaus County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.432, -121.308 (approx.)

Off the south side of the road near 11562 to 11616 Del Puerto Canyon Road.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 97 miles, 1 hr 52 mins





San Benito County

Unnamed Spring

Big Sur, San Benito County
Temp: 114°F/46°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.331, -121.843 (approx.)

Map suggests that NOAA's GPS location for this hot spring is on the south fork of Little Sur River, about a mile east of Old Coast Road.

Season: Year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 122 miles, 2 hrs 25 mins (to nearest point on Old Coast Road)

[notable]Dolans Hot Spring / Dolan's Hot Spring

Big Creek Reserve, Near Lucia, Big Sur, San Benito County
Temp: 98°F/37°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.087510, -121.586460

The hot spring is on the bank of Big Creek, about a mile and a half from the creek mouth, and under Mining Ridge (which is on the creek's north side).

As the pool lies in University of California's Big Creek Reserve, soaking is lawful only with explicit UC permission, or on the one "open house" day the reserve holds, each summer.

1915 note3: A warm and mildly sulphureted spring exists on North Fork of Big Creek, about 1.5 miles/2 km from the ocean, and 7 mile/11 km by trail south of Slates Hot Springs. The water issues in a deep portion of the canyon that is heavily timbered with redwoods, and, as the place is known only locally and is not easily accessible, the spring has not been made use of, and has seldom been visited.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 141 miles, 2 hrs 43 mins (to the trailhead)

Sulphur Springs

Bitterwater (east of King City), San Benito County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 36.293147, -120.984725
Season: year-round
Cost:
Distance: 141 miles, 2 hrs 28 mins





Calaveras County

Valley Springs

Valley Springs, Calaveras County
Temp: 75°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.192, -120.827 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 125 miles, 2 hrs 15 mins





Lake County (map)

[notable]Harbin Hot Springs

18424 Harbin Springs Rd., Middletown, Lake County
Temp: 120°F/49°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.786402, -122.651712

Longtime, widely cherished resort with a strong clothing-optional, neo-hippie vibe.

A/o 2024, almost entirely rebuilt following total devastation by the September 2015 Valley Fire. Some rebuilding is expected through 2024.

1915 note3: Harbin Springs are in southern Lake County, about 3 ½ miles/6 km north of Middletown. Three springs, known as the Arsenic, Iron, and Sulphur springs, rise close together in a ravine on the western side of a branch, of Putah Creek, and yield water at temperatures of 90°F/32°C, 116°F/47°C, and 120°F/49°C, at a rate of 1, ½, and 8 ½ gallons (4, 2, and 32 litres) a minute, respectively. The property has been a resort for many years and the water of the Iron and Sulphur springs is used in tub and plunge baths. Buildings have been erected from time to time, so that in 1909 accommodations for about 200 people were provided by a hotel, a three-story rooming house, 8 or 10 cottages, and a dozen tent houses. A large building containing a gymnasium and dancing floor provides means for entertainment.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: Day visits start at $40 Mo-Th, $50 Fr-Su, for 6 hours.
Distance: 125 miles, 2 hrs 33 mins

Anderson Springs

10981 Hot Springs Road, unincorporated Anderson Springs, CA Route 175, near Middletown, Lake County
Temp: 145°F/63°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.773052, -122.705005 (approx.)

Dr. Aleck Anderson of Vallejo and his brother-in-law, Laban S. Patriquin found this cluster of springs in 1873 at the head of Loconoma Valley, 5 miles NW of Middletown along a tributary of Putah Creek, and started an eponymous resort with his daughters, one of whom, Barbara, inherited it and kept it in operation with a hotel having an original capacity of 30. By 1910, this had been expanded to accommodate 150 guests, and gained a number of cottages and summer homes, which grew into the community of Anderson Springs. The resort lasted into the mid-20th Century.

I've not been able to nail down the exact present location of any surviving spring source (hot or not), except that Anderson Springs (the town) has a community center at the west end of town with a pool fed by spring water, next to Anderson Creek. It is members-only, not open to the general public.

1915 note3: Anderson Springs are situated about 5 miles/8 km northwest of Middletown, along a branch of Putah Creek. A resort has been conducted at this place for many years, and in 1910 a hotel and several cottages provided accommodations for 150 guests.

Nine springs that differ in character of water emerge at rather widely separated points on the property, but are reached by paths that form pleasant walks along the wooded canyon. The Cold Sulphur Spring, which is the farthest downstream, issues from schistose material at the creek edge 900 feet/270 metres east of the hotel. It has been protected by a cement basin, and yields a small flow of cool, clear, rather strongly sulphureted water used for drinking.

About 1200 feet/370 metres by trail eastward and southward from the hotel, in a little gulch on the side of a ravine, is the Sour Spring, which yields a slight flow of water that tastes of alum. The spring is perennial, but it seems to be supplied by surface water that becomes mineralized by seeping through crushed sedimentary material.

Across the creek and about 300 feet/90 metres northeast of the hotel, in a rock-walled pool at the creek edge, is Father Joseph Spring, which yields mildly sulphureted water that is pleasant for drinking and is considered to be a gentle laxative.

Belmer Spring is 2025 feet/620 metres west of the hotel, and beneath a gravel bank at the north side of the creek. The water rises in a pool a few feet (about a metre) in diameter and also in a barrel sunk nearby. It is much used for drinking, but it tastes disagreeably strongly of sulphides.

The other five springs form a group about 975 feet/300 metres farther upstream, where they issue from banks of greatly altered sedimentary rock. The Hot Spring, which is the principal one, rises in a barrel that forms a drinking pool. The water is thence piped to a small reservoir and a bathhouse nearby. This water is mildly sulphureted, and, when cooled somewhat, is palatable drinking water. Near it are two short tunnels that also yield warm water of similar character, and, a few feet away, vapor vents are utilized in small steam-bath cabinets.

The other two springs are a few feet westward, across the creek. One forms a pool about 3 feet (about a metre) across, which is normally covered with an iridescent film, possibly of iron, and is known as the Iron Spring. Efflorescent salts — probably sulphates of aluminum and of iron — crystallize on the adjacent banks. The other spring is about 180 feet/55 metres away, in a branch ravine. It yields clear water that tastes strongly of alum, and the banks nearby are also usually coated with alum. The waters of these last two springs have been only slightly used, and are not fit for drinking, as they are too astringent.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 129 miles, 2 hr 40 mins

Seigler Springs

12140 N. Seigler Springs Rd., N. of Middletown, Lake County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 126°F/52°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.874226, -122.690831

This hot spring is across a ridge from Howard Springs, about two miles / three km northwest, and down in another creek's valley. It was the site of a resort for many years, as was Howard Springs.

A historic resort with hotel was founded at Seigler Springs, in 1868. Some of the historic buildings still survive, and are part of Adidam's Mountain of Attention religious retreat center. (Adidam, aka Way of the Heart, is a small Advaita Vedanta Hindu religious community founded and headed by the late Adi Da Samraj, formerly Avadhoota De Love-Ananda, born Franklin Albert Jones, and previously known as Free Daist Communion, before that Johannine Daist Communion, and before that Dawn Horse Fellowship.) The springs are within the religious retreat, and thus almost certainly not currently accessible to the public.

1915 note3: Seigler Springs are situated about 2 miles / 3 km northwest of Howard Springs, across a ridge and in the drainage basin of another creek. Like Howard Springs, they have been used as a resort for many years. The group includes 13 that in 1909 were improved to some extent. Of this number, 6 are of small flows, range 68°F/20°C to 107°F/42°C, and are used in a minor way for drinking. Two others, known as the Magnesia and Hot Geyser springs, also used for drinking, yield perhaps ⅛ and 2 gallons (½ and 7 litres) of water a minute, at, respectively, 64°F/18°C and 98°F/37°C.

A frame hotel, a large stone dining room, and four or five cottages, in 1909 provided accommodations for about 150 guests. In addition to the mineral water tub and plunge baths, bathing facilities were provided by a dam across the creek, which made a swimming pool.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 136 miles, 2 hrs 55 mins

[notable]Howard Springs / Howard Hot Springs / Avalon Springs

13333 Big Canyon Road, Middletown, Lake County
Temp: 113°F/45°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.858, -122.67 (approx.)

The springs on this site were first named for settler James W. Howard, who bought Cushman Farm in 1869, and then later the adjoining springs, and opened them to the public in 1877, with camping space, a lodge, cabins, and bathing pools. It then passed through numerous owners, closing finally after the 1970 season. Recently (2000s), it reopened as Avalon Springs, described as "an experiential learning environment, anchored by a healing hot springs retreat center and eco-village."

However, that business, operated by Osho International Foundation, established by now-late Indian guru Osho, formerly Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, was in deep financial trouble in October 2014, facing imminent foreclosure for lack of ability to pay $2.2M in property taxes, and nothing's been heard from that effort since.

1915 note3: About 9 miles/14 km southwest of the town of Lower Lake a group of mineral springs, several of which are notably warm, issue in a line about 150 feet/45 metres long at the base of a slope that borders the south side of a drainage course. A number of seepages have been dug out and cemented to form drinking basins, so that about 26 improved springs may be counted, although the group is said to include 42 springs. Of the 8 springs that are of chief importance 5 are used for drinking and have been named Bohemia, Neptune, Lithia, and Magnesia Twins. They have observed temperatures, respectively, of 66°F/19°C, 70°F/21°C, 73°F/23°C, 71°F/22°C, and 100°F/38°C. When the writer visited it in 1909, Bohemia Spring discharged about 1 gallon/4 litres a minute, while the other three rose in basins from which there was no appreciable overflow.

The largest three springs are used mainly for bathing. Of these, the Hot Soda or Hot Sulphur Spring is 110°F/43°C and discharges approximately 125 gallons/475 litres a minute into a plunge bath. Excelsior or Borax Spring, with 95°F/35°C and a flow of perhaps 5 gallons/19 litres a minute, also supplies a plunge bath. Water from Eureka Spring is piped to tub baths, it being 107°F/42°C and its yield perhaps 2 gallons/7 litres a minute. The springs have been improved as a resort since about 1880. In 1909, besides a main hotel building and the baths, the improvements included a large annex to the hotel and four or five small cottages. Waters from the Lithia, Bohemia, and Eureka springs were formerly bottled for table use, but their sale was discontinued several years prior to 1909.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 134 miles, 2 hrs 55 mins

Bad Creek Spring

West of 14360 Big Canyon Road, Middletown, Lake County
Temp: 81°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.850092, -122.666882 (approx), or
Lat./Long.2: 38.85, -122.667 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 132 miles, 2 hrs 45 mins

Spiers Springs / Copsey Springs

Lake County
Temp: 79°F/26°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.838, -122.653 (approx.)

1915 note3: Situated about 3 miles/5 km in a direct line southeast of Bonanza Springs, in the canyon of the main branch of Putah Creek. Two springs of similar character issue a few feet apart at this place and each discharges 7 or 8 gallons (26 or 30 litres) a minute.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 129 miles, 3 hrs 4 mins

Hot Springs at Sulphur Bank / Hot Bolata Hot Springs

Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 176°F/80°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.008477, -122.673258 (approx.)

1915 note3: Near the southeast edge of the eastern arm of Clear Lake, there are abandoned sulphur and quicksilver workings. During the period of mining, water at a temperature of 176°F/80°C was encountered at the fifth level in what is known as the Hermann shaft. In January, 1910, the water stood about 15 feet / 4.5 metres below the surface in this shaft, and its observed temperature was 120°F/49°C. Many bubbles were rising, and the water had the odor of sulphureted hydrogen. About 600 feet east of north from the shaft, in an area of decomposed basalt where sulphur was formerly obtained, water stands in several pools, and issues from numerous vents.

The highest temperature observed in these pools was 118°F/48°C, in a small one over which there was a bathing hut. Two analyses of water from this locality, made a number of years ago, are reproduced, as they probably show the general character of the water that still rises.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 147 miles, 3 hrs

[notable]Soda Baths / Soda Bath Springs

Small island 200' off the east shore of Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.064086, -122.807562

Pool encircled by a natural rock border, but also built up with a wall of bricks and concrete. Because of the newly enclosed space, this enclosure can be perilous on account of asphyxiation risk, because of CO2 outgassing into the tub. (The extra wall has now been removed.)

This spring was part of the historic Soda Bay Resort on the adjoining mainland. The resort and its walkway to the island were destroyed by fire in 1940.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 153 miles, 2 hrs 54 mins

[notable]Castle Rock Springs / Mills Hot Springs / Noble's Springs

10155 Socrates Mine Road #2-4, Middletown, Lake County
Temp: 163°F/73°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.775097, -122.717315

Site is just off Hot Springs Road/County Route 112A, Castle Springs Road/County Route 111A, and Verdant Vales Road — northwest of, and uphill from, Middletown proper. Anderson Springs borders the area, about a mile/2 km to the east, and lower.

The Castle Rock Springs Geothermal Steam Area has a large geothermal resource of steam at high temperature and moderate pressure, several thousand feet (about a thousand metres) below the surface. It's adjacent to The Geysers (to the immediate west, in Sonoma County), which has been heavily developed for geothermal generation.

An environmental impact report for a geothermal project in the area was issued in August 1975. At the time of study, tourist resorts that were once operative in the area had closed, although some were now being used by specialised private religious communities.

As of October 10, 2024, the former hot springs resort site was advertised for sale as a "318-Acre Retreat with Abundant Water and Geothermal Potential".

1915 note3: This cluster of springs is situated about 1 mile/2 km by steep trail, high on a mountainside (2,342 feet/714 metres elevation), west of, and above, the hot springs at Anderson Springs.

Basins or small reservoirs have been excavated and cemented at two hot springs that issue, a few feet apart, in a ravine tributary to Putah Creek. They were formerly known as Mills Springs (after their discoverer4, W. Mills) or Noble's Springs. The property was run as a small resort, where hot water was used for bathing, and water from the cool sulphur springs for drinking, serving a hotel, bathhouse, swimming plunge, dancing pavilion, and tent cottages, all now gone.

Castle Hot Springs are situated about 1 mile by steep trail on the mountain side west of Anderson Springs. Basins or small reservoirs have been excavated and cemented at two hot springs that issue a few feet apart in a ravine that is tributary to Putah Creek. The observed temperatures in these basins were 160°F/71°C and 164°F/73°C. Their combined flow — about 8 gallons/30 litres a minute — could probably be increased by developing two or three near-by seepages of hot water.

The position of these hot springs high on the mountain side is worthy of note, and it is also of geologic interest with respect to the hot springs at Anderson Springs, a mile/500 metres eastward and 800 feet/240 metres lower, and at The Geysers, a few miles/km northwestward across the range and 1,000 feet/300 metres lower.

In another ravine, about 2,100 feet by path from Castle Hot Springs, but perhaps half that distance in a direct line, and 100 feet/30 metres lower, two groups of cool sulphur springs seep from the banks. The rock near the hot springs consists of hard schistose material that is not greatly decomposed, but, near the cool springs, it has been altered, apparently by solfataric action, and is impregnated with sulphur and sulphate salts.

The property was formerly known as Mills Hot Springs, and was at one time conducted as a small resort, the hot water being used for bathing and the water of the cool sulphur springs for drinking. In the summer of 1910, the property had recently changed ownership, and was being reimproved as a resort.

A hotel, a bathhouse containing a swimming plunge, and a dancing pavilion were being erected, and several tent cottages provided accommodations for a few guests. The buildings are about ¼ mile from the hot springs, on a ridge that commands a good view of the valley of Putah Creek and the mountains eastward.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 131 miles, 2 hrs 45 mins

Gordon Warm Springs

Cobb, Lake County
Temp: 97°F/36°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.835, -122.731 (approx.)

Site appears to be near the end of Mesa Drive. If there is public access, it's probably about 200 feet/60 metres off the left side of the street.

1915 note3: Gordon Hot Spring rises on the eastern side of Cobb Valley Creek, near the head of a small meadow. A number of years ago, this spring was used to some extent for bathing, but, in 1909, the small bathhouse had been removed and the spring was unused. It yielded about 5 gallons/19 litres a minute of water at 92°F/33°C. The water has a slightly oily taste, like that at Skaggs Hot Springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 131 miles, 2 hrs 50 mins

Ettawa Springs / Pine Cone Spring

14041 Ettawa Springs Road, Ettawa Springs, Lake County
Temp: 78°F/26°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.850097, -122.693005

Probably on the grounds of the Ettawa Springs Resort campground — whose public materials, however, say nothing about a spring on-site or nearby.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 134 miles, 2 hrs 55 mins

England Springs / Elliot Springs

Kelseyville, Lake County
Temp: 76°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.897054, -122.881743

Looks to be about a mile from any road, in rugged, hilly territory.

1915 note3: Eight miles / thirteen km south of Kelseyville, a number of small carbonated springs issue near a road that was formerly the main road to Cloverdale by way of The Geysers. In 1910, the property near the springs was abandoned or used only as a goat range.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 141 miles, 3 hrs 12 mins

Carlsbad Spring

9600 McKinley Road, Kelseyville, Lake County
Temp: 76°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.917920, -122.799976

Situated along Cole Creek, where the creek flows in a brushy ravine. The property was conducted was a small resort for several years prior to 1905, but it has been deserted since about that year, and, in the summer of 1908, a brush fire destroyed the hotel building.

1915 note3: Four and a half files south of Kelseyville near the Kelseyville-Middletown Road on Cole Creek. East of Clear Lake. There was a small resort with five springs within 300 feet of the hotel.

The principal one was known as Arsenic Spring, with 74°F/23°C carbonated water. Water was piped to a small bathhouse from a second spring, yielding 2 gallons/7 litres a minute, and two other springs were developed for drinking. In 1905, a brush fire destroyed the hotel building.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 140 miles, 2 hrs 50 mins

Highland Springs (Lake County)

SW of Kelseyville, Lake County
Status: SUBMERGED
Temp: 84°F/29°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.939323, -122.907743 (approx.)

Not to be confused with the (likewise former) Highland Springs in Riverside County.

Situated on the stage road between Hopland and Kelseyville, and 6 miles / 10 km southwest of the latter place.

Submerged under Highland Springs Reservoir, in the 1960s.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 153 miles, 3 hrs 17 mins

Hildebrande Spring

Glenview, Lake County
Temp: 77°F/25°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.925, -122.77 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 141 miles, 2 hrs 50 mins

Baker Soda Spring

11020 Sky High Ridge Road, Lower Lake, Lake County
Temp: 76°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.892, -122.533 (approx.)

1915 note3: A small carbonated spring, about halfway between Lower Lake and Reiff post office. Its water has been used to small extent for drinking.
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 143 miles, 2 hrs 50 mins

Horseshoe Spring

Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 108°F/42°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.994, -122.742 (approx.)

On the shore of Clear Lake.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 159 miles, 3 hrs 20 mins

Big Soda Spring

Soda Bay, Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.007701, -122.788212

On the shore of Clear Lake.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 156 miles, 3 hrs 20 mins

Grizzly Spring

Next to CA Route 20 east of Clearlake, Lake County
Temp: 68°F/20°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.001837, -122.498343

1915 note3: On the northern side of Grizzly Canyon, about 21 ½ miles above its junction with Cache Creek. As the springs are beside a main road that leads up the canyon and across the divide into Colusa County, they have been known for many years, but they have been improved only since about 1908.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 151 miles, 3 hrs 26 mins

Bartlett Springs

East of Bartlett Springs Road, Lake County
Temp: not a hot spring — NOAA's "144°F" claim is in error
Lat./Long.2: 39.183, -122.7 (approx.)

Bartlett Springs is a cluster of four mineral springs serving a resort active from 1870 to 1935, all near the headwaters of Bartlett Creek, a tributary of Cache Creek.

The springs were discovered4 by Green Bartlett in 1869, who took the waters and claimed it relieved his rheumatism. Bartlett founded a resort that could accommodate 500 guests.

A new lodge was built in 1989 after the original's loss in an 1934 fire, but then was damaged by the Fork Fire of 1996, was in decline, and was destroyed by another fire in 2007, and remnants eradicated by the Ranch Fire of 2017.

1915 note3: For several years, Bartlett Springs have formed a summer resort in Lake County. The property is situated on the north side of a branch of North Fork of Cache Creek, and mainly on the slopes some distance above the stream. A number of small cottages were early built near the springs and other have been added from time to time. A commodious hotel, stores, pleasure buildings, and a large boiling house have aided in making a considerable settlement at the place.

The Main Spring is situated in the northern part of the grounds, at the base of steep slopes. It has been improved with a tin-lined cement basin elevated above a cement floor. This basin is used as a drinking fountain, and pipes lead from it to a small fountain at the hotel and to the bottling house. The water is cool (56°F/13°C), is mildly carbonated, and is shown by the analysis to be secondary alkaline in character.

Aperient Spring is on the hillside, about 600 feet/180 metres by zigzag trail, northeast of the Main Spring. It issues in a small springhouse, and yields perhaps 2 gallons/8 litres a minute of moderately carbonated water 61°F/16°C, which deposits considerable iron. Its water has been used for drinking and has also been piped to a swimming plunge.

The Soda-Magnesia Spring is about 300 feet/90 metres southeast of Aperient Spring at the base of a steep slope. It yields perhaps 3 gallons/11 litres a minute of cool, mildly carbonated water that is piped to large storage tanks nearby and thence to the grounds. Like the waters of Aperient Spring, it deposits considerable iron along its overflow channel.

The Gas Spring is about ¾ of a mile by trail northeast of the Main Spring, and is across a divide on slopes that drain to North Fork of Cache Creek. The spring consists of a shallow pool 1 to 3 feet (30cm to 1 metre) wide and about 10 feet (3 metres) long, partly beneath a small bank on the canyon side. There is only a seeping overflow in summer, but the pool is kept in vigorous ebullition by large bubbles of carbon dioxide that continually escape. The amount of this gas is so great that it extinguished a lighted newspaper held 8 inches/20 cm above the pool's surface.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 176 miles, 4 hrs 21 mins

[notable]Newman Springs / Soap Creek Springs

About 1.5 miles NW of Bartlett Springs, Lake County
Temp: 92°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.197500, -122.717460 (approx.)

At one time, there was a resort at the springs.

1915 note3: Newman Springs are about 1.5 miles/2 km north of west from Bartlett Springs, and issue along the channel of Soap Creek; hence, they are sometimes referred to as the Soap Creek Springs. The spring farthest downstream, which is the principal one, emerges at the creek side at the base of a prominent ledge of serpentine, that forms the eastern border of a belt of this rock and the contact zone between it and crumpled shales and siliceous sediments that continue eastward. The spring yields about 15 gallons/57 litres a minute of mildly carbonated water 86°F/30°C in temperature, that is turbid with iron.

The water is conducted across the creek in a trough to a small plunge bathhouse. A spring in the creek bed about 225 feet/70 metres above (southwest of) the main spring, forms the Borax Pool, which contains warm, turbid water that is considered to be of exceptional value for bathing. The serpentine belt continues for about 300 feet/90 metres upstream (westward) from it, and is then succeeded by schistose rock, from which seepages and slight flows of warm carbonated water issue in at least seven places along a distance of about 825 feet/250 metres or to a point about ¼ mile / 400 metres above the main spring. Temperatures of 72°F/22°C to 92°F/33°C were noted in these small springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 176 miles, 4 hrs 23 mins

Pseudo Complexion Spring

Lake County
Temp: 81°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.198, -122.505 (approx.)

This site appears quite remote, about a mile hike NE from the end of Bartlett Springs Road, County Road 303, if its accessible at all. In partial explanation of the odd name, Complexion Spring, not a hot spring, lies about 2 miles/3 km south, right next to (north of) Bartlett Springs Road.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 181 miles, 4 hrs 11 mins

[notable]Crabtree Hot Springs

Mendocino National Forest, Lake County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 106°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.289875, -122.822230

John Fletcher Crabtree and his wife Elizabeth [Davis] Crabtree settled in the Twin Valleys area of Lake County around 1866, where their son, Orin Crabtree, has found Crabtree Hot Springs about 10 or 15 years earlier. They built the first wagon road from Twin Valleys to Crabtree Hot Springs, and helped build the present road from Twin Valleys to Bartlett Springs.

About 1907, Samuel Tate Packwood (1842-1924), an Upper Lake businessman, bought property at Crabtree Hot Springs, and made plans to set up a resort there. Crabtree lived at the springs for many years. About 1907, he concreted the middle hot springs, at the swimming hole, into a small bathtub with drain. Sometime later, the Packwoods moved back to Kittitas County, Washington.

Situated in a narrow part of the canyon of Rices Fork of Eel River, 14 miles/23 km by road northwest of Bartlett Springs. To reach the vicinity, drive to Upper Lake, then take Elk Mountain Road, County Road 303, a long ways into the hills, then Forest Route 17N04, then about 300 down a private road (on private property), crossing Rices Fork.

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: Crabtree Springs are situated in a narrow part of the canyon of Rices Fork of Eel River, 14 miles/23 km by road northwest of Bartlett Springs. The springs were filed on by Mr. Crabtree about 1875, and a road was built to the property, but high water soon washed out the greater part of this road, and for many years the springs have been accessible only by trail. In 1910, the property changed ownership, however, and the road was rebuilt. The principal spring emerges at the northeast edge of the stream in a natural rock basin at the foot of a small cliff, and yields perhaps 10 gallons/38 litres a minute of water 105°F/41°C. Considerable gas, probably carbon dioxide, issues with the water. The latter is mildly carbonated and is distinctly mineralized by salts of soda and probably also of iron. The pool formed by this spring has long been used for bathing, and the water is locally considered efficacious in the treatment of skin and blood diseases.

About 60 feet / 18 metres southeastward, upstream from the main spring, a smaller flow of similar water issues from a seam in the rock at the creek edge, while 300 feet / 90 metres upstream from the main spring there were, in 1910, three vigorously bubbling, iron-stained pools that contained water 68°F/20°C to 75°F/24°C. An area several feet in diameter in the creek channel nearby was also vigorously bubbling. It is said that there was formerly a carbonated spring of considerable flow at this spot, but that it was buried by a landslide, a number of years ago, and during recent years has been in evidence chiefly by the large amount of gas that escapes. The springs are probably submerged during periods of high water, but, during the summer, the stream carries only a few inches/cm, and in some years may become dry for a short time.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 196 miles, 4 hrs 44 mins

Davis Soda Spring

Clearlake, Lake County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.995, -122.642 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 143 miles, 3 hrs 21 mins

Abbott Mine

Lake County
Temp: 86°F/30°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.02239, -122.44526
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 174 miles, 3 hrs 30 mins

Quigley Soda Spring

S. of Spring Valley, Lake County
Temp: 82°F/28°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.053, -122.597 (approx.)

Three carbonated springs that emerge about ¼ mile from each other on the Quigley place, 14 miles/23 km by road north of the town of Lower Lake, have been surrounded by concrete basins so as to form drinking pools.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 149 miles, 3 hrs 24 mins

Unnamed Spring

S. of Spring Valley, Lake County
Temp: 81°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.022, -122.592 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 145 miles, 3 hrs 18 mins

Soda Spring in Cache Formation

E. of Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 72°F/22°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.95, -122.572 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 142 miles, 3 hrs 21 mins

Unnamed Spring at Fraser Point

8799 Soda Bay Road, W. shore of Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 95°F/35°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.985001, -122.741166
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 160 miles, 3 hrs 27 mins

Unnamed Spring

W. shore of Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: "warm" per NOAA: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.963, -122.724 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 146 miles, 3 hrs 20 mins

Riviera Beach Spring

W. side of Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: 93°F/34°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.957675, -122.703296
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 143 miles, 3 hrs 18 mins

Unnamed Spring

SW shore of Clear Lake, Lake County
Temp: "warm" per NOAA: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 38.95, -122.654 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 142 miles, 3 hrs 19 mins





Fresno County

Iridat Spring

West of Firebaugh, Fresno County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 36.773, -120.898 (approx.)

About two miles / three km NW of approximately 58399 Little Panoche Road. No doubt the same geothermal hotspot driving nearby Mercey Hot Springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 127 miles, 2 hrs 4 mins

Unnamed spring

West of Firebaugh, Fresno County
Temp: 81°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 36.765, -120.901 (approx.)

About two miles / three km NW of approximately 58399 Little Panoche Road. No doubt the same geothermal hotspot driving nearby Mercey Hot Springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 127 miles, 2 hrs 4 mins

Unnamed Spring

West of Firebaugh, Fresno County
Temp: 75°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 36.640537, -120.683291

A few miles/km west of I-5 near Firebaugh. Perhaps in Escarpado Canyon.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 128 miles, 2 hrs 10 mins

[notable]Mercey Hot Springs

62964 Little Panoche Rd., west of Firebaugh, Fresno County
Temp: 119°F/48°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.704199, -120.859616

Site was originally developed by a French man named John Merci. Lodging for campers, RVs; several cabins and Airstreams for rent. Wood hot tub, private tubs. Indoor bath house with private tubs. Sauna. Visitors and campers should be aware that the nearest restaurants / food stores (other than packaged snacks at the resort) are about 35 miles/56 km north up I-5 in Los Banos, or a 22-mile drive east and then south to two fast-food outlets at the W. Panoche Road I-5 exit (exit 368), and that they should expect to either bring drinking water or buy it bottled at the resort, as the springs' own water is mildly salty.

1915 note3: Mercey Hot Springs rise near the extreme western edge of Fresno County, among the barren hills that border San Joaquin Valley. The main spring has been excavated to form a reservoir, is lined with concrete, and is housed. It yields warm water of a peculiar "soft" taste.

The spring has been known since 1848, and was first used to supply sheep-watering troughs. Water is scarce in this region, and the Mercey spring is still valuable for stock watering, as well as for its mineral character. There was formerly a small resort here, and the bathing accommodations were in 190S still patronized by people from the surrounding towns. For several years prior to the earthquake of April 18, 1906, the water was bottled for table use, but the market was interrupted at that time, and in 1908 had not been resumed.

The main spring rises in an open draw at the base of low, cherty gravel slopes. About 300 feet / 90 metres eastward, at the opposite side of a low ridge, another small warm spring issues that is more strongly sulphureted, and 1,200 feet / 370 metres westward, in a ravine, is a small cool spring that is not noticeably mineralized.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $50 for day use: noon to 5:00pm in winter, 9am - 8pm in the summer. (Check the Web site, as offerings occasionally change.) Hot springs / pool access is of course included for campers/RVers paying to stay on-site.

Distance: 130 miles, 2 hrs 12 mins: From I-5, exit at Little Panoche Road / Shields Ave. / County Route J1 exit (exit 379), going west on Little Panoche Road (County Route J1), 13 miles into the foothills to (and down) north/south-running Little Panoche Valley. The entrance to the resort is on the right (west), shortly after a left-side (east) entrance to BLM-owned Panoche Hills Recreation Area.

Note: The correct freeway exit at Little Panoche Road (exit 379) must not be confused with W. Panoche Road exit (exit 368) nine miles further south. W. Panoche Road does not reach Mercey Hot Springs, except indirectly via a rugged, steep, and scary detour on a dirt road west through Tumey Hills Recreation Area.

From San Benito County via backroads, take CA Route 25 to Paicines, then turn left (east) on Panoche Road / County Route J1, proceeding 28 miles to a T intersection where Little Panoche Road / County Route J1 branches left (north), another 8 miles to the resort. Do not continue east on Panoche Road through that T intersection, as it becomes a dirt road that fords a running stream and then climbs through the aforementioned rugged, steep, and scary Tumey Hills, and then finally becomes W. Panoche Road shortly before reaching I-5 at exit 368 — and, moreover, misses the resort.

Likewise, the Mercey Springs Road / CA Route 165 exit (exit 391) goes nowhere near the resort, and in fact goes away from it, northwards into San Joaquin Valley.

Coalinga Mineral Springs / Fresno Hot Springs

Coalinga, Fresno County
Status: DRIED UP
Temp: 112°F/44°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.144328, -120.555662

Located 18 miles/29 km west of Coalinga, off Highway 198.

The site was a well known health and vacation area with a bath house and hotel supplied with hot mineral springs water. Hotel was in operation from 1860 until it was destroyed by fire in 1961. The property was acquired by the Wildlife Conservation Board in 1966, and, in 1967, a lease agreement was signed with Fresno County to be operated as a regional park. A 2021 source says, however, that the hot water source has dried up. Also, the 2020 Mineral Fire burned down all existing facilities around the site.

1915 note3: Fresno Hot Springs are situated on a branch of Waltham Creek, in the hills of the west side of San Joaquin Valley. Several small warm springs issue along the west side of the canyon, from beds of shale and sandstone, which are the principal rocks of this region. The springs have long been known and were early improved as a resort. A new bathhouse was built in 1904 and other improvements have been made, so that in 1908 there were accommodations for about 200 people. It is said that the water was formerly warmer, but during recent years it has become necessary to heat it for the baths.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 177 miles, 3 hrs 9 mins

[notable]Mono Hot Springs Resort / Mono Hot Springs / Lower Hot Springs / Lower Mineral Hot Springs

70000 Edison Lake Road, Lakeshore, Fresno County
Temp: 100°F/38°C to 104°F/40°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.3266098, -119.0176179

Resort was constructed in 1936 by developer Walter Hill, on the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. Cabins, tent cabins, camping cabins, spa. Two hot pools, bathhouse, soaking tubs. Reservations required. Massage by appointment.

From Fresno, reachable via CA Route 168. Follow signs to the towns of Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake. Just before the town of Lakeshore, look for signs to Mono Hot Springs and Lake Thomas Edison, and turn right onto Kaiser Pass Road/Forest Route 80, proceeding 15 miles to High Sierra Ranger Station, continuing 1 mile and turning left onto Edison Lake Road 1 mile to cross San Joaquin River on a steel bridge, then turning immediately left into Mono Hot Springs Resort.

1915 note3: About 10 miles/16 km below Blaney Meadow Springs, on the south side of the stream, another group of hot springs and seepages forms a considerable area of moist land on the slopes above the river. The four larger springs are used as bathing pools by campers during summer months.

Links:

Season: summer (May 15 - Nov. 1)
Cost: $20 day pass
Distance: 240 miles, 4 hrs 47 mins

[notable]Blayney Meadows Hot Springs / Blaney Meadows Hot Springs

John Muir Wilderness, Fresno County
Temp: 100°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.234440, -118.882046

The hot spring sits above Blayney Meadows, named for local 1870s shepherd William Farris Blayney, in the John Muir Wilderness. Easiest access is to drive CA Route 168, then Kaiser Pass Road to Florence Lake, then boat across the lake, camp, and hike the 8-mile Florence Lake Trail up South Fork San Joaquin River to the perimeter of Diamond O Ranch, and ford the river to reach Blayney Meadows and the natural hot spring.

Because the final approach requires fording South Fork San Joaquin River, which is Class 4 or 5 whitewater, doing this hike only in late summer is recommended for safety reasons.

1915 note3: ~75 miles/121 km northward from Jordan Hot Springs, in the canyon of South Fork of San Joaquin River, about a mile above the upper end of Blaney Meadows, three or four small springs issue on each side of the river, and, like Jordan Springs, are used as a mountain camping resort. They have been dug out to form bathing pools. Water was a max. temp. of ~110°F/43°C, and yield on each side of the river is perhaps 20 gal/min / 76 litres/min.

Links:

Season: late summer/fall, realistically
Cost: free
Distance: 244 miles, 5 hrs 22 mins to Florence Lake





Mendocino County

[notable]Vichy Hot Springs Resort

2605 Vichy Springs Rd., Ukiah, Mendocino County
Temp: 85°F/29°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1 (but probably artificially heated).
Lat./Long.2: 39.166530, -123.157216

150-year-old resort (26 rooms) + cottages, carbonated "Vichy" mineral baths, Olympic-sized pool (May-Oct), hot pool, Chemisal Falls natural pool, 700 acres of walking trails. Not to be confused with the now-vanished Napa Vichy Springs in Napa County (that was neither a hot spring nor used for bathing).

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $30 for 2 hours, $55 for day pass, 9am-dusk, or stay at the resort
Distance: 148 miles, 2 hrs 35 mins

[notable]Orr Hot Springs Resort / Orr's Hot Sulphur Springs / Orrs Springs

13201 Orr Springs Rd., Ukiah, Mendocino County
Temp: 104°F/40°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.229557, -123.366696

14 miles/23 km up a mountain road from Ukiah.

Communal kitchen, lodge, library, yurts, cabins, tent camping area, dry sauna, steam room, various hot and cold pools, private tubs.

1915 note3: Orr's Hot Springs issue along the eastern edge of the main fork of Big River, which here flows in a deep, wide canyon. The locality is a resort and stage station on the road between Uldah and Mendocino. A hotel and two or three cottages furnish accommodations for about 50 guests, and tents are erected during the summer when needed. Five springs rise near the hotel. They range from about 70°F/21°C to 104°F/40°C and have individual flows of 4 or 5 gallons (15 or 19 litres) a minute. One of the springs rises in a small swimming plunge, and the others supply tub and plunge baths. Near one side of the plunge is also a drinking spring, 85°F/24°C and of seeping flow, and at the edge of the stream, 750 feet / 230 metres below the main group, another spring that is used for drinking issues with observed temperature of 63°F/17°C and a flow of about 2 gallons/7 litres a minute. A hydrocarbon gas that was formerly used for lighting issues at the main springs, but the earthquake of April 18, 1906, apparently so altered the points of escape of the gas that in 1909 it was no longer used.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $30 day pass 10am-10pm (capacity permitting), or stay there, call ahead for either of these.
Distance: 158 miles, 2 hrs 56 min

[notable]Point Arena Hot Springs

Canyon of the Garcia River, Mendocino County
Temp: 111°F/44°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.8767, -123.51000

It's reported that the immediate area, within the canyon of the Garcia River, on its steep and slippery banks, is now owned by Nature Conservancy. Current access now requires either a difficult 4-5 hour hike directly in (and up) Garcia River from Ten Mile Cutoff Road's Vorhees Memorial Grove turnoff, including wading through two waist-deep (in autumn, when water is lowest) river pools, or hiking in on dirt roads with the permission of the land owner.

The historic resort at the hot springs, constructed starting in 1895 and doing business starting 1904, was then reachable only via horse and carriage (but, by now, the stagecoach road in question has long been overgrown), and offered extensive facilities, all of which burned down in the 1920s, leaving only one 2-3 person pool and two square cement pools that each fits one person. Before 1998, access was easier via Point Arena Air Force Station, about 2 miles/3 km away, but that approach is now closed down and guarded. Minor dirt roads nearby are owned by Conservation Fund's Garcia River Forest Project (no longer, as often claimed, by Hollow Tree Logging Company), which would probably grant a permit for "general trail access" upon application. (You're advised to not mention the hot springs in your application.)

You would, then, still need to descend the steep river bank. Beware of poison oak and ticks.

1915 note3: In the canyon of Garcia River, about 15 miles/24 km by road south of east from Point Arena. Property became of a resort in 1895. In 1910, a hotel, several cottages, and a number of tents provided accommodations for 100 guests. A steep trail leads from the buildings, on the canyon side, to the springs and the stream 600 feet / 180 metres away. Close to the southeast side of the stream, two hot springs rise in cemented basins about 6 feet/2 metres apart and yield flows of about 1.5 and 3 gallons (6 and 15 litres) a minute of mildly sulphureted water 112°F/44°C and 110°F/43°C. The water supplies tub baths in two small houses that are built over the stream, and a pool in the stream itself is also much used for bathing. The springs issue in an area of basaltic lava that extends for about 8 miles northwestward along Garcia River, and probably also for some distance eastwards from the springs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 160 miles, 3 hrs 50 mins to trailhead

Muir Springs

E. of Willits, Mendocino County
Temp: 68°F/20°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.429, -123.308 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 171 miles, 3 hrs 10 mins

Pinches Spring

Laytonville, Mendocino County
Temp: 70°F/21°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.697, -123.478 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 191 miles, 3 hrs 30 mins

Jackson Valley Mud Springs

West of Laytonville, Mendocino County
Temp: 80°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.657675, -123.588071
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 202 miles, 4 hours





Colusa County

[notable]Wilbur Hot Springs Resort / Simmons Hot Springs

3375 Wilbur Springs Rd., Wilbur Springs, Colusa County
Temp: 153°F/67°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.039749, -122.422076

Peaceful, quiet hot-springs resort natural, geothermal hot springs pools inspired by Japanese onsen culture, built in the late 1800s.

22 miles/35 km east of Clear Lake, about 20 miles/32 km west of Williams. Victorian hotel rooms, cabins, lodge rooms, bunk room, camping. (No RV facilities.) Communal kitchen. Solar powered electricity, gas fireplaces. Grocery store and restaurant. Two massage rooms. One regular cold pool, and an open-sided big wooden shelter with three pools of differing temperatures. One outdoor hot pool. Sauna. Site is next to a creek/river. Surrounded by an 1,800 acre nature preserve.

Reservations are required for both overnight and day visits.

1915 note3: In the valley of Sulphur Creek, in southwestern Colusa County — a region where considerable mining for quicksilver has been carried on — are several groups of springs that yield hot sulphureted water. The lowest, easternmost group is at Wilbur Hot Springs, which has been a resort for more than 40 years. It was originally known as Simmons Hot Springs, and the resort to which the name Wilbur Hot Springs was applied was 4 miles/6 km to the northwest, near the Elgin quicksilver mine; a number of years ago, however, after the hotel at the latter place burned, the Simmons property was purchased by the owners of Wilbur Hot Springs, and the upper place was abandoned. In 1908, the present Wilbur Hot Springs again changed ownership, and most of the buildings, which were in poor condition, were removed and new cottages built.

The hot springs issue along the borders of Sulphur Creek, for a distance of about ½ mile on the Wilbur property, but are mainly in a barren, saline area that borders the west side of the creek from 225 to 600 feet / 70 to 180 metres to west of the hotel. The principal springs have been numbered by the owners, beginning at the western border of the property, on the assumption that eventually there will be 30 developed springs, though only 12 have been of importance. Several of the group yield cold water.

Spring No. 1, a hot sulphur spring, issues mainly in a pool a few feet (about a metre) west of the Wilbur property, on land that belongs to the Manzanita Mining Co., but warm water also seeps out several feet east of the main pool. This pool has been used occasionally as a foot bath, but in 1910 the adjacent seepages had not been developed.

The Hot Black Sulphur Spring is about nine hundred feet / 100 metres east of No. 1, and about 1,500 feet / 450 metres west of the Wilbur Hotel. Its water issues at the southeast edge of the creek, and, when visited, formed a pool that was covered by a tent and used as a foot bath.

The Main Springs are about 600 feet / 180 metres west of the hotel, at the upper edge of the barren area along the creek. Two concrete basins or small reservoirs, a few feet (about a metre) apart, are built around the springs, which yield a flow of hot, strongly sulphureted, and salty water at a measured rate of 30,000 gallons/113,000 litres a day (21 gallons/80 litres a minute). The water is clear, and its color is distinctly yellow, like that of the water from Lower Blue Lick Springs, Ky., whose color has been assigned by Palmer to alkaline sulphides in solution.

The more strongly mineralized waters of the Wilbur springs probably contain alkaline sulphides in solution in medicinal amounts, but this character was not shown in the form in which the analyses were reported. The water is piped to cooling tanks, and thence to tubs in an adjacent bathhouse, opposite the hotel. A thin crust of white, apparently amorphous sulphur, rapidly collects on the surface of the water in the cooling tanks. On being disturbed it settles as a sludge, of which a considerable quantity has been used as a salve.

A few feet (about a metre) north of the Main Springs is a smaller one, over which a men's mud-bath house has been built. A continual flow of water in the mud bath is thus directly obtained. A women's mud-bath house has been constructed in the same way, over another spring 90 or 120 feet / 30 or 35 metres eastward. Near the northeast corner of the men's mudbath house, there is a shallow pool, about 4 feet (about a metre) in diameter, called the Chromatic Spring, for material that changes color from day to day, and is probably of algous (vegetable) nature, usually coats its bottom. On one morning, it was bright green in the central part of the bottom, and reddish purple over the marginal third. On the following morning, the coating had a uniform dark-olive tint.

The water is said to be sometimes as black as ink, and to contain a black substance (probably iron sulphide) that gradually settles. At other times, the pool is clear and contains no noticeable growth. In connection with the water of this spring, a red water may be mentioned, that during hot dry weather collects in a few small depressions in the rock surface of the barren area. It is usually crusted with salts, and is a saturated solution.

On evaporation, it forms crystals that have been examined microscopically by Lt. C. Wells, and are considered to be probably potassium sulphate and sodium chloride, the former predominating. The red coloring matter easily passes through filter paper, and is rendered only slightly less distinct by boiling. It may be a minute vegetable organism, but a bottled sample of the water retained its color after standing four years.

The Catarrh and Complexion Spring issues on the south side of the creek, about 360 feet east / 110 metres of the Main Springs. Like the other springs, its water is sulphureted and strongly salty. It has been used as a tonic drinking water, as a douche, and as a shampoo, being considered to be efficacious in removing dandruff.

Three small springs are in basins a few feet (about a metre) apart, in a spring house southeastward, across the creek from the hotel. The western one (No. 24), which is called the Cold Magnesia Spring, is the pleasantest for drinking, and is the one most patronized. The central one, which is also a magnesia spring, tastes more noticeably of magnesia. No. 28 is a cold sulphur spring.

The Cold Black Sulphur Spring is on the south side of the creek, beyond the stable and about 375 feet / 115 metres east of the hotel. It has been protected by a board curbing and cover, and yields a moderately sulphureted but palatable water. Jackson Sulphur Spring seeps from the road bank across the creek from No. 30. Its water tastes sulphureted and magnesic, and has been used slightly for drinking, but it is locally believed that its use tends to produce headache.

Eastward, downstream from the Jackson Spring, there are several other cool, sulphureted seepages, but, in 1910, these had not been developed.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $57 day pass 10am-5pm, or stay there
Distance: 154 miles, 2 hrs 56 mins

Jones Fountain of Life Spring / Jones Hot Springs / Jones's Hot Sulphur Springs / Fountain of Life Geyser/ Jones's Fountain of Life Spring

Colusa County, ¾ mile west of Wilbur Hot Springs
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 142°F/61°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.033250, -122.427931 (approx.)

As the former structures to convey hot water from the Fountain of Life Geyser (said to vent about every 45 minutes) is gone, what remains is the 12' tower through which the geyser vents. On the grounds of the Wilbur Hot Springs Nature Preserve. Reservations are required for all visits.

1915 note3: Jones Hot Springs are near Sulphur Creek and about ¾ mile west of Wilbur Hot Springs. The resort that has been built up at the place in recent years is patronized during the summer by many people who use the water. Accommodations for guests are supplied by a hotel and several cottages, and by camping grounds nearby.

The principal yield is from a well that was bored near the creek, at a place where gas formerly issued. Hot, sulphureted, salty water was obtained, which rises under considerable artesian pressure in a concrete tower to a height of about 12 feet/3.5 metres, whence it flows to a bathhouse near the hotel. Gas intermittently rises with the water, and causes it to spurt above the top of the tower. This characteristic has led to the well being named Fountain of Life.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: entry to Wilbur Hot Springs Nature Preserve
Distance: 155 miles, 2 hrs 56 mins

Blank Spring / Blancks Hot Springs

3375 Wilbur Springs Road, Williams, Colusa County
Temp: 112°F/44°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.031076, -122.432282

1915 note3: A number of years ago, there was a small hot-spring resort, known as Blancks Hot Springs, about half a mile west of Jones Hot Springs. When the Wideawake mining shaft was sunk nearby, Blancks Hot Springs ceased flowing, and the resort was closed, but, of late years, since the shaft has been abandoned and has become partly filled up, the springs have resumed their flow. In 1910, there were two springs, in a small ravine behind a former rooming house. One of them yielded perhaps 2 gallons/7 litres a minute, from a vertical pipe that extended a foot above the surface, and the other, a few feet away, discharged about an equal amount through a pipe that extended to a tub in a small bathhouse nearby.

Season: year-round
Cost: entry to Wilbur Hot Springs Nature Preserve
Distance: 160 miles, 3 hrs 0 mins

Manzanita Mine Springs

Wilbur Springs Road, Williams, Colusa County
Temp: 110°F/43°C and 142°F/61°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.038683, -122.425103 (approx.)

1915 note3: Between Jones and Wilbur hot springs, on a strip of land that is part of the Manzanita mining property, similar hot sulphur springs issue in at least three places. The spring farthest east, which has been mentioned in connection with Wilbur spring No. 1, forms a pool a few feet (about a metre) in diameter that yields perhaps 1 gallon/4 litres a minute of sulphureted, salty water, 110°F/43°C. It is clear and distinctly yellow in color, like that of the Main Springs at Wilbur's, and like the latter shows a deposit of sulphur on its surface. In 1910, the spring was protected by a roof, and was occasionally used as a foot bath. Another spring farther upstream, on the northwest edge of the creek, was protected by a tent and used for bathing; the third spring is about 300 feet / 90 metres northeast of Jones's Fountain of Life Spring. The third spring, which is between the creek and the wagon road, issued from a wooden curbing near an old, unused bathhouse and yielded perhaps 11 gallons/41 litres a minute of sulphureted salty water, 142°F/61°C.

Season: year-round
Cost: entry to Wilbur Hot Springs Nature Preserve
Distance: 155 miles, 2 hrs 56 mins

Fouts Springs

Mendocino National Forest, County Road M-10 W 10 mi. from Stonyford, Colusa County
Temp: 79°F/26°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.3532176, -122.6649908

The place is named for John F. Fouts, who discovered4 the springs here in 1873. The springs supported a resort capable of hosting 150 guests, that operated here in the early part of the 20th century. Best known, these days, as the missionary training facility for international, theologically evangelical Christian mission organization New Tribes Mission of Sanford, FL. Individual springs in the cluster probably include Champagne Spring (39.34798255099688, -122.66627826719537) and Red Eye Spring (39.35106885929727, -122.67083802248281).

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 195 miles, 3 hrs 35 mins

Sulphur Spring (#1)

N. of Stonyford, Colusa County
Temp: 75°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.433712, -122.540532
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 183 miles, 3 hrs 25 mins

Salt Spring

N. of Stonyford, Colusa County
Temp: 75°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.430174, -122.536895
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 182 miles, 3 hrs 15 mins

Elgin Mine / Elgin Quicksilver Mine

3 miles NW of Wilbur Hot Springs, Mendocino National Forest, Colusa County
Temp: 156°F/69°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.0557271, -122.4724786

1915 note3: The Elgin quicksilver mine is situated on the western side of Sulphur Creek, on steep slopes 400 to 500 feet (120 to 150 metres) above the stream. Much work has been done in these mines, and occasional rich pockets of cinnabar have been found, but the tunnels have been very difficult to work in, because of the high temperature, the hot water, the sulphureted and ammoniacal vapors, which affect the eyes as well as the respiration, and the acid salts, which quickly destroy clothing. In addition to the cinnabar, considerable amounts of sulphur were formerly obtained from higher slopes near the quicksilver tunnels, and a few hundred dollars worth of gold is said to have been obtained incidentally from one quicksilver working.

Hot springs, from which water was formerly piped down the slope to a bathhouse at the original Wilbur Hot Springs resort, still yield a flow of several gallons/litres a minute on the steep slope, and, a short distance away, a flow of about 10 gallons/37 litres a minute at 140°F/60°C temperature issues from the Judge Moore tunnel, which extends 200 feet/60 metres into the hill.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 176 miles, 3 hrs 5 mins

Sulphur Spring (#2)

N. of Leesville, Colusa County
Temp: 68°F/20°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 39.20627, -122.41277
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 170 miles, 3 hrs 5 mins





San Luis Obispo County

Paso Robles Mud Bath Springs

Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County
Temp: 118°F/48°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.656181, -120.694111 (approx.)

1915 note3: About 2 ½ miles/4 km north of Paso Robles, there are natural warm springs that are used for bathing. These are locally known as the Mud Bath Springs. A large amount of warm water here issues about 300 feet / 90 metres from the edge of Salinas River. The springs rise mainly within concrete walls that were built as foundations for a bathhouse, but plans were changed, and the springs are now of secondary importance to Paso Robles Hot Springs. There is a building at the Mud Bath Springs, however, below whose floor there are about half a dozen cemented plunges, with perforated bottoms that admit the water. About 90 feet / 30 metres west of the bathhouse is a 4-inch flowing well that in 1908 yielded about 8 gallons/30 litres a minute of water at 118°F/48°C. The water is said to have been struck at a depth of 140 feet/40 metres. This is known as the Lithia Spring and is used for drinking, its water being faintly sulphureted and salty.

Two natural springs nearby are also used for drinking. One of these, the Soda Spring, is about 225 feet / 70 metres west of north from the bathhouse. When visited it was enclosed by a concrete curb and was equipped with a hand pump, but it discharged about 4 gallons/15 litres a minute of warm water. This water has been carbonated and bottled for several years by the local soda works. A cool iron spring issues in a ravine 525 feet / 160 metres northwest of the bathhouse. Water from this spring was piped to a drinking faucet near the bathhouse, and the overflow, about 1 gallon/4 litres a minute, supplied a cattle-watering trough in the ravine.

Southeast of the bathhouse, at least half a dozen warm pools and seepage springs are scattered for half a mile/a km or more along the river flat that borders the present channel. Mud from one or two of these pools is used in the plunges at the bathhouse, and two or three of the flowing springs are used locally for bathing and for laundry.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 176 miles, 2 hrs 45 mins

Paso Robles Hot Springs / Paso Robles Artesian Spring

Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County
Status: CAPPED
Temp: 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.625637, -120.691863

Within the grounds of Paso Robles Inn (at first named Hot Springs Hotel), which replaced El Paso De Robles Hotel, which was completed in 1900 and burned down in Dec., 1940. The hotel, however, capped access to the spring, saying that the sulfur smell was overbearing for guests.

The M6.5 San Simeon earthquake of December 22, 2003 caused this sulfur hot spring to re-emerge in the nearby city hall parking lot, and could be viewed behind a screened fence. Around 2010, the hole was filled in again, and paved over.

It's amazingly ironic that City of Paso Robles (and the Inn) keep working so hard to destroy (and re-destroy) this formerly world-famous and extremely productive hot spring, if only because it's the main reason a city arose at Paso Robles's location, in the first place.

1915 note3: Thermal waters issue at a number of places near Paso Robles, in the upper portion of Salinas Valley. As early as 1865, a warm sulphureted spring in the southern part of the town was improved for bathing, the spring being cemented and covered by a large masonry dome, and a swimming plunge being constructed. Another spring nearby was also enclosed by masonry walls and made use of for bathing. These springs have been abandoned for several years, however, apparently because they have nearly or entirely ceased to flow.

Hotel El Paso de Robles was built about 1888. It is situated in the western part of town, within extensive grounds that also enclose a clubhouse and a dozen cottages.

A few years ago a large and very complete bathhouse, with modern apparatus for the therapeutic use of water, was built adjoining the hotel. These baths are supplied by a flowing artesian well 10 inches in diameter at the top and 640 feet/195 metres deep, that was put down behind the bathhouse and is known as the Main Sulphur Spring. Its temperature is reported to be 105°F/41°C and its yield to be 2,500,000 gallons/9,450,000 litres a day (1,736+ gallons/6,571+ litres a minute), but this amount seems excessive.

The city of Paso Robles has also erected a bathhouse about ¼ mile east of Hotel El Paso de Robles. Its baths are supplied by a flowing well 427 feet/130 metres deep, which yields water at 105°F/41°C.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 178 miles, 2 hrs 55 mins

Santa Ysabel Springs

Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 94°F/34°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.582232, -120.664876

On the site of the former Rancho Santa Ysabel.

1915 note3: About 4 miles/6 km southeast of Paso Robles, a large volume of warm sulphureted water rises in a ravine on the eastern side of Salinas Valley. In the late eighties [RM: 1880s], a resort was started here, but the plans were not carried out, and, in 1908, there was only a small private bathhouse at the springs. One main spring rises beneath the bathhouse, and discharges about 150 gallons/570 litres a minute of water 94°F/34°C. At the northeast corner of the bathhouse, another warm spring of slight yield rises in a concrete basin. The water flows northward half a mile, to a storage reservoir or artificial lake, and is used for irrigation. About ¼ mile farther up the ravine, other sulphureted springs issue, but they are of small flow and unimportant.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 182 miles, 2 hrs 55 mins

[notable]Franklin Hot Springs

3015 Creston Road, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County
Temp: 100.1°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.587807, -120.641750

Aquaculture farm, swimming area, hot tub, and lake fed by a geothermal well. Seems minimally developed. There's pond fishing, boating. Rustic, low-key, family-owned.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10 day pass 8am-10pm
Distance: 182 miles, 2 hrs 52 mins

Cameta Warm Spring

San Luis Obispo County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 35.4, -120.25

1915 note3: Cameta Warm Spring is about 30 miles/48 km southeast of Paso Robles and near the road toward Bakersfield. It rises in a board-curbed pool about 5 feet square (1.5 metres square), at the lower end of a tule patch in a creek channel, and yields about 3 gallons/11 litres a minute, of moderately sulphureted water at 74°F/23°C. Its flow is conducted a short distance using a pipe to another pool beneath a shed, where it is used by residents for bathing. The water rises in a region of low gravelly hills, and is similar in its character and occurrence to Santa Ysabel Springs, which are farther west.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 214 miles, 3 hrs 35 mins

[notable]Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort and Spa, formerly San Luis Hot Spring

1215 Avila Beach Drive, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County
Temp: 101°F/38°C to 104°F/40°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.185752, -120.712835

Resort rooms have their own outdoor mineral hot tubs. Hillside hot tubs by reservation. Oasis Waterfall Lagoon rentable by the hour for groups. RV and camping.

1915 note3: Southward from San Luis Obispo and near the ocean is a resort of considerable importance that utilizes the artesian flow of an unsuccessful oil well. This well was begun in the fall of 1885 and abandoned in March, 1887, when at a depth of 937 feet/285 metres. Quantities of gas and warm, sulphureted water were obtained, but no oil was yielded. A number of years ago, the water is reported to have been 103°F/39°C and had discharge of 100 gallons/380 litres a minute. In 1908, 107°F/42°C was recorded. The discharge seemed to have materially decreased, but was not measured. The well is located at the south edge of the canyon of San Luis Obispo Creek, 300 feet / 90 metres from the stream and at the border of a sycamore grove. A resort was early established here, and the place became known as Sycamore Spring, but, in recent years the name was changed to the present title. Extensive accommodations have been provided, and the creek is made use of for boating. Rocks exposed in this locality consist of shales and sandstones of Miocene or Pliocene age, which dip mainly to the north or northeast. Anticlinal or low-arched structure that would be favorable to the existence of oil was not noted, though it may exist.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $23/hr Mo-Th, $28/hr FrSaSu, or stay there
Distance: 214 miles, 3 hrs 16 min

Pecho Warm Springs

San Luis Obispo County
Temp: 95°F/35°C and 72°F/22°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.269, -120.851 (approx.)

Appears to be in Montana de Oro State Park, south of Los Osos.

1915 note3: In the canyon of Islay Creek, west of San Luis Obispo, and about 2 miles/3 km from the coast, are two warm, disagreeably sulphureted springs known as Pecho Warm Springs. When visited in 1908, there was a wooden trough tub and a screen of gunny sacking at the larger spring, while the other was used only as a drinking pool. Observed temperatures were 95°F/35°C and 72°F/22°C, and their flows, respectively, about 15 gallons/38 litres and 2 gallons/7 litres a minute. The larger issues at the creek edge, at the base of a 10-foot/3-metre bank of crushed shale, the other about 450 feet / 140 metres farther downstream, and at the roadside 30 feet / 9 metres from the creek.

The place has long been resorted to on holidays, by picnic parties from the neighboring sheep and cattle ranches; but it has been comparatively seldom visited by campers, as it is not a desirable spot for a vacation retreat.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 216 miles, 3 hrs 35 mins

[notable]Avila Hot Springs / Ontario Hot Springs

250 Avila Beach Drive, Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo County
Temp: 130°F/54°C to 135°F/57°C at source, 104°F/40°C in the pool
Lat./Long.2: 35.180552, -120.703243

Cabin rentals, tent camping, RV camping. 20 feet x 20 feet therapeutic hot mineral soaking pool, and heated swimming pool. Hot springs were discovered in 1907 by drillers seeking oil.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10 day pass 8am-9pm SuMoTuTh, 9am-10pm WeFrSa, or stay there.
Distance: 214 miles, 3 hrs 16 min

Newsoms Arroyo Grande Warm Spring / Newsom Springs / Newsom's Hot Springs

Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 99°F/37°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.121948, -120.544645

Note from "Water Resources of the Arroyo Grande - Nipomo Mesa Area, 2002", issued by California Dept. of Water Resources, Southern District: "Newsom's Hot Springs are in Newsom Canyon, a tributary of Arroyo Grande Valley. The hot sulfur springs, emanating from Miocene rocks, occur probably along mineralized zones. The springs had been developed for public use. One of the springs issued water of 100°F. An 1888 chemical analysis showed that the spring water was magnesium-calcium-sodium bicarbonate in character, and had a TDS concentration of 630 mg/L."

1915 note3: Newsoms Arroyo Grande Warm Spring is situated in a small open canyon 2 ½ miles/4 km east of the town of Arroyo Grande, in San Luis Obispo County. The spring yields about 15 gallons/57 litres a minute and rises in a board-curbed pool that supplies tub baths and a small swimming plunge. This water is 98°F/37°C. It tastes moderately sulphureted, and a small amount of sulphur is deposited along the run-off channel. A small amount of acid salt also forms on the curbing of the spring, and when these salts are placed in the water, which is clear, a black precipitate that is probably iron sulphide immediately forms. The constituents render the water unsuitable for laundry uses, but they are not objectionable for bathing. The property has been open to the public as a resort since 1864.

In 1908, there were accommodations for about 30 people in a hotel building and small cottages. The baths have been much patronized on Sundays by people from Arroyo Grande, and the water has been carbonated and bottled by the local soda works.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 224 miles, 3 hrs 35 mins





Tulare County

Doyle Springs

Uphill from Wishon Camp, off CA Route 190, Sequoia National Forest, Tulare County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 100°F
Lat./Long.2: 36.202178, -118.649587

Source, a hot soda spring, is for the exclusive use of 66 cabin owners on leased land in Doyle Springs Tract, and used to fill a swimming pool.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 267 miles, 4 hrs 5 mins

[notable]California Hot Springs Resort / Deer Creek Hot Springs

42177 Hot Springs Dr, California Hot Springs, Tulare County
Status: CLOSED FOR REMODELING as of 2023-24
Temp: 122°F/50°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.880341, -118.673700

Just inside Sequoia National Forest (at its western edge), at California Hot Springs (very small town). Take CA Route 99 to Earlimart, exit east on Sierra Ave., which becomes Ave 56 at Ducor, then becomes Hot Springs Dr. (County Mountain Road 56) in Fountain Springs, as it winds uphill through the Sierra Nevada foothills, to the destination in the mountains, just below the snowline. Camping, RV hookups. Swimming pool and two large hot tubs (all chlorinated) fed by the hot spring, adjoining a general store and deli.

White River Campground is nearby.

Separate rental lodging is also available nearby in a bunkhouse or a large cabin. Hot springs water is piped into the bunkhouse and cabin at approximately 125°F/52°C.

The resort was founded in 1880 by the Witt family, who developed several bathhouses and opened "California Hot Springs Resort". Hotel Del Venado followed, next door, in 1904, burned down in 1932, and was reopened two years later, continuing until a 1968 wildfire destroyed almost the entire town. In the 1980s, the Gilbert family purchased the derelict resort site and rebuilt. Most of the rest of town never did; at a recent count the town claimed only about 50 residents.

1915 note3: 35 miles/56 km SE of Porterville. Four springs at points 15 to 60 feet / 5 to 18 metres apart along the southern bank of Deer Creek Canyon, 20 or 30 feet (6 to 9 metres) above the stream bed. This group yields about 36 gal/min / 136 litres/min of water 120°F/49°C to 126°F/52°C. ½ mile upstream on the northern side of the creek, another group of one main and two minor springs discharges about ⅓ as much water at 106°F/41°C. Recent extensive improvements: 1907, frame hotel and annex, small cottages and tents. Water from the upper springs is piped to a tank, thence to the baths and grounds. Pipes from the lower group go 825 feet / 250 metres to baths near the hotel. Springs of the lower group are also used for drinking.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $12/person day pass, free for guests.
Distance: 269 miles, 4 hrs 30 mins





Tehama County

Tuscan Springs / Lick Springs

NE of Red Bluff, Tehama County
Temp: 86°F/30°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 40.240727, -122.111652

A set of about 50 hot springs, issuing from the side of a volcanic crater, and discovered4 by one Dr. Veatch to have high borax content, the first source of that salt compound discovered in North America.

Quoting from a 1903 book promoting Tehama County's virtues (linked below): "Tuscan Springs are situated nine miles northeast of Red Bluff, at the head of Little Salt Creek Canyon, in a basin formed by an extinct crater. On either side, rising to a height of from three to four hundred feet, are huge volcanic rocks, forming a rim of about six hundred feet in diameter, providing a natural shelter from winds. The springs number nearly fifty, and are found in an area of about ten acres, at an elevation of goo feet above sea level. The rim surrounding this basin breaks away to the southwest, permitting the waters to escape in that direction. [...]"

"A large and commodious hotel has been erected the past season, with airily constructed towers at either end, and wide verandas extending all around, with accommodations for two hundred guests. [...]."

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 230 miles, 3 hrs 50 mins

Stinking Springs

35 mile west of Red Bluff, Tehama County
Temp: 101°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.222730, -122.750927
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 250 miles, 4 hrs 50 mins

Morgan Hot Springs

Mineral, south of Lassen Volcanic National Park, Tehama County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 126-207°F / 52-97°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.385468, -121.512757

1915 note3: In the neighborhood of Lassen Peak, in the northeastern part of the State, there are some remarkable hot springs. The best-known group is at the southern base of the mountain on the Morgan ranch, where about 25 springs and pools are scattered for a distance of 1,800 feet / 550 metres in a meadow along Mill Creek. Most of them are quiet pools of small flow, less than 5 feet/1.5 metres in diameter, and relatively shallow. A number of them contain thick algous growths, and several deposit native sulphur. Others rise in areas where hard deposits of siliceous and of calcareous materials have formed. Three or four springs steam and sputter from vents on the banks of the creek. One of the northernmost of these springs seems to have a true geyser action, for it issues in a shallow basin 3 feet/1 metre in diameter, in which the water is said to come to a state of vigorous ebullition and then to subside about once a day. During a period of 41 hours, the condition of this spring was noted five times as follows: At the beginning of the period, in active ebullition, discharge about 15 gallons/37 litres a minute, temperature 200°+; two hours later quiet, no overflow, temperature 187°F at 16 hours and at 25 hours later in active ebullition, overflowing; at 41 hours, quietly overflowing, about 5 gallons/19 litres a minute.

The place has been a camping resort for a number of years. In 1910 there were log bathhouses at three springs, a small shed over another pool, and a vapor bathhouse over a vent at the creek edge. Three-fourths of a mile northeastward, on a branch of Mill Creek, is another hot spring, over which a bathhouse containing several compartments has been built. This spring also rises in a hard conglomerate, similar to that at the springs in the meadow.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 269 miles, 4 hrs 25 mins

Growler Hot Spring

Mineral, south of Lassen Volcanic National Park, Tehama County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 203°F/95°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.394250, -121.508084

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 270 miles, 4 hrs 40 mins





Placer County

[notable]Brockway Hot Springs / Carnelian Hot Sulfur Springs / Campbell Hot Springs

Brockway Springs Resort aka Brockway Springs Vacation Resort
9200 Brockway Springs Drive, Kings Beach, Placer County
Temp: 131°F/55°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.230725, -120.014978

This is a bit tricky: The source flows from private property (Brockway Springs Resort), which is limited to resort guests, only, but the property line ends at Lake Tahoe's mean high-water mark. The resort uses the spring to heat water for its swimming pool, but afterwards it drains into Lake Tahoe, where there is a formation of rock-walled pools on public property. Water temperatures, there, are generally in the 90s°F, and the pools have room for 2-4 people. They can be reached via kayak, paddleboard, etc., most conveniently from Kings Beach, 0.7 mile/1.1 km north, or Speedboat Beach, 0.5 miles/0.8 km south.

1915 note3: The only noteworthy thermal springs in the basin of Lake Tahoe are at the north end of the lake, near Stateline Point, at a fishing and boating resort, known as Brockway, where in 1909 a hotel and four cottages provided accommodations for 100 people. The springs rise in the lake within a few feet (about a metre) of the shore, bubbling up from numerous vents, principally at two localities. One of these localities is at the boat pier, where one spring has been cemented so as to form a drinking basin near the lake edge. A temperature of 137°F/58°C was recorded in this spring, and the discharge was about 3 gallons/11 litres a minute. A plan had been considered for making a warm swimming pool by constructing a concrete wall around the springs in the lake at this place. Water from another group of springs, which is situated in the lake near its edge, about 450 feet / 140 metres northwestward, is pumped to a tank nearby and used for bathing and for laundry purposes.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 232 miles, 4 hrs 10 mins





Alpine County

[notable]Grover Hot Springs State Park

3415 Hot Springs Road, Markleeville, Alpine County
Temp: 80°F/27°C and 104°F/40°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.696736, -119.839909

The California State Parks system provides, at this 519-acre park, a large, warm, concrete swimming pool plus a larger, hot concrete soaking pool, not to mention a campground, hiking trails into the surrounding mountains, and a picnic area.

Note that Markleeville is the centre, lowest point, and county seat of aptly named Alpine County. Any approach requires traversing a high Sierra mountain pass. Alpine County is south of the Lake Tahoe basin.

1915 note3: In Alpine County, about 4 miles/6 km west of Markleeville and near the southern extension of the Sierra Valley fault, considerable heated water rises at Grovers Hot Springs, from a dozen springs and seepages in two marshy areas about 300 feet / 90 metres apart, at the edge of a meadow on the southern side of Markleeville Creek. The principal springs range from 128°F/53°C to 146°F/63°C, and their combined discharge — perhaps 100 gallons/380 litres a minute — irrigates the meadow. In 1909, a pool 3 or 4 feet (about a metre) deep and about 30 feet square (9 metres square) was used for bathing, and the place has been visited as a camping resort for many years.

Season: year-round
Cost: free with park entrance, natural springs. Swimming pool nearby is $7.
Distance: 240 miles, 4 hrs 8 mins

[notable]Carson River Hot Springs / Leviathan Mine Road Hot Springs

Northeast of Markleeville, Toiyabe National Forest, Alpine County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS (except by rafting)
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 38.729109, -119.653225 (approx.)

Hot springs formerly accessible from Leviathan Mine Road, six miles / ten km northeast of Markleeville, on the edge of the East Carson River. Now, gate is locked and posted no trespassing. However, rafting to the site during rafting season (May to August), e.g., from Hangman's Bridge on CA Route 89 in Markleeville, and floating downstream 9 miles/14 km, will get you there. The hot springs are on the east bank.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 262 miles, 4 hrs 54 mins

[notable]East Fork Carson River Hot Springs / River Run Hot Springs

Northeast of Markleeville, Alpine County
Temp: 103°F/39.44°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.759333, -119.758645

Set of several hot springs in the canyon of the East Fork of the Carson River, reportedly reachable by walking a short distance northeast from Scossa Canyon Road, or during rafting season (May to August) by rafting from Hangman's Bridge on CA Route 89 in Markleeville, downstream 10 miles/16 km. Camping opportunities are plentiful both beachside and in the forest.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 219 miles, 3 hrs 57 mins





Kern County

Carneros Spring / Canaris Spring / Canary Spring

~5 miles west of Missouri Triangle, in Carneros Canyon, Kern County
Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.4384219, -119.8471344

This spring is one of the sources of Carneros Creek / Arroyo de Los Carneros (a tributary of Santos Creek), at the foot of Carneros Rocks and the mouth of Carneros Canyon, elevation 1401 feet/427 metres. The site was historically part of Joe Santos Ranch.

As of 2008, the general Carneros Creek vicinity has been a productive drilling location for Pyramid Oil Company. Near as I can tell from online information, all surface roads approaching this site from the east, north, and south, such as 7th Standard Road westwards from Missouri Triangle, become private roads 2+ miles/3+ km away. To the west is the crest of Temblor Range and some wild bits of San Luis Obispo County with, again, only private roads.

I haven't yet reconnoitered the area, but given the apparent dedication of this hilly country to oil exploration, and no mention whatsoever of public access even to attractions like modestly famous Carneros Rocks, I'd be very surprised if there were any lawful access by the public to the hot-springs vicinity.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 242 miles, 4 hrs 15 mins

[notable]Williams Hot Springs

Kern County
Temp: 97°F/36°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.449506, -118.930343 (approx.)

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: At the north edge of Walker Basin, ~10 miles/16 km SE of the canyon of lower Kern River, on the Williams ranch, is a group of small thermal springs. One spring, 97°F/36°C, yields about 8 gal/min / 30 litres/min of water that supplies a private bathhouse. Another, 450 feet / 140 metres east, temp. 75°F/24°C, furnishes a domestic supply.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 267 miles, 4 hrs 35 mins

[notable]Delonegha Hot Springs

CA Route 178, shore of South Fork, Kern River, Kern County
Temp: 123°F/51°C at the source
Lat./Long.2: 35.557775, -118.612912

Seven tub-sized cement pools, on the right-bank (northwest) shore of South Fork, Kern River, in Sequoia National Forest lands, lawfully accessible by walking and wading upriver 0.7 miles from parking at "Delonegha Bridge" (river rafting takeout, 35.547903, -118.616431), being careful to not intrude on private property, by staying below the river's high water mark. (See first link — though the author is greatly mistaken, in claiming that public property extends 50 feet above the high water mark, which it definitely does not.)

Warning: Every year, an average of six people drown in Kern River, even its namesake, topographer Edward M. Kern, almost drowned in its fast, turbulent waters in 1845, and it's locally dubbed "the killer Kern". Take extreme care if boulder-hopping across or wading in it, and consider any such encounter only in low-water months of late summer/early autumn.

1915 note3: Western edge of Kern River, ~6 miles/10 km below the Clear Creek springs, group of three hot springs named after a prospector. They issue a few feet (about a metre) above the river surface from crevices in fractured, massive granite. In 1908, there was a resort consisting of a small hotel and two bathhouses. The flow of two of the springs was collected in cement basins and used in the bathhouses, which were perched on the rocks above the river. The third issues too close to the river.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 293 miles, 5 hrs

[notable]Democrat Hot Springs

30401 CA Route 178, ~30 miles NE of Bakersfield, Kern County
Temp: 115°F/46°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.528504, -118.667514

Operated as a private resort since 1904, and can be rented for private events, but not otherwise open to the public. On dry ground 150' above the South Fork Kern River (thus, not within public lands of the river itself).

1915 note3: Hot water issues on the southwest side of Kern River, within 150' of its edge but 50' or 75' above its surface. In 1908, there was a substantial hotel. One spring had a temp of 115°F/46°C and furnished the supply for bathing. 1,200 feet / 370 metres downstream from this spring, and near the hotel, a reservoir has been constructed around other warm springs. At a third place, another small spring forms a drinking pool.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access limited to people attending private events at the resort
Distance: 290 miles, 5 hrs

China Garden Hot Springs

US Forest Service land, south bank of South Fork, Kern River, near CA Route 178, Kern County
Temp: 82°F/28°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 35.539656, -118.646784 (approx.)

Quoting blogger Matt Volpert: "China Garden Hot Springs is located on public Forest Service land. No pool or significant springs are here, and it is very difficult to find. The name China Garden comes from the Chinese workers that camped here during the construction of Southern California Edison's water flume in the river canyon. With slow water flows, and temperatures topping out at 82°F/28°C, these 'hot' springs never became anything more than something to look at."

Warning: Every year, an average of six people drown in Kern River, even its namesake, topographer Edward M. Kern, almost drowned in its fast, turbulent waters in 1845, and it's locally dubbed "the killer Kern". Take extreme care if boulder-hopping across or wading in it, and consider any such encounter only in low-water months of late summer/early autumn.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 290 miles, 5 hrs

[notable]Pyramid Hot Spring

US Forest Service land, long the upper South Fork, Kern River, across the river from CA Route 178, Kern County
Temp: 103.00°F/39.44°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.556376, -118.613343 (approx.)

Access is dangerous (must cross a Class VI section of river) most of the year: At best, approachable only in late summer/early autum, the two driest months. (Higher river levels not only make crossing the river on a set of large boulders unsafe, but also will submerge the pool.) In 2021, it was reported there is no longer a pool (washed away by high waters of 2019).

Warning: Every year, an average of six people drown in Kern River, even its namesake, topographer Edward M. Kern, almost drowned in its fast, turbulent waters in 1845, and it's locally dubbed "the killer Kern".

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 294 miles, 5 hrs 5 mins

[notable]Remington Hot Springs

US Forest Service land near Bodfish (below Lake Isabella), Kern County
Temp: 96°F/36°C to 115°F/46°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.576198, -118.552437

Three hot spring pools located next to South Fork, Kern River. There are a few portable toilets and a dumpster in the parking lot, but otherwise no facilities.

Following the Kern River from Bakersfield into the Sierra foothills, take CA Route 178 to exit #42. Turn east towards the small town of Bodfish. Turn right (south) when the road forms a T onto the main street in Bodfish. Then, watch for Kern Canyon Road on your right, within the first mile. If the road begins switching back on a steep hill, you have gone too far. Continue on Kern Canyon Road past a power station and Sandy Flat Campground. After Hobo Campground, continue 1.6 miles/2.6 km and park at the second pullout. (There is a small pullout at 1.5 miles/2.4 km, but this has a very steep trail and is much more difficult to hike from). Hike steeply down about 600 feet / 180 metres to South Fork, Kern River, on a heavily used, but mostly unmarked trail. The first spring is on your left, about 150 feet / 45 metres before the 3 main pools.

Warning: Every year, an average of six people drown in Kern River, even its namesake, topographer Edward M. Kern, almost drowned in its fast, turbulent waters in 1845, and it's locally dubbed "the killer Kern". Take extreme care if boulder-hopping across or wading in it, and consider any such encounter only in low-water months of late summer/early autumn.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 302 miles, 4 hrs 53 mins

[notable]Kern Hot Spring / Funston Hot Springs

Temp: 115°F/46°C Lat./Long: 36.478295, -118.405963

This is an exceedingly remote hot springs next to the upper Kern River, in the back-country of Sequoia National Park. It is accordingly reachable only via camping hike, such as one 36.8 miles/58.9 km from Crescent Meadow along the High Sierra Trail, crossing the Great Western Divide at 10,700 feet (3261 metres) elevation, via Kaweah Gap. A Wilderness permit (for High Sierra Trail) from National Park Service is required. At the site, spring water flows into the source into a cement bathtub, right next to the rushing river.

Other trail approaches are also possible, including one from the south along the Kern River, or a shorter, but brutally steep, approach from Mineral King over Sawtooth Pass.

Warning: Every year, an average of six people drown in Kern River, even its namesake, topographer Edward M. Kern, almost drowned in its fast, turbulent waters in 1845, and it's locally dubbed "the killer Kern". Take extreme care if boulder-hopping across or wading in it, and consider any such encounter only in low-water months of late summer/early autumn.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 256 miles, 4 hrs 59 mins to the trailhead

[notable]Scovern Hot Springs / Agua Caliente / Neills Hot Springs

5838 Lake Isabella Blvd, Lake Isabella, Kern County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 115°F/46°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.620830, -118.474869

As of 2004, there was paperwork by Scovern Hot Springs and Vineyard, Inc. to develop a commercial resort.

In 1866, a hotel and bathhouse were built, here, becoming popular with miners and others, supplemented in 1915 by a swimming pool, with more facilities added in 1929. All of this burned in 1971, and only a vacant lot remains. Flow is 140 gal/min / 530 litres/min.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 304 miles, 5 hrs 35 mins

Ashley Hot Spring

Kern County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 35.735246, -118.317081

A Google Maps review claims the spring is on private property.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 323 miles, 5 hrs 40 mins

[notable]Miracle Hot Springs / Clear Creek Hot Springs / Hobo Springs / Hobo Hot Springs / Compressor Hot Springs / Air Compressor Springs

US Forest Service land below Bodfish (below Lake Isabella), Kern County
Status: DEMOLISHED
Temp: 119°F/48°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.576164, -118.533992 (approx.)

Five rock tubs on the south shore (left bank) of South Fork, Kern River were demolished by Forest Service and USMC with a sledgehammer on October, 20, 2022. US Forest Service personnel have done this several times before, citing a variety of absurd justifications at different times. Each time previously, the tubs were eventually rebuilt. Located just downriver from US Forest Service's Hobo Campground.

If I hear of reconstruction by stubborn volunteers, I will note that, here.

A resort hotel was built near the springs in 1927, but burned down in 1975.

Warning: Every year, an average of six people drown in Kern River, even its namesake, topographer Edward M. Kern, almost drowned in its fast, turbulent waters in 1845, and it's locally dubbed "the killer Kern". Take extreme care if boulder-hopping across or wading in it, and consider any such encounter only in low-water months of late summer/early autumn.

1915 note3: Hot water issues at three or four places among the boulders at the southern edge of Kern River 600 feet / 180 metres below the mouth of Clear Creek. In 1907, the springs were seldom visited, but a few years earlier, during the construction of a power canal nearby, they were made use of by the workmen for bathing and washing and became known locally as the Hobo Springs.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 302 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins

Hot Springs Near Kernville

Kernville, Kern County
Temp: 103°F/39°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.793542, -118.446 (approx.)

With the filling of Lake Isabella, historic Kernville was inundated. The current Kernville is some miles/km away.

1915 note3: About 2 miles/3 km NE of Kernville, at the base of steep slopes on the eastern side of the river valley, warm water seeps out at several places, but the main point of issuance is in a small marshy area in an open cove on the valley side. A small frame bathhouse has been erected and is used locally. Temp of the water is around 103°F/39°C and its flow is small.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 318 miles, 5 hrs 35 mins

Neills Hot Spring / Agua Caliente

Kernville, Kern County
Status: PROBABLY SUBMERGED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 35.665610, -118.447709

Probably in the middle of Lake Isabella, these days.

1915 note3: About 7 miles/11 km west of south (RM: SSW) from Kernville, hot water rises near the centre of Hot Spring Valley, about 1 mile/1.5km east of the present channel of the Kern River. There is a small seepage pool 225 feet / 70 metres from the main spring, but the entire flow is now from one vent. About 40 feet/12 metres of well casing was sunk into this spring, a few years ago, and the yield was thereby materially increased. The water has a temp of 131°F/55°C and a flow of 115 gal/min / 435 litres/min, and is used for domestic purposes and for irrigation.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 306 miles, 5 hrs 15 mins

Hot Spring

Kernville, Kern County
Temp: 113°F/45°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.728568, -118.408654
½ mile east of Kern Valley Airport, 2 miles SE of Kernville
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 317 miles, 5 hrs 30 mins

[notable]Jordan Hot Springs

Golden Trout Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, Tulare County
Temp: 104°F/40&dec;C
Lat./Long.2: 36.229138, -118.303352

Not to be confused with a hot springs of the same name on the Gila River in New Mexico.

Cluster of at least 14 hot springs near Nine Mile Creek, a tributary of the Kern River, named for John Jordan, a Texan who moved with his family to nearby Tulare County in 1857, then got caught up in a rush to exploit gold and silver in the Coso Range, east of Owens Valley. In 1861, to create a route for miners to cross the Sierra Nevada to reach the mining fields, Jordan blazed a trail from Visalia to Olancha, going through Jordan Hot Springs on its way, and in 1862 secured a charter from Tulare County to develop it into a toll road. Unfortunately, Jordan then almost immediately died, drowned crossing Kern River on a raft.

The Jordan Trail was completed in 1863 by G.W. Warner, but the further work to widen it into a wagon trail was never done, because of completion in 1864 of a bypass toll road by McFarland Toll Road Company over the Greenhorn Mountain and Walker Pass. By the late 1800s, the hot springs site had become popular for summer camping, and it was developed into a resort by 1890, which closed after inclusion of the site, in 1978, in Golden Trout Wilderness.

Online reviews say it can be reached via Casa Vieja Trail, a strenuous 10.4 mi. hike out-and back (uphill on the way back). From US Route 395 just north of Linnie, turn west onto 9 Mile Canyon Road, which becomes Sherman Pass Road. At Kennedy Meadows, road becomes Forest Route 22S05/Sherman Pass Road. Continue to USFS SQF Blackrock Fire Station. ("SQF" is US National Forest Service's designation for the Sequoia National Forest region, for firefighting purposes.) From here, it's six miles to the trailhead. In snowy weather, your hike will start here, if the road to the trailhead is gated off. Either way, turn right (north) onto Forest Route 21S44, then right onto Forest Route 21S03, and continue to Blackrock Trailhead (36.175695, -118.269041).

First leg of the hike is 2 miles steadily 600 feet downhill to Casa Vieja Meadows. Look for a trail junction at the western edge of the meadows, and take Ninemile Canyon Trail northwest on a steep descent towards Jordan Hot Springs, hopping six times over Nine Mile Creek. Total descent from the trailhead is 3,000 feet.

1915 note3: On tributary of the upper Kern River, forms prominent deposits of lime carbonate. Over 14 springs issue in a little flat along the banks of Ninemile Creek. Four have been excavated to form bathing pool; several others are used as drinking springs. Principal springs used range from 95°F/35°C to 123°F/51°C, yield from 1 to 10 gal/min / 4 to 38 litres/min.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 336 miles, 8 hrs 5 mins





Sierra County

[notable]Sierra Hot Springs Resort & Retreat Center / Campbell Hot Springs

521 Campbell Hot Springs Road, Sierraville, Sierra County
Temp: 111°F/44°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.573990, -120.348964

30 miles (30 mins) north of Truckee. Non-profit retreat and workshop center in the foothills. Lodge, hotel, and camping sites.

1915 note3: At the extreme southern border of Sierra Valley, about 2 miles/3 km by road southeast of Sierraville, eight thermal springs are scattered for a distance of a mile along the low slopes that border this end of the valley and in the adjacent meadowland. The property has been improved as a resort since the early eighties [RM: 1880s], and, in 1909, a three-story hotel and an annex provided accommodations for 100 guests. One of the largest hot springs rises on the hillside, 50 feet/15 metres above the valley. It discharges about 15 gallons/57 litres a minute of slightly sulphureted water at 102°F/39°C. The water has been piped to tubs and to a plunge, and has also been used for garden irrigation. Water from another spring that rises at the edge of the meadow, 2,400 feet / 730 metres to the southeast, has been used to supply a wooden swimming plunge nearby. The observed temperature of this spring was 98°F/37°C and its flow was about 30 gallons/110 liters a minute. Its water is more noticeably sulphureted than that of the first-mentioned spring, and it also has a corrosive effect on the boards that curb it.

A cool spring beside the hotel and another at camp grounds to the southeast have been used for drinking. The other springs have been slightly used for irrigating vegetable patches. The water of one of them, called the Hobo Spring, issues at 111°F/44°C, which is the highest that was observed in this group. An old bathhouse at the westernmost spring was apparently little used.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $35 day pass Th & Fr, $40 SaSu & holidays. Plus one member of the party must have a membership. 1 month membership is $5. Currently (2024), reservations are required for all visits.
Distance: 244 miles, 4 hrs 6 mins





Plumas County

[notable]Feather River Hot Springs / Woody's Feather River Hot Springs

29186 CA Highway 70, Twain, Plumas County
Temp: 99°F at the source
Temp: 95-98°F at the tub
Lat./Long.2: 40.019442, -121.033666

For many decades, Woody's Feather River Hot Springs was a popular resort. Since its closure, successor property owner R&R RV Park has continued to make the main tub hot open for public use, with a few sensible rules and very modest fees. (Guests must check in at the RV office.)

On CA 70, about 5 miles west of the CA 89 junction. Look for two big logs in front of an old cabin with a chimney. This is west of a small RV park that is west of a bigger RV park called Crystal Springs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10/person day rate for members of Friends of Feather River Hot Springs, $10/person for nonmembers. Honour-system drop box. Free to guests at R&R RV Park or cabins. Users need to call ahead.
Distance: 245 miles, 4 hrs 18 mins

Marble Hot Springs / Marble Hot Wells

Just south of Marble Hot Springs Road, 4 miles south of Beckwourth, Plumas County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: 161°F/72°C
Lat./Long.2: 39.754669, -120.358847

The hot springs are named after Solomon Marble (1837-1904), who owned the ranch where the springs were first located. Many sources state "He heated his large, two-story home from the steaming spring water, and the house was a popular gathering place for nearby ranchers." In the 1880s, Marble hit hot water in two wells, each with an artesian flow of 175 gallons/660 litres a min., and directed the north well towards the Feather River's Sierra Valley Channels, and into a concrete-lined bathing pit big enough for 10-15 people to soak. Misuse of the area in the 1980s lead the Plumas County Sheriff to declare the structures a nuisance, and they were bulldozed and fenced in.

1915 note3: In Sierra Valley, in the southeastern part of Plumas County, several flowing artesian wells discharge water of unusually high temperature. The most remarkable of these wells are on the Marble ranch, at Kettle post office, where, in 1885 and 1888, two wells, 4 inches in diameter, were sunk about 300 feet / 90 metres apart to a depth of 350 feet/100 metres. Each of these wells discharges about 175 gallons/660 litres a minute of scalding water, the recorded temperatures being 156°F/69°C and 161°F/72°C.

A third well, 450 feet / 140 metres west of the other two, was sunk to a depth of 450 feet/135 metres, at which depth the drill encountered "quartz", possibly bedrock. The well did not yield a large flow. In 1909, its discharge was about 1 gallon/4 litres a minute, and the temperature of the water was 125°F/52°C. About 1,050 feet / 320 metres north of the northernmost well is a spring that formerly yielded hot water, but its flow and temperature were reduced by a well, since abandoned, that was sunk a short distance north of it. When this spring was visited, it formed a pool from which there was a flow of perhaps 3 gallons/11 litres a minute. The highest temperature recorded in it was 87°F/31°C.

Water from the two principal wells is used for domestic supply and for irrigation. Baths have been provided, and they are occasionally used for relieving rheumatism, but, when visited in 1909, no attempt had been made to develop the property as a bathing resort. About 6 miles/10 km southeast of the Marble wells is another hot well, but its flow is smaller, and the temperature of its water is lower. Several other flowing wells that yield warm water are situated along a belt that extends for several miles/km southeastward.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 258 miles, 4 hrs 35 mins

Indian Valley Hot Springs / Kruger Springs

225 Hot Springs Road, Greenville, Plumas County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS (as of 2022)
Temp: 106°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.141320, -120.935093

1915 note3: At the upper end of Indian Valley in Plumas County, in meadowland a mile east of Greenville, there is a thermal spring that has been known as Kruger Spring since the late eighties [RM: 1880s]. During the more prosperous days of mining in this region, it was extensively patronized as a bathing place. Of late years, however, the bathhouse has not been kept in repair, and it has not been open to the public. In 1909, about 1 gallon/4 litres a minute of water at 94°F/34°C flowed from a board-curbed pool in the bathhouse. Both temperature and yield could probably be increased by sinking a well casing into the spring. A few bubbles of gas rise in the pool, but the water has no distinctive taste or odor.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 261 miles, 4 hrs 40 mins

[notable]Drakesbad Guest Ranch in Mt. Lassen National Park / Drake Hot Springs

12856 Warner Valley Road, Chester, Plumas County
Temp: 151°F/66°C at the source
Lat./Long.2: 40.443862, -121.403676

(See also Shasta County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

Guest ranch operated by park concessionaire Ortega National Parks d/b/a Lassen Lodging.

Upscale but rustic all-inclusive lodging. Seasonal, open only early June to early Oct. Very popular and often booked as far as 2 years in advance. Drakesbad consists of a historic lodge, dining hall, cabins, hot spring fed pool, recreational lake, and trail system nestled in a beautiful meadow in Warner Valley with views of Mt. Harkness and Flatiron Ridge. Note: The swimming pool is heated naturally by nearby Drake Hot Springs (40.438767, -121.409298) on the south side of Hot Springs Creek, within adjoining Lasen Volcanic National Park.

1915 note3: Drake Hot Springs issue along the side of Hot Springs Valley about 1 ½ miles/2 km east of Devil's Kitchen. For many years the property has been a camping resort and within recent years accommodations for guests have been provided during the summer months. The springs are scattered for a distance of 300 feet / 90 metres or more, mainly along the slope on the south side of Warner Creek, but one of the principal springs, which yields about 3 gallons/11 litres a minute of water 128°F/53°C in temperature, issues from a seam in rock at the south edge of the creek. In 1910, a small bathhouse and a wooden tank that was used as a plunge bath were supplied with hot water from three springs 120 or 150 feet / 35 or 45 metres south of the creek. These springs yield a total of perhaps 15 gallons/57 litres a minute, at temperatures of 123°F/51°C, 146°F/63°C, and 148°F/64°C.

Links:

Season: summer (June - Oct)
Cost: Included with stay at the resort, $147/day and up, all-inclusive
Distance: 283 miles, 5 hrs 22 mins

Little Hot Springs Valley

Hot Springs Creek, 1 mile west of Drakesbad, Plumas County
Lassen Volcanic National Park, Plumas County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 83°F/28°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1
Lat./Long.2: 40.44, -121.42 (approx.)

(See also Shasta County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 305 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins

Devils Kitchen (Plumas County)

Lassen Volcanic National Park, Plumas County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 207°F/97°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.440420, -121.432989

(See also Shasta County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

1915 note3: At the head of Hot Spring Valley is an area called the Devil's Kitchen, in which the lava has been extensively altered by solfataric action in a way similar to that observed at the Bumpass and the Soupan springs. The Kitchen differs somewhat in position from these other hot springs, however, as it is in the bottom of the stream canyon and is bordered by cliff-like walls. Numerous bubbling and sputtering pools form "paint pots" and mud cones over the bottom, which is about 600 feet / 180 metres across, and is in many places floored by a treacherous crust that overlies scalding mud. Steam issues from many large vents around the border of the area, and, in cool weather, the clouds of vapor make an interesting and unusual sight.

In 1910, the water from springs in Devils Kitchen had not been made use of, but, as the place is easily accessible from Hot Springs Valley, it was visited by camping parties as a place of scenic interest.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 283 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins

Terminal Geyser / The Geyser

Lassen Volcanic National Park, Plumas County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: "boiling"
Lat./Long.2: 40.421435, -121.377196

(See also Shasta County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

Technically, this is not a geyser, but rather a geothermal feature created by a cold stream flowing over a steam vent.

1915 note3: In a ravine about 2 ½ miles/4 km southeast of Tartarus Lake, there is an actively boiling pool locally known as The Geyser. A main pool, about 25 feet/7.5 metres in diameter, is situated at the base of steep slopes, and in July 1910, the water was continually thrown to a height of 1 to 3 feet (30 cm to 1 metre) from a vent in its northern part. From the main pool the water overflowed into another, somewhat smaller pool, in the center of which there was a distinct upward current and from which the overflow escaped down the ravine. In the center of a third pool or basin, about 30 feet / 9 metres south of the main pool, there was also a distinct upward current, and from this pool a stream of 2 or 3 gallons (7 or 11 litres) a minute overflowed. Although the main spring was in very active ebullition, it also discharged only 2 or 3 gallons (7 or 11 litres) a minute, and nearly all its water apparently came from two hot springs in the boulder-strewn drainage channel, on the slope 30 or 45 feet / 9 or 13 metres northwest of it.

It is said that, during the 1870s, the main spring cast water to a height of 10 feet/3 metres or more, and was more truly geyser-like in action. Residents in the region say that its energy has been gradually diminishing, and has noticeably decreased within the last few years. Information is not at hand, however, regarding the influence of the seasons on its action, or the extent to which its vent has been choked by rocks thrown into the pool.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 281 miles, 5 hrs 10 mins

Boiling Springs Lake / Tartarus Lake

Lassen Volcanic National Park, Plumas County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 190°F/88°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.435862, -121.396532

(See also Shasta County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

Name refers to temperature of the boiling springs entering the lake, on its west side. The lake itself is merely quite warm. Park Service now forbids bathing in the lake or pools. Also, there is danger of scalding.

1915 note3: About 1 mile east of south from Drake Hot Springs lies a shallow, oval pond, approximately 525 feet long and 300 feet wide (160 metres long and 90 metres wide), that is known as Tartarus Lake. An overflow channel leads northwestward from it, but, in the summer of 1910, this channel carried no water. A number of mud pools or "paint pots" on its northern and northwestern border were in sluggish action, and at its southeastern end were sputtering and steaming vents with temperatures of 170°F/77°C.

Although the surface of the lake was apparently quiescent, the water was turbid and slightly yellow in color, probably from sulphur in suspension. It was said that, two years previous, the lake was vigorously bubbling throughout nearly its whole extent. During the season of greatest run-off, the lake receives the drainage from the surrounding slopes, and then overflows, but ordinarily contains only a small amount of water. The water, like that of several other hot springs in areas of solfataric action in the region, tastes astringent, and probably contains an unusually large amount of aluminum and sulphate.

The lake lies in a small depression surrounded by moderate slopes, beside a trail that leads from Willow Lake northwestward to Drake Hot Springs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 282 miles, 5 hrs 20 mins





Santa Barbara County

[notable]Gaviota Hot Springs / Las Cruces Hot Springs / Sulphur Springs

Gaviota State Park, US-101 / CA Route 1 split north of Gaviota, Santa Barbara County
Temp: 90°F/32°C to 100°F/38°C, depending on season
Lat./Long.2: 34.502485, -120.218480

Exit US-101 northbound at Lompoc / Vandenberg AFB exit, turn right then immediate second right. Take dirt road all the way to the end. Pay $2 parking fee, and it's a clearly marked ½ mile hike to the three hot spring pools, of which the farthest is largest and deepest, and also less murky/muddy. Beware of poison oak crowding the trails, and there are ticks. At some times of year, midges may be breeding in the pools and adjoining Los Canovas Creek.

There are two ponds. A natural, murky hot spring in a pleasant canyon with substantial vegetation, less than a mile off US-101. A 0.75 mile/1.2 km trail takes you to the spring. Despite its murky appearance, this hot spring provides a great soak. Surrounding vegetation makes you feel like you're in a jungle, and keeps the location cool. The main pool is fed by a small natural hot spring, which maintains about 100°F/38°C. The water overflows from this smaller pool as a waterfall into a larger pool, which is about 80°F/27°C. This lower pool is less appealing, due to moss and algae growth plus large amounts of leaves and other vegetation falling into it. So far, the hot spring has been kept clean and free of trash, thanks no doubt in large part to hardworking park rangers. The spring is open only during daylight hours, since the parking lot closes at dusk.

1915 note3: Las Cruces Hot Springs issue on a hillside, about 18 miles/29 km west of San Marcos Hot Springs and 4 miles/6 km northward from Gaviota railroad station on the coast. Four warm springs here furnish about 50 gallons/190 litres a minute of mildly sulphureted water, and, in two of the springs, inflammable gas rises. A ledge of calcareous material back of the largest springs probably has been formed by deposition from the water. In 1908, there was a bathhouse at the largest spring, and the place was occasionally visited by campers. The topographic position of the springs is worthy of note, as they are in a little swale on the mountain side ½ mile from and 400 feet/120 metres above the main drainage canyon of this region. Thick-bedded sandstone here dips about 30° SW, and strikes nearly in the direction of steepest slope.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: park admission
Distance: 279 miles, 4 hrs 6 mins

[notable]Big Caliente / Agua Caliente Spring / San Marcos Hot Springs / Mountain Glen Hot Springs

Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County
Temp: 118°F/48°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.539080, -119.564629

Outdoor concrete-box tub, changing rooms, toilets. Depending on storm/flood damage, there may also be two primitive creek-side pools, just upstream.

From US-101 in Santa Barbara, take CA Route 154/San Marcos Pass Road six miles to the summit of San Marcos Pass, exiting right onto Forest Route 5N12.4/East Camino Cielo, and follow this road for a distance of about 23 miles via Forest Route SN20, Forest Route 5N18.2/Santa Ynez River Road, Forest Route 5N15.2/Romero Camuesa Road, and Forest Route 5N15.1/Romero Camuesa Road past Mono Campground (approximately 5 miles) to Pendola Guard Station. Just beyond the station, turn left (north) onto Forest Route 5N16/Big Caliente Road, and follow this road approximately 3 miles/5 km to the hot springs.

Camping is available a few miles/km down the canyon in Forest Service campgrounds, and 3 miles/5 km away in state/county campgrounds. The springs and surrounding area are on National Forest Service lands. Because of road washouts, landslides, and other reasons, forest roads are often gated off and offlimits to motorised vehicles (including e-bikes), so check with the Forest Service, which also offers a helpful Interactive Visitor Map, before assuming. Also, be aware that roads other than Camino Cielo are unpaved.

As of 2024, this approach entails over 20 somewhat hilly miles of travel each way over dirt roads offlimits to motor vehicles, so, realistically, you'll be camp hiking, horseriding, or riding an OHV or mountain bike.

1915 note3: San Marcos Hot Springs, which are sometimes referred to as Mountain Glen Hot Springs, are situated about 20 miles by road northwest of Santa Barbara, in a deep, brushy stream canyon. Warm sulphureted water rises at about six places in this locality, for a distance of 450 feet / 140 metres, in the bed of the creek and along its sides. Bathing pools have been excavated and the place is frequently visited by campers, who find good camp grounds about a thousand feet / about 300 metres below the springs. As at the Montecito springs, the country rock is sandstone, which here dips about 30° E.

A fault, that has been traced through the valley of Santa Ynez River, passes a few miles/km north of these springs.

Links:

Season: year-round, 6am to 10pm
Cost: free
Distance: 313 miles, 5 hrs 54 mins

[notable]Little Caliente

Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County
Temp: 98°F/37°C to 115°F/46°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.540568, -119.619421

Three tubs with stone walls.

From US-101 in Santa Barbara, take CA Route 154/San Marcos Pass Road six miles to the summit of San Marcos Pass, exiting right onto Forest Route 5N12.4/East Camino Cielo, and follow this road for a distance of about 23 miles via Forest Route SN20, Forest Route 5N18.2/Santa Ynez River Road, Forest Route 5N15.2/Romero Camuesa Road, and Forest Route 5N15.1/Romero Camuesa Road to Mono Campground (approximately 5 miles). From there, it's a short walk on Forest Route 5N15B/Little Caliente Road to the springs. Three soaking pools nestled on the side of a mountain ravine.

As of 2024, this approach entails over 20 somewhat hilly miles of travel each way over dirt roads offlimits to motor vehicles, so, realistically, you'll be camp hiking, horseriding, or riding an OHV or mountain bike.

Other, shorter paths are possible on foot, horse, or mountain bike, such as: From Cold Spring Trailhead at 811 E. Mountain Dr., Montecito, take 26W10 Cold Spring trail uphill, crossing Forest Route 5N12.4/East Camino Cielo at Cold Spring Saddle, and continuing downhill, passing Forbush Camp and crossing Santa Ynez River, to trail's end at Forest Route 5N15.2/Romero Camuesa Road, turning left, proceeding past Mono Campground (road becomes Forest Route 5N15.1/Romero Camuesa Road), and continuing to turn right onto Forest Route 5N15B/Little Caliente Road to the springs. This is about 8 miles/13 km each way. (Big Caliente is 5 mile/8 km further.)

The springs and surrounding area are on National Forest Service lands. Because of road washouts, landslides, and other reasons, forest roads are often gated off and offlimits to motorised vehicles (including e-bikes), so check with the Forest Service, which also offers a helpful Interactive Visitor Map, before assuming. Also, be aware that roads other than Camino Cielo are unpaved.

Links:

Season: year-round, 6am to 10pm
Cost: free
Distance: 305 miles, 5 hrs 19 mins

[notable]Montecito Hot Springs / Santa Barbara Hot Springs

N. of Montecito in Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County
Temp: 111°F/44°C to 118°F/48°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.463080, -119.639007 springs
Lat./Long.2: 34.449183, -119.645867 parking lot (8 spaces)

There were handbuilt soaking pools that were entirely wrecked by the winter storms of January 2023. A/o late 2024, I assume/infer this has been done.

Site is about 2 miles/3 km of hiking into Hot Spring Canyon from the trailhead at 1217 E. Mountain Dr., Montecito. (Parking is scarce, especially on weekends.)

At the first fork in the trail, stay to your left. At the second fork, stay left again. At the third fork, stay to your right. After you pass the hotel ruins destroyed by the 1964 Coyote Fire (you'll see a Montecito Creek Water Co. sign about water conservation, and begin to smell sulfur), take the left at the 4th fork in the trail. You'll cross a small riverbed, and then, just a bit after this, the hot springs will be off to your left.

1915 note3: Montecito Hot Springs are situated about 5 miles/8 km northeast of Santa Barbara, in a canyon on the steep mountain side. At this place, 11 separate springs may be counted, which issue from seams in thick-bedded sandstone at the upper boundary of an area of shale that geologically overlies the sandstone. These springs range in observed temperature from 111°F/44°C to 118°F/48°C, and in discharge from about 2 to 10 gallons (7 to 38 litres) a minute. The total yield is probably not far from 50 gallons/190 litres a minute. All of the springs are mildly sulphureted, and seem to be otherwise of similar mineral character.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 305 miles, 5 hrs 20 mins

Boron Spring

2000 Cravens Lane, Carpinteria/Toro Canyon, Santa Barbara County
Temp: 72°F/22°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 34.423, -119.538 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 310 miles, 5 hrs 15 mins





Madera County

[notable]Iva Bell Hot Springs / Fish Creek Hot Spring

Madera County
Temp: 110°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.531616, -119.025416

Near Iva Bell Campground. Two-day 12-mile each way, challenging hike from Red's Meadow Campground, Devils Postpile National Monument, eastern Sierra Nevada. Start at the Rainbow Falls trail head, then take Fish Creek Trail. Serious mosquito problem, all summer. You will need a wilderness permit. During high season, there is a quota. Sometimes, trails are closed; make sure your chosen route's trail is open.

1915 note3: At the head of the Fish Valley, and 3 or 4 miles (5 or 6 km) eastward from a carbonated spring in this valley, are two warm springs and a subsidiary seepages on the mountain side. The springs yield only small flow, are not near a main trail, and have not often been visited.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 279 miles, 5 hrs 45 mins to trailhead

Red's Meadow Hot Spring

Just past Devil's Postpile National Monument, Madera County
Status: OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 120°F/49°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.618061, -119.073190

Near Devil's Postpile, off CA Route 203 near Red's Meadow Campground. Developed hot spring, rumoured to have been closed by the Forest Service for health reasons.

1915 note3: On the eastern side of the meadow, several small thermal springs issue. A bathing pool has been made at the largest spring, 120°F/49°C. The pool is excavated in a small deposit of lime carbonate, formed at the spring.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 279 miles, 5 hrs 45 mins to campground





Mono County

[notable]Fales Hot Springs / Fales Hot Ditch / Fales Outflow

Northwest of Bridgeport, Mono County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS, but see note
Temp: "Extremely hot" at source.
Lat./Long.2: 38.348000, -119.400002 (private hot spring)
Lat./Long.2: 38.352935, -119.405196 (outflow pool)

Closed, though there's a pool ("Fales Outflow") where the hot ditch crosses US Route 395 that apparently can still be used — with the proviso that water may have cooled too much by that point, and algae and ticks have been reported. Pool reported as 90°F/32°C in July. Fales Hot Springs itself is a hot ditch running just west of US Route 395, north of Bridgeport, on private property, and lately signposted no trespassing.

The historic resort, which (again) is off-limits, was built in 1869 by Archibald Samuel ("Sam") Fales and his brother Tom. Sam operated the resort until 1933, when he died at age 104. In 1940, Ralph Reed purchased the site and continued its operation until 1952, when the two-story lodge exploded and burned, despite which, the business continued. Newer owners made changes, and the current (2024) owners purchased it in 2003 with hopes of reopening, which has not transpired.

1915 note3: Fales Hot Springs are about 13 miles/21 km northwest of Bridgeport, on the main road to Minden, Nev. In 1908 there was a stage station and road house at the place, and plunge and tub baths were provided for use of the water. The place was too inaccessible to have become much of a resort, but during the summer months it was visited by campers. The hot water rises along the bed of a small creek that has been dammed to form a bathing pool and to keep the water at a comfortable temperature, for in the main group the temperature ranges from 129°F/54°C to 141°F/61°C. Measurements indicated that the total discharge was about 300 gallons/1130 litres a minute. Much gas, probably carbon dioxide, rises with the water, which is too hard for use in laundry work.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 293 miles, 5 hrs 9 mins

[notable]Wild Willie's Spring / Wild Willy's Spring / Crowley Hot Springs / Crowly

Off Whitmore Tubs Road near Benton Crossing Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 95°F/35°C, 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.661054, -118.767800

Located in Long Valley by Mammoth Lakes; near the also-popular Hilltop Hot Springs. Turn east from Route 395 onto Benton Crossing Road (there is a little green church on the corner). Travel east ~2.5 miles/4 km to reach two cattle guards. To reach the hot springs, turn right just past the second cattle guard (you would keep going to reach Hilltop Hot Springs), then keep left whenever there are forks. After about a mile is a parking area with a sign and a wooden boardwalk leading to the concrete tubs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 368 miles, 6 hrs 28 mins

[notable]Hilltop Hot Springs/ Hill Top Hot Springs / Pulkey's Pool Hot Spring / Hot Tub Hot Springs / The Tub

Near Benton Crossing Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 130°F/54°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.663952, -118.789691

A beautiful stone and concrete pool with extremely hot water that is piped with an adjustable valve in the Hot Creek Geothermal Area. Take US Route 395 south to Benton Crossing Road (Green Church). Turn left, and go about 2.5 miles/4 km, past two cattle guard crossings. Just past the second cattle guard, you will go down a moderate hill. At the bottom of the hill, turn left onto a dirt road and follow it, staying to the right, for about 900 feet/270 metres to a well-marked dirt parking area. The tub is just about 100 feet/30 metres on top of the small hill in front of you.

Alternate directions: Located in Long Valley by Mammoth Lakes; near the also-popular Hilltop Hot Springs. Turn east from Route 395 onto Benton Crossing Road (there is a little green church on the corner). Travel east ~2.5 miles/4 km to reach two cattle guards. Cross both, and keep going straight down the hill past the cattle guards marking the road to Wild Willy's Hot Spring. Turn left onto the dirt road. The road gets quite near the spring at times, but the ground you must cross can be muddy, so look for any good spot to reach the white, flat mineral deposit marking the location of the spring.

Camping is permitted.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 12 mins

[notable]Alkali Lake Hot Spring

Off Benton Crossing Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 118°F in the bathtub
Temp: 110°F in the concrete-lined tub
Lat./Long.2: 37.669839, -118.782814

Water from a single source feeds both a bathtub and a small, shallow, concrete-lined tub. The site is owned by Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP), and subject to its rules.

Going east on Benton Crossing Road from US Route 395, go 0.8 miles/1 km past the turnoff to Hilltop Hot Spring, to turn left (or just park) at a faint, short dirt road heading left. The dirt road goes a short distance to a parking lot next to alkaline lake "Warm Lake". Park and walk west 300 feet to the spring.

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 12 mins

[notable]The Rock Tub / The Rock Circle / The Hot Tub

Whitmore Tubs Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 100.3°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.6465203,-118.8093483

Small tub built into a rocky hillside, holds four in comfort, fed by a PVC plastic pipe from a nearby source. A short walk from a parking area. Meadow and mountain view.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 12 mins

Hot Creek Geological Site / Hot Creek Springs / Hot Creek Gorge

Hot Creek Hatchery Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: "boiling"
Lat./Long.2: 37.660353, -118.828091

U.S. Forest Service-managed site with hot springs and geysers, and pools of bright blue, deadly boiling water. Dangerous and fenced off since 2006, and yet still kills people who ignore the warning signs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: your life
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 12 mins

[notable]Crab Cooker Hot Springs / Ken's Tub

Off Whitmore Tubs Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 120°F/49°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.662383, -118.800711

Starting at the US Route 395 east turn onto Benton Crossing Road at the Green Church, pass Animal Control on the left, a swimming pool (Whitmore Pool) on the right, then take the next left on a dirt road. Drive 1.7 miles. As the road curves left, take a right on the dirt road heading south. Drive just under ½ mile, take a left onto another dirt road, which will wind north through a small canyon, then veer east at parking.

An extremely hot concrete pool with room for 5-8, in a boggy meadow in the Hot Creek Geothermal Area. Caution: Source water at the valve is 120°F/49°C, thus potentially dangerous. Fill tub, then let it cool. Beautiful view of the Hot Creek area.

Land is owned by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). No facilities. Limited parking at the trailhead.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 12 mins

Fleur-de-Lys Hot Springs

Off Whitmore Tubs Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 37.664073, -118.798297 (approx.)

Until about 1999, this was a concrete and rock pool just east (down valley) of Crab Cooker Hot Springs Pool, the same source as the Crab Cooker, and had a small cold source to cool the pool. LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which owns the land, ordered it destroyed.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 12 mins

[notable]Shepard's Hot Springs / Shepherd Hot Spring

Off Whitmore Tubs Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 106°F/41°C to 110°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.666561, -118.802943

Starting at the US Route 395 east turn onto Benton Crossing Road at the Green Church, pass Animal Control on the left, a swimming pool (Whitmore Pool) on the right, then take the next left on a dirt road. Drive 2 miles, then take a turn to the right. At about ½ mile, road will end at the hot spring.

Masonry pool fed by a spring 50 feet/15 metres uphill, delivered by a pipe.

Site is owned by Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP), and subject to its rules.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 367 miles, 6 hrs 45 mins

[notable]Whitmore Tub / Whitmore Hot Spring / Whitmore Springs

904 Benton Crossing Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 167°F/75°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.629048, -118.810325

Starting at the US Route 395 east turn onto Benton Crossing Road at the Green Church, pass Animal Control on the left, a swimming pool (Whitmore Pool) on the right. Right behind Whitmore Pool (accessible for a small fee on private land) is Whitmore Tub.

1915 note3: In Long Valley, 3 miles/5 km west of Owens River and about 7 miles/11 km south of east of Casa Diablo Springs, there are two oblong pools a few feet (about a metre) apart and 40 feet/12 metres long in which warm water rises and from which it flows to a shallow pond called Whitmore Tub. A maximum temperature of 100°F/38°C was recorded in the pools, and the discharge measured was about 450 gallons/1700 litres a minute. Much dark-green algous growth lines the pools and the discharge channels, and small snails live in the water.

The springs rise in a flat, salt-grass area about 300 feet/90 metres south of the base of lava hills and 45 or 60 feet (15 or 20 metres) west of a 6-foot/2-metre terrace-like bank that drops eastward toward the river. At two places along the edge of this bank, springs that have about equal flows of 8 gallons/30 litres a minute issue at 74°F/23°C and 100°/38°C.

Other similar springs rise about 3 miles/5 km farther north in the valley, and form a small meadow.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 364 miles, 6 hrs 13 min

[notable]Little Hot Creek Springs / Little Hot Creek / Siphon

Antelope Spring Rd., Inyo National Forest, near Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 180°F/82°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.685479, -118.813407

Little Hot Creek Springs is less visited than the other springs, but has tubs and allows camping.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 363 miles, 6 hrs 45 mins

Casa Diablo Hot Springs and Geyser

Substation Rd., Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 199°F/93°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.645772, -118.916487

Casa Diablo Geothermal Field is now used to power a geothermal plant, but once included a geyser that was a tourist stop. The plant area is now fenced, and off-limits to the public.

1915 note3: In the southwestern part of Mono County, near the base of the Sierra, hot water rises at several localities. The principal group, known as Casa Diablo Hot Springs, is situated on lava slopes bordering Hot Creek, about 200 feet/60 metres above open meadow land and at the base of steeper slopes of lava. One main spring here forms a pool about 15 feet/4.5 metres in diameter, in which the water is in violent ebullition and is thrown to a height of 12 to 18 inches. The discharge is only about 15 gallons/57 litres a minute, however, so the vigorous action is probably due largely to steam or other gas. Near the edge of the pool, 194°F/90°C was recorded, which is only about 4°F below the boiling point at this elevation (about 7,350 feet/2,240 metres), and the water is probably at the boiling point in the center of the pool. The water is rendered very turbid by pink clay. Small amounts of vapor rise in half a dozen small pits that have been dug a few feet south of this pool.

At a distance of 180 to 300 feet (55 to 90 metres) north of the main pool, there are a dozen or more pools 2 or 3 feet (about a metre) in diameter in which observed temperatures range from 115°F/46°C to 187°F/86°C. They discharge from ½ gallon/2 litres to 5 gallons/19 litres a minute each, and the water forms a small marshy area, at the edge of which a small bathhouse has been erected. A log cabin has stood nearby for a number of years, for the springs have long been visited by white people as well as by the Indians for relief in rheumatic and kindred troubles. Other small hot vents about 150 to 225 feet (45 to 70 metres) northeast of the bathhouse supply a shallow pool that discharges perhaps 5 gallons/19 litres a minute. ¼ mile northeast of these springs, there is still another group that supplies a pool measuring about 60 by 180 feet (20 by 55 metres), and that discharges 15 gallons/57 litres of scalding water a minute. In this pool, the water rises mainly from a conical basin. A small pit in the bank near its margin forms a "paint pot" in which pink mud is kept in motion by bubbles of steam or other gas. In this material, 198°F/92°C (probably the boiling point) was recorded.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 358 miles, 6 hrs 35 mins

Casa Diablo Hot Pool

1785 Hot Creek Hatchery Road, Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 165°F/74°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.646995, -118.843600

It's difficult to find accurate online information about this facility, as practically all search results concern (adjoining and closely related) Casa Diablo Hot Springs, which, as noted separately, has long been repurposed as a geothermal power plant. I have no good fix for this problem. Suffice to say, this entry concerns the heated water from that spring that flows immediately downstream (and east) from the cited (and off-limits) geothermal facility.

1915 note3: About 3 ½ miles/6 km east of Casa Diablo Hot Springs there is a shallow pool, measuring about 90 by 105 feet (30 by 32 metres), which may be called Casa Diablo Hot Pool. In November, 1908, this pool was not overflowing, though there was a small, well-defined outlet channel from it toward Hot Creek. Over nearly its entire bottom were numerous vents in which water bubbled and in several of which, near the margin, temperatures of 120°F/49°C to 180°F/82°C were recorded.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 362 miles, 6 hrs 35 mins

Hot Spring Northeast of Casa Diablo Hot Springs

Mono County
Temp: "scalding"
Lat./Long.2: 37.707344, -118.868353 (approx.)

1915 note3: About 5 miles/8 km northeast of Casa Diablo Hot Springs, there is a pool, apparently of considerable depth, in which the water has a scalding temperature and is mildly sulphureted. It is not so active as the more southern springs, though it is similar to them in character.

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 363 miles, 6 hrs 32 mins

Chance Spring

Three Flags Hwy. (US Route 395), Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Temp: 73°F/23°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.639467, -118.897194 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 359 miles, 6 hrs 35 mins

Dehy Hot Spring

Owens River Road, near Mammoth Lakes, Mono County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: 134°F/57°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.677, -118.79 (approx.)

Unfortunately, LA Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP) objected to the set of tubs periodically created by volunteer locals on their land near the county landfill, and has torn them down every time the volunteers created them, over a period of decades. It might be worth checking, but LADWP has in the past been active in destroying them.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 368 miles, 6 hrs 45 mins

[notable]Benton Hot Springs

55137 CA Route 120, Benton, Mono County
Temp: 134°F/57°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.802157, -118.529788

Near the intersection of CA Route 120 and CA Route6, on CA Route 120, Old House and Inn at Benton Hot Springs has seven rooms in the 1940s hotel, two private historic houses with private hot tubs, and 10 private tub sites for day and overnight use. There are also tent camping and RV sites.

Red spider mites are confirmed to be a nuisance, here.

1915 note3: About 900 feet (270 metres) northwest of the store and post office at Benton, at the base of slopes that border an area of meadowland, is a spring that forms a shallow pool approximately 10 feet/3 metres in diameter in which the water has an observed temperature of 135°F/57°C. A temperature of 138°F/59°C was recorded in this spring in 1876 by the Wheeler Survey (U. S. Geog. Surveys W. 100th Mer., 1876, p. 196), where it is stated that the temperature is considered to vary 5°F/3°C.

In the Eighth Report of the California State Mining Bureau, 1888, pp. 356 and 357, temperatures of 135.5°F/57.5°C in 1870 and 134.6°F/57°C in 1888 are recorded. It's furnished a supply of water for the town for domestic and irrigation uses since the sixties [RM: 1860s], and, in the early days, also furnished power for a small stamp mill. Its discharge is approximately 400 gallons/1500 litres a minute. The water, as it rises, effervesces with a gas that is probably carbon dioxide. A small amount of an efflorescent salt — probably Epsom salt — forms near the margin of the pool.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10/hr from 11am-4pm, reservations required
Distance: 397 miles, 6 hrs 58 mins

Bertrand Ranch Springs

Benton, Mono County
Temp: 70°F/21°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 37.888, -118.487 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 388 miles, 7 hrs 5 mins

Big Hot Spring

Bridgeport, Mono County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS. Reported closed 2002-06-05
Temp: 95°F/35°C to 110°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.233640, -119.223225

Big Hot is on private land about a mile south of Travertine, and now closed to the public. Access was via a gate 1.1 miles/2 km south of Bridgeport on the east side of the road. There were several large pools. Further development around 2000 dried up the source, and a house has been built over the original well.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 309 miles, 5 hrs 27 min

[notable]The Hot Spring

Bridgeport, Mono County
Temp: 70°F/21°C to 105°/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.223633, -119.214113

1915 note3: About 1 ½ miles/2 km south of Bridgeport are other hot springs that have formed noteworthy deposits of lime carbonate. At this locality, there are about 20 pools, ranging in diameter from about 10 inches (25 cm) to 30 feet (9 metres), that are scattered for a distance of 1050 feet/320 metres along a terrace that borders a small creek. Much gas, which is probably carbon dioxide, rises; but the total visible flow of the springs is only about 25 gallons/95 litres a minute. Temperatures of 70°F/21°C to 105°/41°C were observed in the various pools. In addition to the present pools, there are a number of low mounds that are evidently extinct springs. In 1908, the springs at this place were unused, and apparently had not at any time been improved for bathing or other purposes.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 309 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins

[notable]Buckeye Hot Springs

Bridgeport, Mono County
Temp: 140°F/60°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.240002, -119.331906

Three pools flow alongside Buckeye creek from a source on the steep grassy hillside.

Just north of downtown Bridgeport, turn south on Twin Lakes Road, at the Shell fuel station. This road leads into fields, and turns towards the mountains. Follow Twin Lakes Road over 7 miles/11 km, and turn in at Doc and Al's Camp and Cabin resort. There is a campground and store to the right. Stay left, and the dirt road crosses a creek continuing north along the hillside. After 3 miles/5 km, the road will cross another creek, revealing a large open parking lot. Take the right fork just up the hill, and park immediately at a small but well-used parking area. Several small trails run down the hillside to the springs. The springs are on the side of a steep cliff, where the water cascades into pools.

1915 note3: Buckeye Hot Spring is about 5 miles/8 km south of west from Bridgeport and on the north bank of Buckeye Creek, a mile above the mouth of its canyon and 40 feet/12 metres above the stream. The water issues at 140°F/60°C, and perhaps 25 gallons/95 litres a minute flows down to the creek over a large dome-like overhanging deposit of lime carbonate. In 1908, a part of the water was conducted across the creek in a small trough to a cabin, in which there were two wooden bathtubs; but apparently the place was not often visited.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 308 miles, 5 hrs 37 mins

Warm Springs between Bridgeport and Bodie

Mono County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 38.235544, -119.114327 (approx.)

1915 note3: In the mountainous region between Bridgeport and Bodie, thermal water rises in Warm Spring Flat, but no information is at hand concerning either its temperature or its discharge. The springs are thought to be relatively small and unimportant, however, and they are probably used only as watering places for range stock. Another warm spring issues near Mormon Creek, 1 ½ miles southeast of Warm Spring Flat. It is worthy of note that Fales Hot Springs, the hot springs near Bridgeport, and the springs in Warm Spring Flat and on Mormon Creek lie in a direct line that, if extended southeastward, would pass 8 miles/13 km north of the Mono Basin Warm Springs.

Season: free
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 316 miles, 6 hrs

Navy Beach Hot Spring

Mono Lake, near Lee Vining, Mono County
Status: OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 95°F/35°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.940724, -119.015158

South shore of Mono Lake, part of Tufa Reserve, just off CA Route 120. The spring is ¼ mile west of the parking lot. Around 2000, state health authorities decided to enact a ban on further visits because of high E. coli count and possibility of Naegleria fowleri amoebae in the water, and rangers now enforce the ban.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 339 miles, 6 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Paoha Island Hot Spring

Mono Lake, near Lee Vining, Mono County
Temp: 170°F/77°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.993047, -119.035281 island
Lat./Long.: 38.027510, -119.096861 Black Point

Island (in low water, a peninsula) in Mono Lake. Spring is extremely hot, and you'll need to go considerably downstream of the source. Hot springs are reportedly somewhere on the south side.

1915 note3: Along the eastern front of the Sierra, there are other groups of hot springs whose existence seems to be closely related to lavas of recent geologic age. One of the northernmost of these groups is on the east side of Hot Spring Cove, on Paoha Island in Mono Lake.

(Because of the hot springs, an Indian term "pa-oh-ha" meaning "spirits of the mist", was applied to the island by Prof. I. C. Russell in The Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California: U.S. Geol. Survey Eighth Ann. Rept. ,pt. 1, p. 279, 1889.)

The western part of the island is covered with lake sediments, but the eastern part is formed of black lava, and, on its most southeastern point, vapor and small amounts of hot water issue from numerous crevices. One spring, which is 170°F/77°C and discharges about 15 gallons/57 litres a minute, was observed, close to the water's edge.

Links:

Season: Paoha and Negit Islands are off-limits April 1 to August 1, while gulls are nesting there. Nearest mainland location is Black Point, Mono Lake Park turnoff east from US Route 395, 1 mile/1.5 km south of Mono City. Kayak or canoe 3 miles to Paoha Island from there.

Cost: free
Distance: 310 miles, 6 hrs 21 mins to Black Point

[notable]Mono Basin Warm Springs

Mono County
Temp: 88°F/31°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.018940, -118.904245 (approx.)

This is a collection of small warm-water seeps feeding a small pool near Mono Lake's eastern shore, adjacent to the historic Bodie & Benton Railroad right-of-way, which can be seen from timber ties left in place, when the tracks were removed in 1918. From Lee Vining, drive north 7 miles/11 km to turn right (east) on CA Route 167/Pope Line Road, proceeding 12 miles/19 km to turn right (south) onto a small dirt road with a marker for the historic railroad, proceeding 6.2 miles/10 km, to turn onto a right fork, crossing a cattle gate. Proceed ½ mile/0.8 km to the springs, adjoining Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve: This drive requires (beyond CA Route 167) a 4WD vehicle, otherwise you are likely to get stuck in loose sand, along the dirt approach road.

There are no nearby services of any kind. Bring what you need.

1915 note3: In 1881, Russell visited Mono Basin Warm Springs, which then rose in Mono Lake, a short distance from its eastern edge, and were occasionally used for bathing. Springs also rise from tufa domes in the lake.

Season: any time but summer, on account of weather
Cost: n/a
Distance: 344 miles, 6 hrs 30 mins





Shasta County

Bumpass Hot Springs / Bumpass Hell

Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shasta County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 198°F/92°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.457772, -121.501945

(See also Plumas County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

1915 note3: Bumpass Hot Springs are situated on the side of Lassen Peak, about 0.9 miles/1.4 km by trail northward from Morgan Hot Springs. They consist of numerous pools of hot water, some of them in vigorous ebullition and rendered turbid by mud, and others less active but turbid with sulphur in suspension. Some pools contain acid or astringent water which is usually turbid with clay. The position of the vents and the activity of the discharge change from time to time and seem to be influenced to a large extent by the surface supply of water, for the springs themselves yield a relatively small amount. In November, 1909, the stream running from them, which is a branch of Mill Creek, carried perhaps 200 gallons/750 litres a minute at a time when the adjacent slopes were covered with snow. In the following July it carried perhaps half as much, though melting patches of snow still covered parts of the near-by slopes. On the earlier date there was a pond 60 feet/18 metres across, at whose edge was a large vent, from which muddy water was being thrown to a height of 10 feet/3 metres, but in the summer this pond was nearly drained and the active spring had subsided to a sputtering pool.

The area covered by the springs and vents of Bumpass Hot Springs — or Bumpass Hell, as it is locally called —is only about 600 feet (180 metres) long and 300 feet (90 metres) wide, but the rock for some distance surrounding the active area has been altered to a white, siliceous material by acid water and solfataric vapors. About 900 feet/270 metres downstream from the main area there is an area perhaps 150 feet/45 metres in diameter where also the rock has been greatly altered. When visited vapor still escaped from numerous small vents, and needles of sulphur crystallized at their orifices, but no water was flowing from them.

In 1910, the springs were occasionally visited as a natural curiosity, but the mineralized waters were not used for bathing or for other purposes. The Lassen Peak region is rapidly becoming a summer vacation ground, however, both because of the excellent fishing in its numerous streams and small lakes and because of its scenic features, and Bumpass Hot Springs will probably become a favorite objective point for outing parties from camps on the lower slopes. (See PL XI.) As these springs are only 3 miles/5 km from the craters formed in June, 1914, their character probably has also been changed.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: n/a
Distance: 275 miles, 4 hrs 35 mins

Boiling Springs Lake (and several other features)

Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shasta County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 125°F/52°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.435321, -121.397829

(See also Plumas County, for other Lassen Park geothermal features.)

Accessed from the Warner Valley trailhead, this short hike leads to a bubbling lake with a temperature of the lake around 125°F/52°C. Mudpots and steam vents line part of the shore and drainage creeks. Be careful to stay on clearly marked trails in this area as the ground around the lake is unstable; travel in these areas may result in severe injury.

Other geothermal areas in Lassen Volcanic National Park (none safe or legal to soak in) within Shasta County are: Pilot Pinnacle, Sulphur Works (formerly named Soupan Hot Springs or Tophet Hot Springs), Terminal Geyser, and Cold Boiling Lake.

Drake Hot Springs (Plumas County) is also in Lassen Volcanic National Park, and can be indirectly experienced (in a spring-fed swimming pool) via Drakesbad Guest Ranch (which see). Other hot geothermal areas (none safe or legal to soak in) within Lassen Volcanic National Park inside Plumas County boundaries are Little Hot Springs Valley, Devils Kitchen.

There is also a cold geothermal lake, Cold Boiling Lake (so-called because of cold geothermal outgassing apparent within it). The park's two southernmost hot geothermal features, Morgan Hot Springs and Growler Hot Springs (both off-limits on private land) are described under Sierra County.

1915 note3: Soupan Hot Springs [RM: later renamed Sulphur Works] are about 2 ½ miles/4 km directly west of Bumpass Hot Springs, on the western side of the main canyon of Mill Creek, which is separated from the Bumpass Springs by a divide only about 100 feet/30 metres high. The springs yield a small amount of hot water similar in character to that of the Bumpass springs but are of interest chiefly because of the neighboring deposits of sulphur. These deposits were at one time prospected and the pits are still locally known as the "sulphur works", but they were never worked on a commercial scale and have long been abandoned.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: n/a
Distance: 282 miles, 4 hours 20 mins (to nearby Warner Valley Campground)

[notable]Big Bend Hot Springs / Lahlahpismah Hot Springs

196 Hot Springs Road, Big Bend, Shasta County
Temp: 180°F/82°C, 170°F/77°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.022503, -121.919804

Developed but primitive facility, hot tubs, natural pools beside the Pit River. Camping / RV hookups / cabins. As of 2024, the Web site showed this facility as still closed for ongoing renovation work required by Shasta County since 2007, but its status is a little uncertain and could reopen any time.

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: In the northeastern part of California hot springs, seemingly related to lava flows and possibly also to local faulting that has not yet been recognized, issue at a number of places. Such springs rise along the course of Pit River, the lowermost noteworthy locality being at Big Bend near Henderson post office, where hot water issues at numerous places for a distance of about 1050 feet/320 metres along the southern bank of the river.

Near the eastern end of this zone, on a gravel bluff about 45 feet/13 metres from the river's edge, a bathhouse containing several tubs and vapor chambers has been built over one of the largest springs. The temperature of the water of this spring is 180°F/82°C and the discharge is perhaps 25 gallons/95 litres a minute. Another spring that yields perhaps 8 gallons/30 litres a minute, of water 170°F/77°C emerges at the south side of the bathhouse.

These springs were formerly on the northern bank of a creek that entered the river near this point, but, about 1897, to protect the springs, the discharge of the creek was diverted by a ditch that was cut several feet to the east. The stream has deepened this ditch to a steep-sided gully, in the bed of which, hot water forms pools at two places, and near its mouth a stream of hot water that discharges perhaps 8 gallons/30 litres a minute issues from the gravel bluff halfway down its side.

At places about 255 and 450 to 525 feet (80 and 140 to 160 metres) west of the bathhouse, small amounts of warm water issue near or below high-water mark, and along the lower 195 feet/60 metres of the zone of hot springs, water with observed temperatures of 100°F/38°C to 165°F/74°C, and flows of 4 to 10 gallons (15 to 38 litres) a minute, issues in at least six places. The water is not noticeably sulphureted, and, as it is hard, probably contains a rather large amount of calcium.

The upper and lower groups of springs issue from the gravel that borders the river, but the warm seepages between them issue from a porphyritic quartz diorite, that appears to be intruded into the old sediments of the locality.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: TBD
Distance: 300 miles, 5 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Hunt Hot Springs

Big Bend, Cascade Range, Shasta County
Temp: 136°F/58°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.033829, -121.931730

50 miles NE of Redding. CA Route 299 about 35 miles to Big Bend Road. (Exit is for the town of Big Bend.) Turn north (left) onto Big Bend Road, and follow it about 17 miles to Big Bend. After you reach the general store in Big Bend, drive across the Pit River Bridge. After 0.8 miles, Forest Route 3702 turns to the right and merges with Forest Route 11. Follow Forest Route 11 until you reach the "T" intersection where Forest Route 11 branches to the left on a bridge over Kosk Creek heading towards McCloud. Park on the near side of the bridge, walking into the cow pasture, and walk downstream along Kosk Creek, staying on the trail that hugs the creek. Hunt will be just past a sandy bluff, on the creek's edge.

A steep trail just behind Hunt (optionally) crosses a hlll and descends to Kosk Creek Hot Springs, again near Kosk Creek.

Lawful access by river is also an option.

Several hot springs emerge from a hill near Kosk Creek's juncture with Pit River. The output of some goes to fill a large concrete tub, which is is generally about 102°F/39°C, and there are smaller ones nearby. This is a fairly remote location at the end of a poorly maintained road, yet is well known. Weekdays are a good bet. It's best to bring a bucket or other container to mix in cool creek water.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 302 miles, 5 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Kosk Creek Hot Springs / Kosk Hot Springs

Big Bend, Cascade Range, Shasta County
Temp: 104°F/42°C at the source.
Temp: 100°F/38°C. at the pool
Lat./Long.2: 41.032226, -121.9319567 (approx.)

Immediately (0.25 mi.) downstream of Hunt Hot Springs. A large concrete and rock pool is immediately adjacent to the creek.

Over a hill from Hunt Hot Springs is a tiny, two-person rock pool called Kosk Hot Springs, built by volunteers. The pool is warmed by 104°F/42°C water. Don't drive the road when it's wet.

About 55 miles east of Redding. (See directions for Hunt Hot Springs.)

Lawful access by river is also an option.

1915 note3: About 2 miles/3 km north of Big Bend Hot Springs, two or three other thermal springs rise along the bed of Kosk Creek. One of these flows into a small rock basin, and is occasionally used for bathing. In general character, the springs seem to be similar to the largo group on Pit River, but their waters are not so hot and their discharges not nearly so large.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 302 miles, 5 hrs 20 mins





Inyo County

[notable]Travertine Hot Spring and Molly's Pool

Four pools on a hilltop, two miles / three km south of Bridgeport, Inyo County
Temp: 120°F/49°C at source, tubs are about 98°F/37°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.245885, -119.205342

Molly's Pool is a fourth, two-person tub a ways down from the other two. From the lower pools, face downhill towards the valley. On your left, several hundred feet / a hundred metres away, is travertine rock ridge. Head towards that ridge, and find a decent place to climb up on top of it. On the other side, you'll see a small valley with a dirt road, and one telephone pole. Head towards the telephone pole, and you might run into it, after walking a several hundred feet / a hundred metres to maybe 1000 feet / 300 metres (depending on where you crossed the ridge). If you get to the pole, look back up hill, and you should see it.

Red spider mites are confirmed to be a nuisance, here.

1915 note3: A much more noteworthy group of hot springs, similar in character to those just described, is found about 1 ½ miles southeast from Bridgeport, on hilly slopes of andesitic lava, 200 to 300 feet (60 to 90 metres) above the valley. The locality of special interest is an area of gently sloping ground, approximately 1050 feet/320 metres in diameter, that lies at the base of steeper slopes and includes a number of prominent ridges of banded onyx marble or travertine, 1.5 to 15 feet (40 cm to 4.5 metres) high and of somewhat greater thicknesses, that tend to radiate from a central point. Each of the better-developed ridges is cut longitudinally by a vertical crevice, and the banding of the travertine, which is stained various shades of red and yellow, is seen at several places to be also vertical. On the outside of several of the ridges dull-brown lime carbonate has formed but in nearly horizontal layers. It has apparently been deposited where the water has flowed out over the ridges.

At two points near these ridges, small springs, with temperatures of 121°F/49°C and 148°F/64°C, rise in pools about 3 and 10 feet (1 to 3 metres) in diameter. Water from the larger pool has been used to some extent for bathing in a small house nearby. A third spring issues from a longitudinal crevice in the top of one of the ridges. Its temperature is also 148°F/64°C, and its flow is perhaps one gallon/4 litres a minute.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 306 miles, 5 hrs 16 mins

Dechambeau Ranch Hot Spring

Mono City, Inyo County
Temp: 151°F/66°C
Lat./Long.2: 38.047447, -119.081466

Reported as of 2003 to be unattractive / dirty.

North side of Mono Lake, northeast of Black Point. Go along Cemetery Road until you cross Mill Creek, then turn left at the fork and travel 4.5 miles/7 km, until you reach a three-way fork. Take the centre fork, and park near a small cabin on the right. The fenced concrete tub is extremely hot, and should not be touched. Instead, follow the piped water to a smaller bathing pond.

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 331 miles, 5 hrs 52 mins

Bainter Spring

1.5 mile west of Trona Wildrose Road, Valley Wells, Inyo County
Temp: 92°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.842614, -117.383588
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 398 miles, 6 hr 45 mins

[notable]Keough's Hot Springs / Keough Radium Hot Spring

898 Keough Hot Springs Road, Bishop, Owens Valley, Inyo County
Temp: 130°F/54°C at source, 90°F/32°C in pools
Lat./Long.2: 37.253673, -118.373228

"Modular retreat" (mobile home), tent cabins, tents, RV parking. 100 feet x 40 feet large pool, 15 feet x 40 feet hot pool, both using fresh mineral water.

1915 note3: At the base of the Sierra about 8 miles/13 km south of Bishop, a spring of considerable flow utilized for domestic supply and also for dipping sheep is about 130°F/54°C. Like the springs farther north, in Long Valley, its water has no distinctive taste nor odor, and is probably mineralized in only small amount.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10 day pass
Distance: 397 miles, 6 hrs 45 mins

[notable]Keough Hot Ditch

Bishop, Owens Valley, Inyo County
Temp: 92°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.324550, -118.384113

About half a mile down the road from Keough's Hot Springs, alongside a ¼ mile stretch of US Route 395. There are several pools. Better in the evenings when there is more flow from Keough's Hot Springs, upstream. Be very careful not to let hot spring water from Keough's Hot Springs up your nose (or mouth) and thereby up your sinuses, on account of Naegleria fowleri amoebae that can cause potentially fatal infection.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 397 miles, 6 hrs 45 mins

Shoshone Hot Spring

Next to Shoshone RV Park, 22 CA Route 178, Shoshone, Inyo County
Temp: 100°F/38°C to 105°F/41°C, and 95°F/35°C (two pools)
Lat./Long.2: 35.980137, -116.273524

Death Valley RV part / camp site, with a hot spring feeding a swimming style pool. Shoshone Inn is nearby.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: no day use of the pool is permitted, but free if you stay at the inn or RV park
Distance: 511 miles, 7 hrs 51 mins

Chappo Spring

5 mi. E. of Shoshone, Inyo County
Temp: 80°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 35.947756, -116.189984
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 518 miles, 8 hrs 40 mins

[notable]Delight's Hot Springs Resort

368 Tecopa Hot Springs Road branching onto Elias Way, Tecopa (Mojave Desert), Inyo County
Temp: 108°F/42°C, 109°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.875539, -116.227043

Cabins and motel rooms, RV park. 4 individual private hot spring pools, with showers — two enclosed, two open-air. Massage offered.

1915 note3: About 2 miles north of Tecopa railroad station, two hot springs issue on alkaline slopes that border the eastern side of an alkaline marsh along Amargosa River. The springs rise in pits that have been dug about 30 feet/9 metres apart, and their combined flow is about 225 gallons/850 litres a minute. The observed temperatures were 108°F/42°C and 109°F/43°C. Near the springs are heavy alkaline deposits of soda and common salt, and the water tastes noticeably, though not disagreeably, of the alkalies. In 1908, the water was piped to a railroad watering tank half a mile westward. It has also been used, to some extent, for bathing at a pool near the springs.

The water issues at the southwest base of a steep hill of quartzite that dips about 15° NE.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10-$15 day pass
Distance: 509 miles, 7 hrs 51 mins

Tecopa Hot Springs Resort

105 Tecopa Hot Springs Road, Tecopa (Mohave Desert), Inyo County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 35.889885, -116.245315

Cabins, motel rooms, tent camping, RVs. Soaking tubs in the motel, two private tubs in the bath house, motel has three other tubs. Bistro is favourably reviewed.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $8 day pass (when available)
Distance: 509 miles, 7 hrs 51 mins

[notable]Tecopa Hot Springs / Tecopa County Hot Springs / Tecopa Hot Springs Campground and Pools

860 Tecopa Hot Springs Road, Tecopa (Mohave Desert), Inyo County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 35.872732, -116.231804

Public facility administered for Inyo County by a private corporation. Separate bath houses for men and women. Showering before and nudity are required to avoid contaminating the waters. The hot pool is cement, and of ample size. Several campgrounds are located across the highway.

Delight's Hot Spa, less than a mile away, offers cabins, RV Parking and a few tent spaces. There are five separate bathhouses, first come basis. One is open to the sky. The tubs are large and clean. China Ranch Date Farm is located nearby, and worth the visit.

Red spider mites are confirmed to be a nuisance, here.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $7
Distance: 509 miles, 7 hrs 51 mins

[notable]Saline Valley Hot Springs

Death Valley National Park, Inyo County
Temp: 98°F/37°C to 112°F/44°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.813023, -117.765978

Palm Spring (36.812198, -117.765592) and Lower Warm Springs (36.805773, -117.773102) are about 300 feet/90 metres apart, both just off the south side of S. Warm Springs Road. There is also an Upper Warm Springs near, but I don't have its coordinates. The only facilities at the nearby campground are a vault toilet, a shower, and a dishwashing sink. Road is said to be very sketchy (40 mi. of dirt washboard), and has destroyed many tires. 4WD and high clearance are recommended.

Caution: Driving to/from any Saline Valley location requires careful wilderness precautions, as these are remote, challenging places reachable only via questionable roads. There is no cellular reception, drinking water, or food. Accordingly, it's highly recommended to have extra food and water, a well-checked spare tire, and tire pump. Some would recommend bringing a satellite telephone, too.

1915 note3: There are a few thermal springs of minor importance in the desert region of eastern California. One of these springs is at the northeast side of Saline Valley, about 25 miles/40 km in a direct line east of Independence. It yields a small flow, and its water is not of high temperature. There are several cool springs a short distance westward from it and also to the southeast that form watering places in this part of the desert.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free (not counting entrance fee for the national park)
Distance: 493 miles, 10 hrs 2 mins

Grapevine Springs / Staininger Ranch Springs

Death Valley National Park, Inyo County
Temp: 100°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 37.026088, -117.383976

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 508 miles, 8 hrs 50 mins

Keane Wonder Spring

Death Valley National Park, Inyo County
Temp: 93°F/34°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.673907, -116.928192

From the parking area, a 1.2 mile trail reaches the outlet of Keane Spring, and a nearby collection tank. A 2021 visit report (below) said the source has a serious algae problem.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 486 miles, 8 hrs 25 mins

Dirty Socks Hot Spring / Dirty Sock Hot Spring

Owens Valley east of Olancha, Inyo County
Temp: 93°F/34°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.329727, -117.949495

Unmaintained. Years ago, this was an Inyo County-maintained park. The county eventually let it go, after repeated acts of vandalism. The source is cold for soaking, and there's algae in the pool. Take Death Valley Road / CA Route 190, just south of Olancha, off US Route 395. Proceed 4.7 miles/7.5 km, and turn left/north on the paved road to the springs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 413 miles, 6 hrs 20 mins

Coso Hot Springs / Warm Spring near Little Lake

Gill Station Coso Road, Coso Junction, Inyo County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 207°F/97°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.046393, -117.770264

Now within China Lake Naval Weapons Center.

1915 note3: A small amount of lukewarm, odorless water issues in a spring about 900 feet/270 metres from Little Lake and near the base of a lava bluff 25 or 30 feet (7 or 9 metres) high.

Near the southwest corner of Inyo County there is a group of hot springs that are especially remarkable because of the acid character of their water. They have long been known as Coso Hot Springs, as they are on the eastern slope of the Coso range of mountains. The main group is about 12 miles/19 km east of Haiwee railroad station, and is beside a road that leads eastward to Coso and other mining camps. The rocks of the region are largely granitic, but this material is covered in some places by lava and by lava craters of a recent geologic period of eruption.

At the principal spring, which is in granitic material, in a pit about 50 by 100 feet (15 by 30 metres) in diameter and 10 feet (3 metres) deep, vapor and hot, sour water rise through a white mud that is apparently formed by the decomposition from the rock. In summer the water in this pit is low, but, in winter, as a result of increased condensation and decreased evaporation due to cooler weather, it is nearly half full.

The place has become a camping; resort for people afflicted with rheumatism, which is said to be relieved by baths in the hot mud. Bathing pits are dug in the cooler mud near the spring and the material is worked up to the desired consistency. Close to the main spring is an area of steam vents, about 75 by 150 feet (23 by 45 metres) across, which contains several pools that furnish clear water for washing and cooking. This area also furnishes sufficient heat for cooking, kettles containing food being placed in shallow pits, covered with sacks, and allowed to remain until the food is done.

Another area of hot vapors and mud in a ravine northwest of the main spring has been filed on as a placer claim for mining medicinal mud. The material at this place is somewhat finer in texture than it is at the main spring.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 403 miles, 6 hrs 40 mins

Devil's Kitchen (Inyo County)

Inyo County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 207°F/97°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.036, -117.802 (approx.)

Fumerole. Part of the Coso Hot Springs complex resulting from the Coso stratovolcano, about a mile west of the hot springs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 402 miles, 6 hrs 26 mins

Fumarole

Coso Volcanic Field, Inyo County
Status: NO SOAKING
Temp: 203°F/95°C
Lat./Long.2: 36.031, -117.833 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 395 miles, 6 hrs 27 mins

Warm Spring in Panamint Valley

Inyo County
Temp: "tepid": Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 36.136942, -117.222545 (approx.)

About 4 miles/6 km north of Ballarat, on the eastern edge of Panamint Valley, is a spring similar to the one in Saline Valley. Its water is tepid and is noticeably sulfureted, and its yield is only about 40 barrels a day (1 gallon/4 litres a minute). It forms a small watering place on a road leading northward from Ballarat.

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 427 miles, 7 hrs 30 mins





Lassen County

High Rock Spring / High Rock Springs / Highrock Spring

High Rock Road, Stacy, Lassen County
Temp: 86°F/30°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 40.245, -120.007 (approx.)

Developed in the 1920s, manually drilling a 300 feet/90 metres water tunnel to increase flow.

1915 note3: A large thermal spring rises on the Highrock ranch, about 10 miles/16 km south of east from Amedee. Its water is used for domestic supply and for irrigation, and the spring forms a convenient watering place on the road between Honey Lake Valley and Reno, Nev. Measurements in 1909 showed its flow to be about 525 gallons/2,000 litres a minute and 86°F/30°C. In 1882, Russell reported it to be 100°F/38°C, but it's doubtful whether such a marked reduction has really taken place. The water doesn't have a distinctive alkaline taste, but is said to rust tinned-iron vessels quickly. The spring rises at the edge of Honey Lake Valley, from basaltic lava that forms the hills to the east.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 316 miles, 6 hrs

Bassett Hot Spring

2.5 miles NE of Bieber, Lassen County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 174°F/79°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.145165, -121.113283

1915 note3: About 2 ½ miles/4 km north of east from Bieber, in Big Valley, is a hot spring that has been improved and for a number of years has been used for bathing, and, as the place was formerly owned by a Mr. Bassett, it is locally known as Bassett Hot Spring. The water rises at 173°F/78°C from a fissure in tuffaceous sandstone, that is exposed in a small depression 6 or 8 feet (2 or 3 metres) below the normal valley level.

A pool about 60 by 120 feet (20 by 40 metres) across is formed here, and from it the water flows into another somewhat smaller pool. It is further cooled before reaching bathtubs in a building a few feet beyond, by flowing in open wooden troughs. The total flow is approximately 175 gallons/660 litres a minute.

The water is used for irrigating a vegetable garden nearby, and boxes of earth that contain tomato and other tender plants are kept on the low tuffaceous ridge at the spring and are thus prevented from freezing.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 339 miles, 5 hrs 40 mins

Stonebreaker Hot Springs

3 mi. SE of Bieber, Lassen County
Temp: 165°F/74°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.097665, -121.034777 (approx.)

1915 note3: About 3 ½ miles/6 km southeast of Bassett Hot Spring, a number of hot pools and springs rise near the southeast edge of Big Valley, in meadow land that formerly belonged to a Mr. Stonebreaker. Six pools and springs were counted in a belt extending for 825 feet/250 metres in a southerly direction, and between 705 and 1050 feet (215 and 320 metres) east of the southernmost of these are four other hot pools. The highest temperature recorded was 165°F/74°C, and the total flow, which comes mainly from the hottest spring, is about 125 gallons/45 litres a minute. In 1909, there was a small bathhouse at one spring; a large warm pool was also occasionally used for bathing, and a hot one was employed for scalding hogs. The water has been used to some extent, half a mile or more away, for garden irrigation.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 345 miles, 6 hrs

Hot Spring

Just south of Wendel Road, Wendel, Lassen County
Temp: 204°F/96°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.364, -120.243 (approx.)
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 324 miles, 5 hrs 45 mins

Wendel Hot Springs / Shaffer Hot Springs / Branbecks Hot Springs

Just south of Antola Road, Wendel, Lassen County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 205°F/96°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.355311, -120.256583

Seems to have been turned into geothermal power plant Wineagle Power Project, designed by Barber-Nichols Engineering Co. and operated by Wineagle Developers.

1915 note3: In Honey Lake valley, there are two large groups of hot springs, one, the more interesting, near Hot Springs railroad station, and the other near Amedee. At the former locality, near the northeastern side of Honey Lake, a belt of calcareous tufa extends from the base of steep slopes that border the valley near the railroad station southwestward for nearly half a mile. The continuity of the surface exposure of the material is then broken, but the course of the deposit is marked for two-thirds of a mile farther by prominent crags and knolls of the material that rise in meadow and salt-grass land that extends to the lake.

Seepage springs rise at several points along the middle part of this tufa belt, but the springs of chief interest issue beyond its most lakeward outcrop. They are not known locally by a definite name, but as they were referred to in 1882 by Russell as Shaffer Hot Springs, this name is here used.

The principal spring rises with vigorous ebullition in a pool about 30 feet (9 metres) in diameter and 1 or 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) deep. The water was formerly thrown up to a height of 3 or 4 feet (about a metre), but this action has been partially stopped by stones that have been cast into the pool. A temperature several degrees above boiling has been claimed for this spring, but 204°F/96°C, near the center of the pool, was the highest temperature recorded. This is the same temperature at which water boiled in a bucket over a fire near the spring, and is practically the calculated boiling point for this elevation (3,975 feet/1200 metres). A bathhouse that extended over a part of the pool was in 1909 used as a vapor bath.

In 1882, Russell estimated the flow of this spring to be 100 cubic feet (2.8 cubic metres) a minute (748 gallons/2,831 litres a minute), but, in September, 1909, the average of three float measurements indicated a discharge of only about 175 gallons/660 litres a minute. It does not seem probable that this great difference is due to error in measurement, and it is believed to show that the flow has actually decreased, possibly because of the partial choking of the vent with stones. Two other hot springs that discharge about 65 and 10 gallons (245 and 38 litres) a minute, respectively, and 6 or more hot pools that have no surface outflow, are formed in the nearly level salt-grass area in a distance of about 375 feet/115 metres southwest of the main spring.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 338 miles, 5 hrs 38 mins

Amedee Hot Springs / Brubeck Springs

Lassen County
Status: REPURPOSED
Temp: 203°F/95°C
Lat./Long.2: 40.300772, -120.196073

Site of a 1880s resort, abandoned about 1901, and redeveloped in 1984 by Matti Ripatti and California Hydro Systems as a geothermal plant.

1915 note: The second group of hot springs in Honey Lake Valley is about 5 miles/8 km southeast of Shaffer Hot Springs, near Amedee depot (450 feet/135 metres SW). The land here is alluvial and slopes very gently westward toward Honey Lake.

Scalding water forms several groups of shallow pools, mainly at six places in a belt about 1,800 feet/550 metres long that trends nearly southward, but ⅓ of a mile. 30° W. (magnetic) from the southernmost of these main groups another hot spring forms a pool in salt-grass land, and hot water probably rises at other places still farther toward the lake. 172°F/78°C to 204°F/96°C (practically the boiling point at this elevation, 4,000 feet/1200 metres) was noted in the several springs, and the total discharge of hot water as measured by the flow of six run-off streams is about 700 gallons/2,650 litres a minute. In 1909, the springs had not been improved to great extent, but there was a small bathhouse beside the railroad, near one of the largest groups of springs. At the southernmost of the main groups there was also an old bathhouse, and water from one of the northernmost springs was used in preparing sheep dip. At the Amedee Hotel a shallow well 240 feet/75 metres east of the nearest springs supplied water at 134°F/57°C for kitchen use.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 332 miles, 6 hrs

Kellog Hot Springs

Susanville Road, Leonard, Lassen County
Temp: 172°F/78°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.126000, -121.025135
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 344 miles, 5 hrs 50 mins





Ventura County

[notable]Sespe Hot Springs

Sespe Wilderness Area, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County
Temp: 130°F/54°C at source, 105°F/41°C in pool
Lat./Long.2: 34.594631, -118.998655 springs
Lat./Long.2: 34.630172, -119.045933 trailhead

Access via a 5 mile arduous downhill hike from Mutau Flat, off Lockwood Valley Road and Grade Valley Road in Los Padres National Forest (but this may require crossing Sespe River on foot, raising the risk of flash floods). There is also a motorcycle trail from the north. Be alert for the danger of forest fires, and of flash floods along Sespe River. Very remote area, and you will need a US Forest Service permit, if camping.

Red spider mites are confirmed to be a nuisance, here.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 320 miles, 5 hrs 12 min to trailhead

[notable]Willett Hot Springs / Willet Hot Springs

Sespe Wilderness Area, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County
Temp: 99°F/37°C to 102°F/39°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.575637, -119.05146 springs
Lat./Long.2: 34.549196, -119.166445 trailhead

Take CA Route 33 to Rose Valley Road east to Middle Lion Campground. Hike the Sespe River Trail 9 miles/14 km, to Willet Camp, then 6/10 of a mile / 1 km west and slightly north to the hot springs.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free (but you must pay for a National Forest Adventure Pass to park at a USFS trailhead)
Distance: 325 miles, 5 hrs 19 minutes to trailhead

[notable]Wheeler Hot Springs / Ojai Hot Springs / Matilija Hot Spring / Vickers Hot Springs / Stingleys Hot Springs

North of Ojai, Ventura County
Temp: 103°F/39°C, 95°F/35°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.484181, -119.306583

This is a cluster of multiple (named) spring sources on both sides of Matilija Canyon. Vicker's Hot Springs is possibly inside the property owned and controlled by Gunnar Lovelace and Sean Goddard's non-profit organization CFC Land, Inc. d/b/a Ecotopia. Stingley's Hot Springs is reported to also be on posted private property, surrounded by cabins. Probably, others are in US Forest Service (Los Padres National Forest) lands (public property), but, without surveying, all this will be difficult to sort out, and access to any springs that are on public lands is somewhat unclear.

Site of a former historic resort that closed in 1997.

Three pools, the smallest hotter than the other two.

North CA Route 33 from Ojai to Matilija Road on left, winds west for 2 miles / 3 km through Matilija Canyon, park where the road becomes single-lane at a stop sign. Descend left side of road on a steep trail, smell for sulfur.

Irrespective of private property claims, it is possible walking within Matilija Creek's bed to these sites might be lawful public access, if the creek meets California's legal standard for navigability: "capable of being navigated by oar or motor-propelled small craft", or the Federal test, where the waterway "was susceptible to commercial navigation when California became a state."

Red spider mites are confirmed to be a nuisance, here.

1915 note3: Wheeler Hot Springs are situated in the canyon of North Fork of Matilija Creek and are about 2 ½ miles/4 km north from the Matilija Springs. Three warm sulphureted springs rise at Wheelers and the place has been a resort since 1895. The Main Hot Spring, 102°F/39°C, discharges about 35 gal/min / 132 litres/min into a swimming plunge. The other two springs, which are known as Bucket Spring and Genoveva Spring, have observed temps, respectively, of 62°F/17°C and 75°F/24°C. Each yields about ½ gal/min / 2 litres/min of mildly sulphureted water, and forms a drinking pool. A fourth spring, also sulphureted but cool, issues at the side of a small storage reservoir and yields perhaps 5 gal/min / 19 litres/min. In 1908, the improvements at these springs included a hotel and annex, about 35 tent cottages, a dancing floor, and bathing facilities. Electric light was supplied by a small water-power plant.

Matilija Hot Springs are situated about 2 ½ miles/4 km below Vickers Hot Springs and 6 miles/10 km NW of the railroad terminus at Nordhoff. There has been a resort at the springs since about 1890 and improvements have been added until in 1908 there were accommodations for 200 people. At the northern edge of the creek, sulphureted water rises, which is said to have a maximum temp of 116°F/47°C. It is pumped to baths and to a large swimming plunge about 600 feet/180 metres downstream. Two warm sulphur springs, at which there are cemented drinking basins, also issue on opposite sides of the creek near the baths. Each yields about 1 gal/min / 4 litres/min of moderately sulphureted water.

Vickers Hot Springs: In Matilija Canyon, in western Ventura County, the westernmost point of note at which hot waters rise is at Vickers Hot Springs. The water here issues at the northeast edge of the creek from a low bank of stream gravel and crushed shale. A hotel and baths were constructed here in 1873, but the buildings were washed away by high water in the spring of 1884, and when visited in 1908 the place had evidently been abandoned for a number of years. These are said to be the original Matilija Springs.

Stingleys Hot Springs: About ½ mile below Vickers Hot springs, at the southwest edge of the creek on the property of Mr. S.G. Stingley, thermal water also issues. A small pool, in which a temperature of 100°F/38°C was recorded, has here been used for bathing. In connection with the thermal springs of this locality, three small sulphur springs may be mentioned that have temps of 66°F/19°C, 76°F/24°C, and 65°F/18°C. They issue respectively ¼ mile west of Stingleys Hot springs, ⅛ mile northeast of them, and ¾ mile eastward. The first mentioned is a strongly sulphureted pool at the base of the canyon slope and was formerly used as a drinking spring. The second spring issues from a short tunnel in the hillside and yields about 2 gal/min / 8 litres/min of water that furnishes a domestic supply to Mr. Stingley's home. This water rises clear but becomes milky from suspended sulphur after flowing a few feet. The third spring rises in a canyon on the property of Mrs. Gertrude A. Lyons, and is piped to a small resort. (See Lyons Spring.)

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $25 for a two-hour window, with reservation (via Ecotopia)
Distance: 334 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins

Lyons Hot Springs / Nogales Hot Springs

North of Ojai, Ventura County
Status: SUBMERGED
Temp: 65°F/18°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 34.484517, -119.309394 (approx.)

Lyons Hot Springs is just upstream, submerged in the reservoir impounded by Matilija Dam, just upstream from the dam, on the south side of the canyon.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 334 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins

Sulphur Mountain Hot Springs

Just S. of N. Ojai Rd. / CA Route 150, Eastern end of Ojai Valley, Ventura County
Temp: 65°F/19°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 34.426278, -119.095972 (approx.)

1915 note3: In the canyon of Sisar Creek, ¼ mile above (W. of) its junction with Santa Paula Creek, and 6 miles N. of Santa Paula, a summer resort was founded in the late 1890s. The main spring was on the hillside about a thousand feet (about 300 metres) south of the resort grounds, and 150 feet/45 metres above them, fed through a tunnel in a small ravine and yielding about 15 gallons/57 litres a minute of mildly sulfureted water. After storage in a tank, the water supplied a swimming plunge, and also was heated for tub baths.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 349 miles, 5 hrs 40 mins





Siskiyou County

[notable]Hot Springs and Fumeroles on SW slope of Mount Shasta

Siskiyou County
Temp: 183°F/84°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.409285, -122.196335

1915 note3: Vapor and small amounts of hot water rise at two localities near the summit of Mount Shasta. These localities are of relatively little importance as hot springs, but their presence at such an elevation and position is of geologic interest with respect to the mountain, which is a volcano that has become extinct within comparatively recent geologic time. The heat of the water, as at the springs near Lassen Peak, is probably derived from heated lava within the mountain.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 322 miles, 5 hrs 25 mins to South Gate Meadows Trailhead, County Highway A10. (Then, a long uphill hike.)

Stewart Mineral Hot Springs Retreat / Stewart Mineral Springs

4617 Stewart Springs Road, Weed, Siskiyou County
Status: NO LONGER OFFERED
Temp: cold spring, but (was) heated for resort
Lat./Long.2: 41.419720, -122.504178

The former, much beloved Stewart Mineral Springs had: 5 tepees, 4 motel rooms (closes in winter), 6 apartment style units, 4 cabins with kitchenettes, "Wellness Room", and a large A-frame house (for up to 10 people). Camping and RV spots are also available. Bathhouse with 13 private baths, adjacent sauna. Cold mineral springs are piped from the source and heated, for soaking tubs. Bathhouse has 15 individual bathing rooms with old-fashioned tubs and music. Large wood-heated sauna. The bathhouse is surrounded by wide wooden decks overlooking Parks Creek, nice for sunbathing and relaxing.

However:

Some time in the late 2010s, the site reopened as Pneuma Retreat Center, with multiple facilities and overnight accommodations to host private groups, and no more hot springs to soak in. The former Stewart Mineral Hot Springs's bathhouse, sauna, and massage rooms are closed. Unfortunately, there are no mineral baths in any of the rooms. Guests are welcome to sit in ponds down by the creek, which has some level of minerals (albeit lower than earlier use in the baths).

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 326 miles, 5 hrs 9 mins

Bogus Soda Springs

S. of Ager Beswick Road, Siskiyou County
Temp: 76°F/24°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 41.918465, -122.372895
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 359 miles, 5 hrs 55 mins

[notable]Klamath Hot Springs / Shovel Creek Mud Springs

N. of Ager Beswick Road, just W. of Beswick, Siskyou County
Temp: 156°F/69°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.972281, -122.205229

Springs are on south bank of the Klamath River, where Shovel Creek enters the river, upriver from what is now Copco Lake. Around 1887, Josiah and Lile Edson built a large hotel, here, a bath house, fish cleaning house, concrete warm water swimming pool, ice house, smoke house, 6 guest cottages, barns, blacksmith shop, and electrical plant. The hotel burned in 1915, but other buildings still stood, including the guest cabins and ample camping grounds. A dance pavilion (still standing) was built with stones from the burned hotel, and the party went on. Well known people such as Zane Grey and Herbert Hoover, both of whom avid fisherman who also frequented other sections of the Klamath and the Rogue River, signed the guest book. Site is on private property.

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: Klamath Hot Springs form an isolated group near the north-central edge of the State. The springs rise in meadow land that borders Klamath River near the mouth of Shovel Creek and were formerly known as Shovel Creek Mud Springs. The property has been improved as a resort for more than 20 years, and is much visited for the fishing that is afforded by the river, as well as for the benefit derived from the baths. In 1909, the improvements included a two-story stone hotel and four cottages, besides bathing facilities.

Five springs and tule-grown pools are formed by the rise of thermal water in a meadow on the south side of the river, and two other small springs issue near the northern bank of the stream. Three springs on the southern side are those chiefly used. The hottest of these, 152°F/67°C, forms a small drinking spring near the river and about 525 feet/160 metres from the hotel. There is a small bathhouse at another hot spring nearby, and the main bathhouse is 300 feet/90 metres to the southwest, at the border of a tule area. Hot-mud baths and also clear-water baths are here furnished by water that rises in the marshy area.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 370 miles, 6 hrs 15 mins

Sulphur Springs Warm Springs

12-15 mi. south of Happy Camp, Siskiyou County
Temp: 84°F/29°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 41.659305, -123.318960

Near where Lick Creek empties into Elk Creek, a side canyon of Klamath River. Sulphur Springs Campground adjoins the site.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 439 miles, 8 hrs 35 mins





Los Angeles County

Warm Springs in Elizabeth Lake Canyon

Elizabeth Lake Canyon, above Castaic, Los Angeles County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 34.662211, -118.394100 (approx.)

The springs produce five gallons a minute.

1915 note3: In Elizabeth Lake Canyon, about 25 miles/40 km east of the Sespe springs, there is a small group of thermal springs. They are not of high temperature nor notable flow, however, and are seldom visited. The San Andreas fault line is mapped as passing about 8 miles/13 km north of these springs, and its proximity suggests existence of the warm water may be due to subsidiary fracturing of the rocks where it issues.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 327 miles, 5 hrs 30 mins

El Encino Springs / Encino Hot Springs

Los Encinos State Historic Park, 16756 Moorpark St, Encino, Los Angeles County
Temp: 79°F/26°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 34.159862, -118.499170

Recent accounts say the natural spring today feeds a flourishing duck pond.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 349 miles, 5 hrs 50 mins

Bimini Hot Spring / Bimini Baths Hot Springs Well / Bimini Baths

Koreatown, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Status: CAPPED
Temp: 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.070344, -118.290204

Bimini Baths (also, Bimini Hot Springs and Sanitarium; currently Bimini Slough Ecology Park) was a geothermal mineral water public bathhouse and plunge in what is now Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, US — the hot water source having been created accidentally when drillers looks for oil instead struck water at 1,750 feet/530 metres.

It was situated just west of downtown, near Third Street and Vermont Avenue. Bimini Baths contained a natatorium, outdoor swimming pools, swimming plunge, Turkish baths, a medical treatment department, and bottling works. In 1951, a man from Chicago bought the site and announced he'd be turning it into a gymnasium, which possibly never happened, as it became an insurance office, with the many large pools drained and used for storage. The insurance business went bankrupt in 1956, and the site is now Bimini Slough Ecology Park, Mi Joo Peace Church, an auto repair shop, and Bresee Community Center.

1915 note3: In connection with San Luis Hot Spring, two hot-spring resorts on the outskirts of Los Angeles may properly be mentioned here, as they are also unsuccessful oil wells in which flows of warm water were obtained.

Bimini Hot Spring has been improved as a bathing resort, and also as a sanitarium, since about 1903. Tub baths and three large swimming plunges are here provided, and the place is extensively patronized by bathers. A sanitarium hotel nearby is also conducted under the same management. The well is reported to yield 100 gallons/375 litres a minute of water 104°F/40°C. An analysis of the water is tabulated beyond for comparison with that of another warm artesian well of the locality. The primary alkalinity of the water gives it a peculiar soft feeling that has led to the appellation "the velvet baths."

The well is said to have been drilled 1,750 feet/530 metres deep in the sediments of Tertiary age that make up the oil formation of this locality.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 357 miles, 6 hrs

Beverly Hot Springs Spa / Oxford Springs

308 N Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Temp: 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.076606, -118.307723

Full service day spa, open 9am-9pm.

Luxury. Separate men's and women's facilities. Outdoor pools/tubs and indoor hot and cold, sauna pools/tubs. Shiatsu massage, health and beauty treatments.

In 1910, this site got its start when a spring was discovered4 in a wheat field near Beverly and Western, which to this day supplies the spa, producing an amazing quarter-million gallons (950,000 litres) per day, which for a while was bottled under the Angelus Club label as "Wonder Water", with the slogan "Nature's own formula."

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $30 day pass M-Th, $40 FrSaSu & holidays, no in/out, covers sauna and steam rooms in addition to the hot and cold pools. Luxury. Separate men's and women's facilities.
Distance: 357 miles, 5 hrs 51 mins

Radium Sulphur Spring / Hollywood Mineral Springs

Melrose Hill, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Status: CAPPED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 34.083368, -118.307853 (approx.)

Founder G.P. Gehring opened a resort at this site in 1908, claiming its "germicidal and radioactive" waters would cure a large number of ailments. In 1927, the facility was renamed to Hollywood Mineral Springs, and rebuilt with sunken Roman baths lined in mosaic tiles and an on-site bottling plant, but closed for good during the Great Depression.

1915 note3: About 2 miles/3 km northwest of Bimini Hot Spring, a sanitarium was started in 1905, at another unsuccessful oil well. In 1908, the property changed ownership, and improvements were made, consisting of a pumping and heating plant for the water, a number of bathtubs, and offices and rest rooms. The water is claimed to be notably radioactive. In the fall of 1908, it was placed on the local market as a table and medicinal water.

The well at the Radium Sulphur Spring was drilled to a depth of 1,000 feet/300 metres or more, in the oil formation. A strong flow of water was encountered, which was with difficulty shut off, but several years prior to 1908, the well ceased to flow.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 356 miles, 6 hrs

Seminole Hot Springs

La Sierra Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains near Cornell, Los Angeles County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 34.108164, -118.790929

Hot groundwater was discovered here accidentally in 1911, when Ramera Oil Company attempted a wildcat oil bore, instead discovering 116°F water under artesian pressure, at a depth below 2,600 feet. As a pun on the property owner's name, "Simes" (after its owner, William Simes), plus the word "oil", the facility was named Seminole Hot Springs, which started operation as a resort about 1917, and eventually got hot tubs and built cabins. The resort ceased business in 1945, and was redeveloped as Seminole Springs Mobilehome Park in 1959.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 364 miles, 6 hrs

Santa Fe Springs / Fulton Wells Sulphur Hot Springs

Santa Fe Springs, Los Angeles County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.943667, -118.081928 (approx)

In the 1860s, Dr. James E. Fulton bought acreage in what was then Los Nietos township, formerly Manuel Nieto's land grant ranch, and in the process of drilling for water discovered a sulfur hot spring, which he developed as Fulton Wells, with a hotel and bathing facilities. Upon his 1891 death, the Santa Fe Railroad bought the parcel and renamed it, then struck oil starting in 1919. The site was destroyed by well fires in 1928.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 374 miles, 6 hrs 20 mins

White Point Hot Springs

San Pedro, Los Angeles County
Status: SUBMERGED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.714461, -118.317094

A pair of Japanese brothers, Tamiji and Tojuro Tagami, in 1917, opened a facility with a salt-water pool heated by sulfur springs, at the foot of bluffs in San Pedro. Later, their landlord Ramon Sepulveda built a salt-water pool heated by the springs. It's gone, but the hot and sulfurous waters remained in rocky pools along the shoreline. However, as of the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, the source moved offshore and is occasionally re-found by scuba divers.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 385 miles, 6 hrs 30 mins

Alvarado Hot Springs

2286 Lerona Ave., Rowland Heights, Los Angeles County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.975875, -117.887002

Well is now covered by a residence. As late as 1961, the hot springs resort (in La Puente, at a considerable distance from the well) had still been in business, having offered for several decades a bathhouse and therapeutic spa.

Originally, the owner was drilling for oil on Nov. 7 1924 and instead hit hot water at 3,400 feet/1,035 metres and gas at 4,240 feet/1,300 metres. Rancher William P. Alvarado piped the natural gas to his house over a mile away, and exploited the hot water for his resort, using some of the gas to heat a bathhouse.

.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 385 miles, 6 hrs 5 mins





Modoc County

Hot Springs in Little Hot Spring Valley

Modoc County
Temp: 127°F/53°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.230667, -121.406909

1915 note3: About 16 miles/26 km in a direct line, or 27 miles/43 km by road, northwest of Bieber, hot water rises on the eastern side of Little Hot Spring Valley at two points, about 180 feet/55 metres apart, at the base of low basaltic slopes. Much seepage water is added from a strip of marshland, and the resulting stream discharges about 225 gallons/850 litres a minute. In the northern of the two springs, 127°F/53°C was recorded. Its water is used for laundry purposes. At the lower spring, where 170°F/77°C was noted, a hotbed for vegetables has been constructed.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 336 miles, 5 hrs 50 mins

Boyd Spring / Boyd Hot Spring

Modoc County
Temp: 67°F/19°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 40.972972, -121.047800

1915 note3: Boyd Spring is marked on some maps as Boyd Hot Spring, but its recorded temperature in 1909 was only 67°F/19°C. The water has no noticeable taste, and in several respects it seems to be a spring of alluvial artesian origin rather than one whose existence is due to the rock structure. It is mentioned with the hot springs of Surprise Valley, however, because it is to some extent thermal and may have a structural origin. It is situated near the eastern side of Upper Lake, on a gentle greasewood-covered slope. A tule-grown pool has formed here, about 15 by 75 feet/20 metres in dimensions, in which there are many small fish. The discharge flows westward in a sluggish stream of perhaps 1,000 gallons/3,750 litres a minute, though at the point where the stream was measured the current was so slight that its volume could be only roughly approximated. In 1909, it was used for irrigating meadow half a mile or more to the northwest.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 353 miles, 6 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Kelly's Hot Spring

Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS

Near Canby, Modoc County
Temp: 199.5°F/93°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.460522, -120.917648 (approx.)

Former resort, now closed for many decades.

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: Along the upper course of Pit River, hot water rises at several places, most notably at Kelly's Hot Spring, 4 miles/6 km northwest of Canby or 21 miles/34 km west of Alturas. A pool about 36 feet/11 metres in diameter is here formed in a semicircular depression in the alluvium of the northern side of the river valley. In the center of this pool, water rises with such force as to dome up about a foot high.

It is said that the water was formerly thrown to a height of 2 or 3 feet (about a metre), but its action has been subdued by throwing stones into the center of the pool. The water has been locally considered to be several degrees above the boiling point, but 199.5°F/93°C in the pool 6 feet/2 metres from its edge, at a place where the water was 1 foot deep, was the highest measured. Water boils at 204°F/96°C at the elevation of the pool (4,400 feet/1300 metres), and it is probable that it rises with this temperature in the spring. The measured discharge was 325 gallons//1230 litres a minute. The water is used about a thousand feet (about 300 metres) away as a domestic supply and for irrigation. A small area near the spring and between two outflow streams is used for growing tomatoes.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 373 miles, 6 hrs 5 mins

Essex Springs

Just north of CA Route 299, between Canby and Alturas, Modoc County
Temp: 91°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.491920, -120.699989
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 381 miles, 6 hrs 10 mins

[notable]Hot Springs on Hot Creek

Modoc County
Temp: 92°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.566076, -120.807517 (approx.)

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: About 8 miles/13 km north of east from Kelly's Hot Spring, a stream known as Hot Creek is formed by numerous thermal springs that rise on the north side of the valley that borders Pit River. A maximum of 92°F/33°C was recorded here, at the side of a small house used as a laundry and for bathing. The stream, which carries approximately 700 gallons/2,650 litres a minute, irrigates meadow land along its course of a mile to the river. Half a mile northeast of the main group, another spring, at 85°F/29°C and a yield of about 8 gallons/30 litres a minute, has been used to irrigate a potato field.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 385 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

[notable]Warm Spring in Warm Spring Valley

Modoc County
Temp: 81°F/27°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 41.540845, -120.812960 (approx.)

Lawful access by river is a possibility.

1915 note3: About halfway between Kelly's Hot Spring and the springs on Hot Creek, a spring issues in Warm Spring Valley on gentle slopes that border a northern extension of the valley along Pit River. This spring was 81°F/27°C, and its flow was approximately 275 gallons/1,040 litres a minute. The water is employed for domestic uses, as well as for irrigation.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 387 miles, 7 hrs

Warm Springs near Rattlesnake Creek

Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.572476, -120.607168 (approx.)

1915 note3: Warm springs that are similar to those of Hot Creek and Warm Spring Valley issue along the slopes that border Rattlesnake Creek, about 7 miles/11 km above its junction with Pit River, and 8 or 9 miles / 13 or 14 km (by road) northwest of Alturas. They form a small area of natural meadow land, but have not been developed so as to water it efficiently.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 395 miles, 7 hrs

Lunsford Spring

Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.281388, -120.745563 (approx.)

1915 Note: Near the head of Canyon Creek, south of the valley of Pit River, warm springs that are similar in character to those already mentioned in this region are used to irrigate a small amount of land on a ranch.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 368 miles, 6 hrs 24 mins

[notable]West Valley Warm Springs

About 15 mi. SE of Likely, Modoc County
Temp: 90°F/32°C at the source, lukewarm in the small ponds
Lat./Long.2: 41.162401, -120.404939

Not to be confused with nearby West Valley Reservoir Hot Springs.

Two man-made pools made of volcanic rocks. The pools are lukewarm and small.

In downtown Likely, turn east onto Dons Road/County Route 64, which becomes Jess Valley Road/County Route 64, proceeding 2.5 miles to turn right (southeast) onto dirt West Valley Road/County Route 66. Proceed 2.5 miles to a Y, taking the right fork 3.5 miles to turn onto a small dirt road on the left. The spring will be 300' or so ahead.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 396 miles, 7 hrs 10 mins

West Valley Reservoir Hot Springs

About 15 mi. SE of Likely, Modoc County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 130°F at the source
Temp: 110-120deg;F in the ppol
Lat./Long.2: 41.162401, -120.404939

Not to be confused with nearby West Valley Warm Springs.

West Valley Reservoir Hot Springs are located on private land, and the owner closed access to the hot springs. According to officials, a primary reason for the closure was grazing cows dirtying springs. Primitive, except for two small rock ponds.

In downtown Likely, turn east onto Dons Road/County Route 64, which becomes Jess Valley Road/County Route 64, proceeding 6.1 miles to turn right (south) onto Old Blue Lake Road, proceeding 2.4 miles to fork right onto a very rough dirt road (high-clearance 4WD recommended), proceeding 1 mile to the spring, covered by an A-frame shelter, near the east shore of West Valley Reservoir.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 396 miles, 7 hrs 10 mins

Fort Bidwell Hot Spring

Fort Bidwell Indian Reservation, northern Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: 113°F/45°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.861550, -120.158697

Red spider mites are confirmed to be a nuisance, here.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 438 miles, 7 hrs 30 mins

Hot Springs (upper Surprise Valley)

Modoc County
Temp: 208°F/98°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.685488, -120.199091

Hot Springs near Southwest Side of Upper Alkali Lake.

1915 note3: At points about 2 miles/3 km and 3 miles/5 km, respectively, north of Lake City, hot water rises in meadowland that borders Upper Alkali Lake. The quantity of flow and the temperature of the water are rather indefinitely known, as the water rises in tule-grown areas. It has been used mainly for irrigating the meadowland, but the supply could be developed, and more efficiently used by proper ditching.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 424 miles, 7 hrs 15 mins

Hot Springs on East Side of Surprise Valley

Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.618185, -120.030274 (approx.)

1915 note3: Between Upper and Middle lakes, on the east side of Surprise Valley, three small hot springs rise in a small depression on a gentle greasewood-covered slope. The discharge from the springs is increased by seepage from a marshy strip along the overflow, 225 or 300 feet (70 or 90 metres) beyond. In 1909, the water was used for irrigating meadowland and a small vegetable garden.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 429 miles, 7 hrs 30 mins

Hot Springs at East Border of Surprise Valley

Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.619023, -120.050278 (approx.)

1915 note3: One mile west of the hot springs between Upper and Middle lakes near the base of slopes that encroach on the valley, scalding water issues from small vents within a space of 60 feet/20 metres. Corrals and vats have been constructed here, and the water has been used in preparing sheep dip.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 424 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Surprise Valley Hot Springs / Hot Springs on Bidwell Creek

67254 CA Route 299, Cedarville, Modoc County
Temp: 208°F/98°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.532623, -120.078475

Hotel with spring-fed hot-springs tubs for each room.

This is a private, developed resort 5 miles east of Cedarville on CA Route 299, on the right. Tubs not reserved by the hotel's overnight guests can be reserved for an hourly fee, on weekdays only.

1915 note3: In the western part of the United States, there is a large area from which no streams flow to the ocean, and which is therefore called the Great Basin. Many of the mountain ranges and intervening valleys in this area have been formed by extensive faulting, a mode of formation here so common that its result is known as "Basin Range" structure. One of the minor divisions of the Great Basin along the northeast border of California is Surprise Valley, whose formation Russell ascribes to faulting along both sides of the valley, subsidiary faulting having produced its minor features. The hot springs that rise in the valley are considered to furnish confirmatory evidence of its fault origin.

The northernmost of the hot springs that are noteworthy are found at the base of lava slopes on the west side of the canyon of Bidwell Creek, about 1 mile north of Fort Bidwell. From five vents within 18 or 24 feet (5 or 7 metres) of each other, about 75 gallons/280 litres of water a minute is discharged, the highest recorded temperature being 108°F/42°C. In 1909, the water was conducted to a plunge in a small bathhouse, and was also used for irrigation and domestic supply.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: Included in the cost of accommodations, $127/day and up
Distance: 417 miles, 6 hrs 50 mins

Leonard's Hot Spring / Leonards Hot Springs

11 miles northeast of Cedarville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 120°F/49°C - 144°F/62°C at the ponds
Temp: 185deg;F/85°C at the source
` Lat./Long.2: 41.598166, -120.092951

An old deteriorated resort that is on private property and a couple pools that are too hot to soak. Dug-out ditch. Northeastern California in the Surprise Valley. Directly off of a dirt road that may be too muddy when wet.

From Cedarville, travel N. on Surprise Valley Road 5 miles to turn right onto County Route 18. Go 4.5 miles to a right bend that immediately precedes Leonard's Hot Spring, transitioning onto a smaller dirt road on the left, which one takes about 1 mile, crossing a creek, to turn right on a small dirt road, taking it a few hundred feet to the springs.

This is an area a few miles/km out of town, at the base of Hays Canyon Range, where damming of a hot-spring creek created a series of ponds, where at one time there was a resort, whose empty swimming pool and collapsed buildings can still be seen, near the ponds.

Closest to the former resort is West Leonard Spring whose 3'x5' (1 metre by 1.5 metre) pond, the largest, is usually about 110°F/43°C, as it is close to the source. Be very careful of temperature variations. East Leonard Spring lies closer to the hills.

Facilities are primitive, and the site is not often visited, except on weekends.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 421 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Glenn's Hot Spring / Seyferth Hot Spring

Cedarville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: 185°F/85°C at the source, avg. pond temp 120°F/49°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.601097, -120.085899

A second series of ponds created by damming up of a creek of hot spring water near Leonard's Hot Spring. Primitive, except for damming up of the creek.

Access: From Cedarville, take Surprise Valley Road (County Route 1) north 5 miles, turning right (east) onto Fortynine Road (County Route 18), going about 4 miles. Fortynine Road veers slightly right at a intersection with Fortynine Lane, stopping at the remains of Leonard's Hot Spring resort on the right (south). The Glenn's cluster is on the left (north).

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 422 miles, 7 hrs 10 mins

[notable]Chicken Hot Springs

Cedarville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.614768, -120.104555 (approx.)

Local history claims that this spring's name came from early settlers using the source's waters to scald chicken.

Access: From Cedarville, take Surprise Valley Road (County Route 1) north 5 miles, turning right (east) onto Fortynine Road (County Route 18), going about 3.5 miles, turning left onto Fortynine Lane. Proceed 0.8 miles to turn right (east) on a dirt lane, which goes 0.2 mile to several sources comprising Chicken Hot Springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 422 miles, 7 hrs 10 mins

[notable]Applegate Hot Springs / Seyferth Hot Springs

11 miles northeast of Cedarville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: 106°F/41°C - 110°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.614319, -120.105798

Reportedly discovered4 by emigrant Alonzo Delano, on Aug 17, 1849.

This hot spring on a hill along the Applegate Trail portion of the California Trail, near a BLM parking area, is extremely hot, and could be developed into an exciting soaking venue. Source is about 185°F/85°C, forming a creek down the hill, and volunteers have created some pools far enough for water to cool a bit. Unfortunately, the entire site is dominated by, and, shall we say, bountifully fertilised by, a large number of resident cattle. Until the soaking sites get fenced off from bovine visits, you will not want to enter the (heavily dirtied) water.

After driving 5 miles north from Cedarville to turn right (east) onto County Route 18, proceed 4.5 miles to a right bend, and transition (there) onto a small dirt road to the left. Prooceed 1 mile, crossing a creek, and immediately turn right onto another dirt road (high clearance and 4WD recommended), proceeding 1⁄10 mile to the spring.

First link (below) claims Applegate Hot Springs and Chicken Hot Springs are one and the same. I still need to investigate this claim (unique to that source, as far as I am aware).

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 422 miles, 7 hrs 15 mins

[notable]Eagleville Hot Spring / Squaw Bath Hot Springs

25 miles south of Cedarville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: 130°F/54°C at the source, ~110°F/43°C in the pond, ~105°F/41°C in the hot tub
Lat./Long.2: 41.210150, -120.057316

Hot water emerging from the side of the hill is channelised into a small pond and a large stock tank (formerly a redwood tub). Primitive, except for piping of the water into a pond. Starting in Cedarville, go south on Surprise Valley Road 15 miles to Eagleville, then 7.5 miles south to a large turnout on the left. This turnout is immediately south of the 5.5 mile marker. Park here and walk the short but steep trail (less than 150 feet) to the spring. Property owner has posted signs saying access as at owner's discretion; heed all signs.

Location is near the west shore of Lower Lake.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 419 miles, 7 hrs 30 mins

Wild Mint Hot Springs

Cedarville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 106-110°F/41-43°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.203951, -120.050755 (approx.)

Quite close to Eagleville Hot Spring, to the south. This spring is in the form of a concrete box adjoining a hunting club on private property, accessible only to a hunting club.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 419 miles, 7 hrs 30 mins

Hot Spring near East Side of Middle Lake

Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.474104, -120.008049 (approx.)

1915 note3: Near the eastern side of Middle Lake is a hot spring that is said to form a pool 25 feet/7 metres in diameter and 6 feet/2 metres deep. Its flow has been estimated at more than 300 gallons/1,130 litres a minute, and, like the other springs of the valley, it forms a meadow area bordering the lake.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 425 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

Hot Springs at Menlo Baths

4 mi. SSE of Eagleville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: 135°F/57°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.266, -120.08 (approx.)

1915 note3: About 5 miles/8 km south of Eagleville, hot water issues at half a dozen or more places in the gravel of the valley side, in a depression similar to the depressions in which other hot springs in Surprise Valley issue. The water has no appreciable taste or odor. There was formerly a small bathhouse at these springs, and later a dam was constructed that made a swimming pool, but, in 1909, the water was used only to irrigate 30 or 40 acres of meadow and alfalfa.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 431 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

Hot Springs near Southwest Side of Lower Lake

Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 41.228692, -120.068569 (approx.)

1915 note3: Three miles / five km south of the springs just described is another group of hot springs, that are said to irrigate about 160 acres of meadow. The water at this place forms a pool and is considered to be somewhat warmer than that of the springs a few miles/km northward. There are also several small warm springs near the road between these two groups of springs.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 421 miles, 7 hrs 30 mins

[notable]

Surprise Valley Road, 10 mi. S. of Eagleville, Surprise Valley, Modoc County
Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 41.157443, -120.037198 (approx.)

Seems to be on the east fork of Bare Creek, near Surprise Valley Road.

Lawful access by river is also an option.

1915 note3: A small amount of warm water rises in meadowland at the south end of Surprise Valley. This water may rise along a fault zone, as the principal springs of the valley are considered to rise, but it may also be of alluvial artesian character.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 416 miles, 7 hrs 11 mins





Orange County

La Vida Hot Springs

Carbon Canyon Road @ La Vida Road (dirt; aka "Lavida"), Brea, Orange County
Status: CAPPED FOR NOW
Temp: 110°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.939696, -117.790065

Originating as a stagecoach stop in the 1880s, La Vida Hot Springs was transformed into an active resort in 1902, adding a 12-room hotel in 1924, a restaurant cafe, an indoor stage and outdoor amphitheater, indoor bath houses and massage rooms, and two outdoor swimming pools. The site was destroyed by a 1988 cooking fire, the restaurant cafe lasting until January 2001 when longtime owner Donald L. Hines died, but all structures have now been demolished. After crossing Carbon Creek, via the somewhat tilting historic bridge, look for the two sources in a ravine running behind the resort's still-extant cement water tank.

At this writing (2024), the 35.96 acre raw site is offered for sale.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 398 miles, 6 hrs 45 mins

Fairview Hot Springs

Costa Mesa, Orange County
Status: LOST TO SUBURBIA
Temp: 96°F/36°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.668675, -117.918879

1887's Fairview Hotel at the present-day intersection of Merrimac Way and Harbor Boulevard was a three-story luxury hotel with a 60' x 100' swimming pool at the hot springs. All trace of the establishment and the hot springs vanished by the 1950s. A 2020 posting to soakersforum.com says water flow ceased "long ago" following a 1918 earthquake.

1915 note3: In coastal plain south of Santa Ana. This was originally a natural flow. Casing was sunk to 700' to make an artesian well. In 1908, hotel and cottage lodged 50 people. 96°F/36°C, supplies a swimming plunge and tub baths. Discharge is somewhat seasonal, measured at 15 gal/min / 57 litres/min in December.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 401 miles, 6 hrs 40 mins

[notable]San Juan Capistrano Hot Springs / San Juan Hotsprings

17 Hot Spring Canyon Road near CA Route 74, Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County
Temp: 122°F/50°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.592629, -117.514091 nearest point on road
Lat./Long.2: 33.548491, -117.560501 trailhead

Primitive set of seven hot springs with rock-lined tubs at one of the springs, on the site of what was once a major Victorian resort. The other six are reported to be overgrown with brush, too small, infested with bees, or all of the above. The largest and best tub is big enough for three at most. It is claimed that the bacteria count in these no-longer-maintained tubs is high, and the Casper Wilderness Park administration has closed off easy access. Basically, there is unlawful nearby access if you jump a fence to Spring Canyon Road, and lawful access if you hike many miles/km from the park main entrance.

1915 note3: Hot springs arise in San Juan Canyon, about 13 miles/21 km NE of San Juan Capistrano. Two main springs, four minor ones, and several marshy patches are here situated on the western side of the canyon on slopes near the creek. Highest temp recorded was 124°F/51°C, total yield 35 gallons/130 litres a minute. Other warm springs issue in a canyon half a mile westward. In 1908, improvements consisted of a small hotel, bathhouse, and three cottages. Ample campgrounds; place had been used primarily as a camping resort.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 424 miles, 6 hrs 52 mins





Riverside County

Clark's Hot Springs

Norco, Riverside County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: 127°F
Lat./Long.2: 33.926729, -117.574649

In 1924, Rex B. Clark, founder of the city of Norco, discovered a hot mineral spring while drilling for water, and developed The Norconian Resort, the largest-scale recreational resort as yet seen on the West Coast. Unfortunately for Clark, The Norconian opened just months before Black Tuesday, and the Depression closed it in 1933. Rex Clark reopened it as Clark's Hot Springs, then shuttered again in 1940. In 1941, the US Federal Government rented the main hotel and other buildings to serve as "United States Naval Hospital in Corona" (being in that city's limits before Norco's incorporation in 1964), closing in 1957, and remains in a derelict state today, un-compliant with earthquake safety standards. The north end of the site in 1962 became California Rehabilitation Center aka Norco Prison. Next to it is Naval Sea Systems Command, Corona Division. Nothing remains of the hot springs.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 408 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

[notable]Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa / Temescal Hot Springs

25000 Glen Ivy Road, Corona, Riverside County
Temp: 102°F/39°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.756763, -117.493720

Mud baths, hot mineral springs, 19 pools, spa w/treatments. 12 acres of gardens. Two snack bars serving sandwiches, drinks including wine and beer. Massage, mud baths, therapeutic body treatments, and full service salon.

1915 note3: West of the San Jacinto Range, another fault has been traced along the eastern base of the mountains that border Elsinore and Murrieta valleys. Heated waters rise along this fault zone at three localities. The most northern of these is at Glen Ivy Hot Springs, which was formerly known as Temescal Hot Springs.

One principal spring, at 102°F/39°C and yielding about 15 gallons a minute here issues at the mouth of a ravine in which fractured granitic and porphyritic rocks are exposed. Small warm springs issue at several other points for half a mile northward, but only the one spring is improved. Its water is sulphureted and slightly alkaline in taste, but is not unpleasant.

The springs were early known to local settlers, but for a number of years they were in private hands, and more recently were the property of an automobile club. In 1908, the place was opened to the public. The improvements at that time consisted of a hotel containing 10 or 12 rooms, a swimming pool, dancing hall, and tennis court, all of which were situated in a grove overlooking the valley land.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $39 day pass M-Th, $52 FrSaSu
Distance: 416 miles, 6 hrs 35 mins

[notable]Aqua Soleil Hotel and Mineral Water Spa

14500 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.942602, -116.500624

Natural mineral hot springs feed the outdoor swimming pool, along with jetted pools. Spa. Situated in Coachella Valley. Restaurant and bar.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: Available to hotel guests only.
Distance: 468 miles, 7 hrs 14 mins

Miracle Springs Resort and Spa

10625 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.971692, -116.501865

Hotel has 110 rooms. Eight mineral pools. Restaurant.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: Can't tell. Might require appointment at the "Spa in Palm Springs".
Distance: 469 miles, 7 hrs 17 mins

[notable]Desert Hot Springs Spa and Hotel

10805 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: 140°F/60°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.969877, -116.502038

Hotel w/50 rooms. Mineral spring whirlpools and soaking pools for guests. Spa services available. Seven soaking and Champagne pools, 3 outdoor swimming pools, one Olympic size pool. 5 spa tubs, natural hot springs. Facials and massages offered.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: day pass available, cost unclear
Distance: 469 miles, 7 hrs 17 mins

El Morocco Inn and Spa Hot Springs

66810 4th Street, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.965472, -116.495922

Hotel rooms, natural mineral hot spring and spa.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $50 day pass
Distance: 469 miles, 7 hrs 17 mins

Two Bunch Palms Resort and Spa

67425 2 Bunch Palms Trail, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: 104°F/40°C and 99°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.947885, -116.487327

Hotel has 70 rooms. Two mineral pool areas at different temperatures, and a swimming pool. Full-service spa.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $25 day pass weekdays, $40 weekends
Distance: 469 miles, 7 hrs 17 mins

The Spring Resort and Day Spa

12699 Reposo Way, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.955726, -116.482610

12 guest rooms, three mineral pools. Full-service spa.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: looks like hot spring access is tied to spa appointments.
Distance: 470 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Sam's Family Spa Hot Water Resort

70875 Dillon Road, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.923020, -116.425470

Motel opened in 1971: RV, tents, mobile home rentals. Four therapeutic hot spring pools, a large swimming pool and a wading/sitting pool. Dry sauna.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $14 day pass Mo-Fr, $20 SaSu & holidays
Distance: 471 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

[notable]Murrieta Hot Springs Resort

39405 Murrieta Hot Springs Road, Murrieta, Riverside County
Temp: 102°F/39°C in the central Hot Springs Bath
Lat./Long.2: 33.557832, -117.156094

This spacious 1902 health resort has had a glorious 2022 return. After a long history as a famous health retreat, the property fell into disrepair in the 1980s, when it passed through several owners including a religious commune named "Alive Polarity", then was taken private in 1995 when Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa d/b/a Calvary Chapel Bible College bought it and converted it into a private Christian conference retreat center and Bible college campus named "Calvary Chapel Conference Center Murrieta".

But, in August 2022, Olympus Real Estate Group bought it for $50 million, and renovated the facility. New operator Remington Hospitality runs it "as a retreat with expanded use of the natural hot springs, overnight guest lodging, a full suite of wellness classes and activities, a geothermal-focused spa and access for day guests". Site comprises 46 acres with a 174-room resort with access to over 60 natural hot springs and various water features. Offered are multiple dining choices, fitness classes, other activities, meeting spaces, dry and hot saunas, a rooftop sun deck, several bars, a coffee shop, athletic coaches, and trainers.

1915 note3: 12.5 miles/20 km direct SE of Elsinore, eastern side of Murrieta Valley. Heated waters arise at the base of a gravel bluff on the border of an open drainage course. Three springs arise within 30 feet/9 metres of each other, maximum temp 136°F/58°C, ample flow.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: day soaking passes start at $45, resort stays are priced seasonally
Distance: 440 miles, 6 hrs 36 mins

Dos Palmas Spring

North Shore, Salton Sea, Riverside County
Temp: 84°F/29°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 33.509012, -115.827279

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 518 miles, 8 hrs 40 mins

[notable]Nurturing Nest Mineral Hot Springs Retreat and Spa

11149 Sunset Avenue, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County
Temp: 106°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.967955, -116.498272

Seven guest rooms furnished in minimalist Zen style, spa, chiropractic, counseling, massage. Outdoor pool, indoor pool, large indoor bath.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $25/2 hours, $5 per additional hour, subject to availability.
Distance: 469 miles, 7 hrs 50 mins

Highland Springs (Riverside County)

10600 Highland Springs Ave, Cherry Valley, Riverside County
Status: GONE
Temp: 112°F/44°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.969, -116.942 (approx.)

Not to be confused with the (likewise former) Highland Springs in Lake County.

Probably on the grounds of Highland Springs Ranch and Inn (formerly Highland Springs Resort) — which, weirdly, doesn't mention the (former?) hot spring in the history section of its extensive and health-focussed Web site. None of the reviews of that hotel-turned-health-resort business, bought in 1990 by a South Korean corporation and now run as an upscale "event venue", mentions anything about a hot spring. So, absent further findings, I'm inferring that it's somehow been lost.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 439 miles, 7 hrs 25 mins

Eden Hot Springs / Canadian Hot Springs

Dirt road branching off Gilman Springs Rd., near San Jacinto, Riverside County
Temp: 109°F/43°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.895163, -117.055380

The first resort here was built in 1890. A new owner expanded the resort in 1904 by adding a small hotel, bathhouses, and guest cottages. In 1930, most of these were replaced by Spanish style buildings. A lounge, swimming pool, and dining room. A schoolhouse was located here from 1900 until 1943. All the buildings were burned down in a fire, leaving behind only foundations and the swimming pool. This is in the hilly "Badlands" of unincorporated Riverside County, 2.5 mi. up a dirt road. There was reported to be in 2009 a proposal before the county Board of Supervisors to re-establish a resort on the site. Meanwhile, it is probably private property, and lawful access is doubtful.

An enthusiast's covert reconnoitering of the site in 2024 found sulfureted hot water in a large, octagonal concrete tank partially covered with a (broken) concrete cap, but did not explore inside it because of obvious hazards. So, there is potential for renovation if the property owner ever so desires.

1915 note3: Western base of San Jacinto Mountains has several hot springs. Eden is the northernmost of these: ~7 small springs within 300 feet/90 metres at the base of a steep granitic slope. Hottest is about 100°F/38°C. Small resort, cottages, tents, bathhouse, small swimming pool.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 433 miles, 7 hrs 15 mins

Gilman Hot Springs / Gilman's Relief Hot Springs / San Jacinto Hot Springs

19748 Gilman Springs Road, San Jacinto, Riverside County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 117°F/47°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.835, -116.988 (approx.)

This small former resort area, operated by the Gilman family for 65 years, and fed by about half a dozen springs, was bought by the Church of Scientology in 1978 and adapted for its highly secretive "Gold Base" / "International Base".

At the time of the Church's buyout, the hot springs resort area was named Massacre Canyon Inn, after the hotel built in 1963, in turn named for a nearby landmark canyon that connects to the Beaumont Badlands via Potrero Creek. Upon acquisition, the Church demolished Massacre Canyon Inn, the Gilman Garage, and the golf course to make way for new buildings.

1915 note3: At the valley edge, 6 miles/10 km SE of Eden Springs. ~6 springs issue from a bank of granitic alluvium and form a marshy area of several acres. Hotel, cottages, tents. Tub baths, mud baths.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 438 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

Soboba Hot Springs / Ritchey Hot Springs / White Sulphur Spring

At the end of Las Palmas Ct., San Jacinto, Riverside County
Status: GONE
Temp: 70°F/21°C to 101°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.7994, -116.92500

Soboba Mineral Hot Springs Resort was opened in 1919 by Robert G. Althouse of Los Angeles, who owned candy stores and the United States Hotel in Los Angeles. Located 95 miles/153 km from Los Angeles, it was nestled at the base of the San Jacinto mountains at an altitude of 2,200 feet/650 metres.

Soboba was a popular resort, with several Indian-style cottages scattered along the hillside. The resort was across from the Soboba Springs Golf Course clubhouse. "The waters of Soboba were long famed among the Indians and are praised in Helen Hunt Jackson's historical novel, Ramona," the brochure says. In 1941, Althouse sued the Metropolitan Water District after construction of the Colorado River aqueduct tunnel through Mount San Jacinto rendered his land "valueless" by diverting underground water away from his property. He ultimately sold the resort in 1947 to a Los Angeles syndicate. It closed in 1969.

In 1979, it briefly became a Hare Krishna retreat, but the remaining buildings were destroyed by the North Mountain fire of June 26, 1979.

1915 note3: 5 miles/8 km SE of San Jacinto Springs, near base of the mountains, along the side of a ravine. Six springs, 70°F/21°C to 101°F/38°C used for domestic use and irrigation.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 442 miles, 7 hrs 4 mins

Pilares Hot Spring / Ramona Hot Springs / Wolfskill Hot Spring / Bernasconi Hot Springs / Lakeview Hot Spring / Ginsberg Hot Spring / Stewart Hot Spring

Riverside County
Status: DRIED UP
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.8383518, -117.1455887

Located on the west bank of the San Jacinto River near what is now Lakeview. Source dried up in the 1930s following Metropolitan Water District's building of the Colorado River Aqueduct, nearby.

1915 note3: In the channel of the San Jacinto River, ~6 miles/10 km from the base of the San Jacinto Range, warm water rises and forms a tule area.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 432 miles, 7 hrs 20 mins

Elim Hot Springs / Palm Springs (not the town) / Aguas Calientes

48480 Foolish Pleasure Rd., Aguanga, Riverside County
Temp: 100°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.491778, -116.818401

Elim Hot Springs Resort is a year-round spa, resort, with inside pool, two smaller pools, bungalows, a camping area, hot tubs, and a hot sauna. (My identifying the modern "Elim Hot Springs" with the "Palm Springs aka Agua Calientes" cited in the 1915 book is just my surmise — but, at minimum, this modern resort is in the vicinity mentioned.)

1915 note3: At the southern base of San Jacinto Peak, rise of water at 100°F/38°C, used for bathing and a small health resort on the edge of the desert.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: TBD
Distance: 467 miles, 7 hrs 35 mins

Elsinore Hot Springs / Lakeview Inn Hot Springs

Used exclusively by Elsinore Hot Springs & Lodge motel for a 9-seat hot tub.
316 N Main St #3916, Lake Elsinore, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.672877, -117.325378

The low-rise motel includes two Jacuzzis, wet and dry sauna, and a pool.

1915 note3: NE side of Elsinore Lake. Most hot springs ceased to flow when Elsinore Lake was filled, but shallow wells here still produce. Large bathhouse built 1888 near railroad depot. Large swimming plunge, tub, mud baths, Lakeview Hotel.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: TBD
Distance: 427 miles, 7 hrs 5 mins

Bundy's Elsinore Hot Springs / Wrenden Hot Springs

Lake Elsinore, Riverside County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.679759, -117.328666 (approx.)

My assignment of GPS coordinates is a guess based in part on mapping services saying that "Warm Springs Valley" is there. Some other sources claim it's at 33.6719, -117.32560, in downtown Lake Elsinore. As I find no record of the railroad facilities, the 1915 note about "750 feet/230 metres north of Elsinore depot" didn't help.

1915 note3: Another resort about 750 feet/230 metres north of Elsinore depot. Used for drinking, bathing, hotel, cottages.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 427 miles, 6 hrs 44 mins

Cahuilla Warm Spring

Cahuilla Indian Reservation, Temecula, Riverside County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 98°F/37°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.541027, -116.741260 (approx.)

2011 report says that the tribe has ended public access.

A beautiful pond formed from a warm spring on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation, in eastern Riverside County. Cahuilla Warm Spring consists of a small pond surrounded by green vegetation immediately adjacent to Cahuilla Creek Casino casino and a reservation graveyard, right off CA Route 371. The ruins of a small swimming pool still exist, indicating that these springs at one time provided bathing opportunities.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 473 miles, 8 hrs 5 mins

Pechanga Hot Springs

Pechanga Indian Reservation, Temecula, Riverside County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: (unknown) Lat./Long.2: 33.4394273, -117.0403791

Not much is documented in public about this private hot springs, except that USGS added it to its database starting 1999.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 450 miles, 8 hrs 4 mins

Corn Springs

Adj. Corn Springs Road, S. of I-10, 6 mi. S. of Desert Center, Riverside County
Temp: 72°F/22°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 33.626135, -115.325515
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 552 miles, 9 hrs 20 mins





San Bernardino County

Tyler's Bath / Lytle Creek Warm Springs / Warm Spring in Lytle Canyon

San Bernardino County
Status: DRIED UP
Temp: 92°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.233050, -117.493947 (approx.)

This hot spring once served a health resort named Tyler Bath Springs, destroyed by flood in March 1938.

Discussion at soakersforum.com suggests spring(s) may have once fed the ponds at the Hidden Acres event venue, whose GPS coordinates I thus cite above. A 1983 Cal Geothermal Information Report said that when checked in 1961, the source was dry.

1915 note3: About 13 miles/21 km in a direct line north of west from the Waterman Springs, in Lytle Canyon, a hot spring forms a pool in the creek bed. The water was at one time used for bathing, and the place was known as Tyler's Bath. It is now unimproved, however, the flow is small, and the water is only about 90°F/32°C.

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 410 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

Paradise Springs

North of Barstow, western San Bernardino County
Temp: 102°F/39°C
Lat./Long.2: 35.143815, -116.813926

1915 note3: In the desert of western San Bernardino County, there is an isolated group of thermal springs 25 miles/40 km north of Daggett, on the eastern slope of a granitic mountain. Two warm springs and a few seepages issue in a belt 750 feet/230 metres long, on the side of a wide drainage slope that opens southeastward to the desert. The highest temp observed was 102°F/39°C, total flow is perhaps 25 gal/min / 95 litres/min.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 414 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

Urbita Hot Springs / Midway Springs

San Bernardino, San Bernardino County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: 106°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.085816, -117.298400

This former hot spring was developed in 1901 as Urbita Springs Park with a large enclosed swimming pool, picnic facilities, and other amenities. Since 1966, Inland Center mall occupies the site.

Source dried up in the '40s and '50s, but returned in the 1980s, and now poses flooding and liquefaction risks.

1915 note3: Recreation park 1 mile south of S.B. Artesian wells supply a plunge, tub baths, and a small lake. Warmest well yields 200 gallons/760 litres a minute of mildly sulphureted water at 106°F/41°C.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 414 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

De Sienna Mission Hot Springs

Bunker Hill, San Bernardino
Status: CAPPED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 34.078028, -117.301222)

Frank R. McDonald opened this hot springs resort in 1929, comprising at least a 3-story observation tower, a 45' by 105' swimming pool, supplied by hot springs water further heated for comfort, a bath house, and an 18-hole miniature golf course. However, most of McDonald's planned "21-acre pleasure and health resort" was never built. The commercial "De Sienna Bath House" still existed in 1951, but vanished soon after that, The tower (locally called De Sienna Tower) was demolished in 1976. The source still emitted hot water, but that was capped and the remaining pools bulldozed in the 1980s.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 414 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

Waterman Hot Springs / Waterman Canyon Hot Springs

San Bernardino, San Bernardino County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 195°F
Lat./Long.2: 34.186660, -117.273566 (approx.)

Site is part of the 2014 purchase of 1,900 acre private land acreage of Arrowhead Hot Springs by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

1915 note3: About ¾ mile west of Arrowhead Hot Springs, smaller hot springs rise from fissures in the granite on the eastern side of Waterman Canyon. These springs have been used to some extent for bathing, but, when visited in 1908, the accommodations had evidently not been kept in repair for several years, and there was only a slight flow of water from a small marshy area and a pool beneath a bank at the creek side.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 415 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

Arrowhead Hot Springs / Penyugal Hot Spring

San Bernardino, San Bernardino County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS
Temp: 110°F/43°C to 145°F/63°C, 202°F/94°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.186704, -117.263728

The first historic health resort and hotel at this site went bankrupt and then conveniently burned down in 1885. A new hotel also burned in 1895, being replaced by a third hotel in 1905 that also burned in 1938.

It was famously at the eastern end of one of the Pacific Electric "Red Car" streetcar lines that then ran all the way from Santa Monica to the foothills of San Bernardino. The fourth opened in 1939, going into decline after WWII, then was used as Campus Crusade For Christ headquarters until 1999, which in 2014 sold the site to San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. At this writing (2023), the hotel & site's future is undecided.

1915 note3: Along the western base of the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California, hot springs issue at several places. The largest group, Arrowhead Hot Springs, is situated on the granitic slopes about 7 miles/11 km east of north from San Bernardino, and about 500 feet/150 metres above the valley land. The approximate position of these springs is marked on the mountain side above them by an area of scanty vegetation in the shape of an arrowhead several acres in extent. Indian legends association this peculiar landmark with the springs, and the early immigrants also attached significance to the remarkable sign.

At those springs, a hotel and baths were early erected. This hotel was burned several years ago, and the present structure, a three-story building containing 90 furnished rooms, was completed around 1907. Very good bathing arrangements are provide, and the place is easily reached by electric car from San Bernardino.

The springs form two groups about 1,200 feet/370 metres apart. The upper group comprises about half a dozen springs, whose temperatures range from 110°F/43°C to 145°F/63°C. The water is confined in two concrete storage basins that are in part the foundations of the original bathhouse, and it is thence piped to the baths and to heating pipes throughout the hotel, which is about 600 feet/180 metres southwest of the basins. The Palm Spring, on the mesa north of the hotel, is in this group. The second group lies in a ravine to the west, and also comprises about half a dozen springs. Water from one of these is pumped to the storage basins at the upper group to augment the supply for the hotel. The hottest water is in the spring known as El Penyugal, in the lower group. This spring is surrounded by a concrete basin and the water is used for drinking. 187°F/86°C was recorded in the basin and in sampling for one of the analyses the basin was drained and 202°F/94°C registered. The spring discharges perhaps 15 gallons a minute. Granite Spring is on the mesa on the west side of Penyugal Canyon.

The total yield of the Arrowhead Hot Springs is hard to estimate, but it is probably not far from 30 gallons a minute.

Water from a cool spring, Fuente Frio, situated about ¼ mile north of the hotel, was placed on the local market as a table water during 1900. Ague Fria is the water of Cold Canyon, at the head of the pipe line leading to the main reservoir on the high mesa, north of the hotel.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 416 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

Harlem Hot Springs

E. Base Line St. and Victoria Ave., San Bernardino, San Bernardino County
Status: GONE
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 34.121291, -117.226198

This was a 1800s hot springs resort that gained narrow-gauge railroad connections in 1886. Railroad service ceased in 1893.

1915 note3: Diverted hot spring (well casing diverted the water for bathing and irrigation) on the alluvial slope 2 miles/3 km below the base of the San Bernardino Mountains. Collected spring water feeds swimming plunge and tub and mud baths at a recreation and picnic ground.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 416 miles, 6 hrs 55 mins

[notable]Deep Creek Hot Springs

San Bernardino National Forest, most-used trailhead at:
6100 Bowen Ranch Road, Apple Valley (near Hesperia), San Bernardino County
Temp: 105°F/41°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.340578, -117.169469

Be very careful not to let hot spring water from Deep Creek Hot Springs up your nose (or mouth) and thereby up your sinuses, on account of Naegleria fowleri amoebae that can cause potentially fatal infection.

An undeveloped cluster of outdoor hot springs in desert terrain. 2.6 mile (1 hour) hike to the creek and hot springs pools from Bowen Ranch, Apple Valley, or a 6 mile 2 hour hike from Hesperia via Pacific Crest Trail starting at Saddle Dike Embankment, or a 2.5 mile (strenuous) hike via Bradford Ridge Path starting at Lake Arrowhead (the south-side approach). Surprisingly popular and often crowded, year-round. Bring ample drinking water and sunscreen. No facilities.

Northern approach 1: Exit off I-15 onto Bear Valley Road east, Apple Valley, and proceed for 10 miles. Turn right onto Central Avenue, heading south for 3-miles. Turn left onto Ocotillo Way, heading east once again, for 2.8-miles to Bowen Ranch Road (unpaved road). Turn right, and follow Bowen Ranch about another 7 miles or so, to where it ends. You'll see what appears to be an old historic rustic structure and tollgate, displaying a stop sign: Entrance fee is $10 cash per person at Bowen Ranch (2024). (Actual spring site is on public land.) Hike downhill is 2.6 miles; the final step to reach destination involves fording Deep Creek, a tributary of Mojave River, which might be dangerous in winter/spring, and, even out of the rainy season, can mean crossing frigid water 4-5 feet deep (though there is a rock path you can use to get less wet).

There are also other practical approaches from Bowen Ranch Road, not covered here.

Northern approach 2: Exit off I-15 east onto Main Street, Hesperia, taking Main about six miles to veer left onto Rock Springs Road, then almost immediate right onto Deep Creek Road (which turns twice at intersections), proceeding up Mojave River until road ends at Saddle Dike Embankment. Park near the dam and signs pointing to Pacific Crest Trail, then hile 6 miles up the Deep Creek canyon to the springs.

Southern approach: From Lake Arrowhead, drive to where CA Route 173 turns into a dirt road as it approaches the desert. You can drive 3 miles further to a small pullout, There, find a poorly marked trailhead for Bradford Ridge Path, then hike 2.5 miles NE (the last 0.5 mile being steep downhill) to the springs.

It's also possible ot hike about 10 miles from east of Mackay Recreational Park (Hook Creek Road, which becomes a dirt road, 4WD recommended, parking pass required, to Splinters Cabin Day Use Area), hiking steeply down past Aztec Falls and following Deep Creek down to the springs.

Lawful access by river & creek is a possibility.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free, but easiest access from Bowen Ranch charges for access and overnight parking camping, and for day parking
Distance: 439 miles if approached from the south via San Bernardino and Lake Arrowhead (Pacific Crest Trail), 7 hrs 58 mins. 418 miles if approached from the north via Hesperia / Apple Valley to Bowen Ranch, 7 hrs 34 mins

Santa Ana River Warm Springs

N. of Yucaipa in San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino County
Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.120682, -117.078158

Source has a flow rate of 3 gallons/11 litres per minute, and is located where Warm Springs Canyon meets Santa Ana Canyon, at the base of the east side cliff, away from the Santa Ana River flow. Seven Oaks Dam is now claimed to block access to the area.

Season: year-round, daytime only
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 428 miles, 7 hrs 15 mins

Warm Spring at Baldwin Lake

Near Big Bear City, San Bernardino County
Temp: 88°F/31°C
Lat./Long.2: 34.270398, -116.823852 (approx.)

1915 note3: Baldwin Lake is a small intermittent water body at the upper end of Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains. In a marsh at the western end of the lake, warm water rises in a pool 20' in diameter. Flow is slight, temp only 88°F/31°C.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 443 miles, 7 hrs 35 mins

Pan Hot Springs

Big Bear City, San Bernardino County
Status: PRIVATE, OFF-LIMITS, CAPPED
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 34.272517, -116.839981 (approx)

In 1924, Emile C. Jesserun built a large resort at the site of hot springs within what was then Shay Ranch, a few miles/km east of Big Bear Lake, just east of what is today the intersection of Paradise and North Shore Drives. Unfortunately, the hotel burned down just nine years later in 1933 and was never rebuilt, but the swimming pools remained until they had to be demolished in the early 1990s because of earthquake damage.

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 444 miles, 7 hrs 35 mins

Saratoga Springs

S. end of Death Valley National Park, San Bernardino County
Temp: 82°F/28°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 35.681701, -116.423671

1915 note3: Saratoga Springs, situated at the eastern border of south Death Valley, at the base of the Black Mountains, have long been known to desert travelers, but they are hidden from view at a distance by a narrow rocky spur on the south and by sand dunes on the north and west.

As there is plenty of water at the place and a considerable area overgrown with marsh grass, prospectors usually stop here for a few days to allow their animals to rest after excursions into the surrounding mountains, and in 1908 a stone cabin and other buildings were being erected by parties who had mining claims in the mountains nearby.

The principal spring forms a pool about 25 by 35 feet (7.5 by 10 metres) in diameter and 3 feet (1 metre) deep, in whose sandy bottom the water can be seen rising at a dozen or more places. This water is about 82°F/28°C, and the pool is inhabited by many small fish, which have been identified by Prof. J. O. Snyder as Cyprinodonmacularius, the species that live in other desert springs of similar character.

At three other points along the base of the hills, 300 to 750 feet (90 to 230 metres) northeastward from the main spring, water has been obtained by excavating into the slopes. An area of marsh grass, tules, and open water extends 1,800 feet/550 metres northward from the springs, but on account of the great evaporation the area of open water varies much with the season. The water tastes distinctly of alkali, but it has formed no noticeable alkaline deposits.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 495 miles, 8 hrs 35 mins





Imperial County

Fish Springs

Desert Shores, W. side of Salton Sea, Imperial County
Temp: 90°F/32°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.407535, -116.036396
Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 513 miles, 8 hrs 25 mins

Oh-My-God Hot Springs

End of Holly Road, W. of Salton City, Imperial County
Status: DESTROYED
Temp: 102°F-104°F
Lat./Long.2: 33.253470, -116.012520 (approx.)

This springs was product of a test well, but Imperial County bulldozed the site in 1996 in reaction to too much popularity, nudism, and problems with campers. It was featured in the movie "Into the Wild".

Links:

Season: n/a
Cost: n/a
Distance: 525 miles, 8 hrs 14 mins

Canyon Spring

Just north of Summit Road, midway between CA Route 111 on the east side of Salton Sea and I-10, Imperial County
Temp: 97°F/36°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.545018, -115.653632

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 529 miles, 9 hrs 20 mins

Glamis North Hot Springs Resort / Little Yellowstone

10595 Hot Mineral Spa Rd., Niland, Imperial County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.426039, -115.685707

Cabins, lodge, tents, RV parking. Mineral water fed to two therapeutic pools, 14 hot tubs, and a large pool.

Springs were discovered4 in 1938, during construction of the All-American Canal.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $20 day pass
Distance: 534 miles, 7 hrs 50 mins

Bashford's Hot Mineral Spa

10590 Hot Mineral Spa Rd., Niland, Imperial County
Temp: 145°F/63°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.424396, -115.681163

RV hookups, tent camping sites. Heated swimming pool, jacuzzi, six mineral baths

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: apparently no day use, but free if you stay at the RV park
Distance: 534 miles, 8 hrs 15 mins

Fountain of Youth Spa RV Resort

1500 Spa Road, Niland, Imperial County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.400241, -115.663007

RV hookups, 6 mineral baths. Two swimming pools, one saltwater and one fresh.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: apparently no day use, but free if you stay at the RV park
Distance: 533 miles, 8 hrs 16 mins

[notable]Niland Hot Mineral Spa

West end of Hot Mineral Spa Road, Niland, Imperial County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.425668, -115.685873

Appears on Google Maps to be a natural hot springs, across the street from Glamis North Hot Springs Resort.

Season: year-round
Cost: access not clear
Distance: 533 miles, 8 hrs 16 mins

Slab City Hot Springs

626 Beal Road, Niland, Imperial County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.245442, -115.476664

Concrete cistern fed by a hot spring. The anarchic, alternative community Slab City, on the site of long-closed USMC base Camp Dunlap, is about 300' northeast.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 547 miles, 8 hrs 37 mins

[notable]Five Palms Hot Springs / Five Palms Warm Well Oasis / Cinquo Palmas Oasis

Near Curlew, Imperial County
Temp: 92°F/34°C
Lat./Long.2: 32.951481, -115.284378

Located on BLM land. Clear water surrounded by palms trees. Starting at Brawley, take SR78 east 15 miles, crossing Highline Canal. Take the second dirt right turn 0.5 miles east of the canal. Go 1.6 miles south to Five Palms Warm Well Oasis.

Site was damaged by the Whitlock Fire of July 16, 2023, but was cleaned up.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 575 miles, 9 hrs 26 mins

[notable]Holtville Hot Springs / Old Fogey Hot Springs / Holtville Highline Hot Springs / Highline Hot Well

3700 Evan Hewes Hwy, Holtville, Imperial County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 32.766029, -115.269934

Two pools next to a highway.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 592 miles, 9 hrs 16 mins





San Diego County

[notable]Agua Caliente Springs (San Diego County) / Agua Caliente County Park Hot Springs

39555 Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849, Julian, San Diego County
Temp: 101°F/38°C
Lat./Long.2: 32.949853, -116.302523

Not to be confused with the Agua Caliente Springs in Sonoma County.

A charming little county park with a campground, an indoor adults' soaking pool, and an outdoor kids' pool and an outdoor swimming pool, all chlorinated and fed with water from the spring, toilets, coin-operated hot showers, free mineral-water showers, RV hookups with A/C, tent sites, a caravan area for large groups, and tent cabins. General store and general-aviation airport nearby, otherwise quite remote location. Park is nestled in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the spring is operated by San Diego County. Day use 9:30am - 5:00pm.

1915 note3: In the valley of Vallecito Creek, 35 miles//56 km southeast of Warner Hot Springs, are small, unimproved warm springs known as Agua Caliente Springs. These are near the extension of the fault through Warner Valley, and possibly they issue along a continuation of this line of structural weakness.

Links:

Season: Labor Day to Memorial Day (closed June 1 to September 1)
Cost: $3 parking, $3 pool-entry fee for each non-camper.
Distance: 524 miles, 8 hrs 37 mins

Jacumba Hot Springs Spa and Motel

44500 Old Hwy 80, Jacumba Hot Springs, San Diego County
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 32.617887, -116.188621

300 feet/90 metres north of the Mexican border between San Diego and Yuma, just off I-8. Use the Boulevard or Jacumba exits from the interstate.

20 room motel. Large outdoor pool fed by mineral springs. Indoor hot pool and dry sauna. Massage services on weekends and others by appointment. Great restaurant & bar, favourite of locals & visitors.

1915 note3: Water issues at two main points near the channel of a small creek. Flow is about 15 gal/min / 57 litres/min, temp 96°F/36°C. Ranch, supply store, camping spot.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: $10 day pass, includes both pools
Distance: 544 miles, 9 hrs 2 mins

Warner Hot Springs

31652 CA Route 79, Warner Springs, San Diego County
Status: CLOSED TEMPORARILY(?)
Temp: (unknown)
Lat./Long.2: 33.284240, -116.631215

Currently a developed resort: Steam room and sauna, outdoor hot spring pools, full-service salon with manicure and pedicure stations. A/o 2023-24, the resort's Web site says the place is temporarily "closed in response to the continued concerns regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic" which is obviously not the truth.

On Sept. 12, 2023, an overnight fire burned a quarter of the buildings. Before that, in 2013, San Diego-based hotel-management company Pacific Hospitality Group, Inc. bought the site out of bankruptcy, promising to renovate and fully reopen the resort, neither of which has entirely happened.

From I-15 in downtown Escondido, exit east on CA Route 78, 32.8 miles to turn left (north) onto CA Route 79, continuing 14.9 miles to Warner Springs Ranch Resort.

1915 note3: Eastern edge of Warner Valley, near base of the Palomares Mountains in north San Diego County. Half a dozen or more vents in a ravine, 150 gal/min / 570 litres/min, 139°F/59°C. Water piped to wooden tank, then bathhouse.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: TBD
Distance: 482 miles, 8 hrs 15 mins

Agua Tibia Spring

Near Temecula, San Diego County
Temp: 92°F/33°C
Lat./Long.2: 33.363, -117.017 (approx.)

I find no recent information about the state of this place, but, if it still exists, it's on BLM land. "Tibia" translates as tepid/lukewarm.

1915 note3: Southern base of Agua Tibia Mountain, 25 miles/40 km in a direct line north of west from Warner Hot Springs, warm water (agua tibia ) issues along a fault zone parallel to the one in Warner Valley. The water arise with a temp of 92°F/33°C, in a marshy area that covers perhaps an acre. It is conducted from a board-curbed pool to tubs in a nearby house for bathing and laundry.

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: free
Distance: 458 miles, 7 hrs 45 mins

Deluz Warm Springs / De Luz Warm Springs

San Diego County
Temp: 85°F/29°C: No hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 33.360111, -117.325536 (approx.)

1915 note3: In the bed of Deluz Creek, near the NW boundary of San Diego County, warm water rises. Three springs, 84°F/29°C to 88°F/31°C, 5 gal/min / 19 litres/min, Camping and rest resort and small hotel opened in 1888-9.

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 457 miles, 7 hrs 50 mins

Vallecitos Spring

½ mile south of 33562 Great Southern Overland Stage Route of 1849, Julian, San Diego County
Temp: 79°F/26°C: Not hot enough to be interesting1.
Lat./Long.2: 32.97, -116.423 (approx.)

Links:

Season: year-round
Cost: access is unclear
Distance: 517 miles, 8 hrs 27 mins





Other Counties:

No hot springs found so far in:





Source Materials / Resources:

Books:

NOAA National Geophysical Data Center List, June 1980:

Other Hot Springs Lists:

Technical Reports:

Discussion Forums:

Former Resources, in Archived Form:



1 Personally, I draw this line at 88°F, on a theory that a hot spring ought to at least approach bath temperature. Of course, a cooler spring may be just right on a hot day, but then isn't really a hot spring.

2 You can enter Lat./Long. geographic coordinates into any handheld GPS device or smartphone navigation app, and also paste them (as locations) into online mapping services such as OpenStreetMap, CycleOSM, Apple Maps, or Google Maps, to find the springs and plausible paths to them.

Where I cite with only 2-3 decimal digits' precision a spring's GPS coordinates, that's almost always because NOAA's "National Geophysical Data Center List, June 1980" (see above) was my best (if not sole) information source.

Speaking of maps, I find USGS's online topographic map viewer endlessly useful, and look forward to using USGS's topoBuilder to construct custom maps I can self-host and use as I wish, free of copyright complications.

3 Reference is to Gerald A. Waring's groundbreaking 1915 book Springs of California, still a primary source: (See entry in "Books" section.) Each "1915 note" is a quotation from Waring's book, edited by me to add metric equivalents, to elide references to (omitted) illustrations and passages about chemistry and geology, to convert his distances in yards to feet, and to lightly copyedit. Numerous artifacts of Waring's bygone times, such as his old-fashioned spelling "sulphur", have been left unchanged. Where adding liquid measurement figures in litres, I stuck to that word spelling (as does most of the world). I didn't bother to provide a metric equivalent for acre, as, let's face it, hardly anyone uses or intuits the similarly scaled, almost-official SI unit "hectare", so why bother? (Square metre is official in SI, but has other problems.)

Likewise, throughout this guide, I generally omit km equivalents for driving distances, as odometers in North America show miles only, so where could you even use that information?

My fellow Americans should be aware that their gallon, along with their quart, pint, cup, fluid ounce, tablespoon, and teaspoon are a different size from those same units in all other English-speaking countries. How this happened: At the time of USA independence, different "gallons" existed in Mother England for different purposes. In the 19th Century, the USA standardised on the "wine gallon", while Britain and colonies standardised on the "ale gallon". (Some of the other units' relationships, such as between fluid ounce and the others, are also defined differently.) All of this makes for a quandary, if (e.g.) using a recipe for cooking, or for fermenting wine/beer, that may have originated in another country: Whose units, US Customary or Imperial? (Metric, of course, eliminates this problem.)

3 Of course, all of the state's geothermal features were doubtless, in truth, discovered by California's indigenous peoples, our real pioneers, about 16,000 years earlier.

Last modified: Mon Dec 30 06:22:05 PST 2024

Rick Moen
rick@linuxmafia.com