The Best Hot Springs in California, Wild and Developed

Wild soaks versus resort soaks

There are two kinds of hot springs trip in California. One is the free, primitive soak: a natural pool on public land you drive a dirt road or hike to, no attendant, no fee, bring your own everything. The other is the developed resort, where you pay $50 to $500 for a day pass or a room and get clean tiled pools, towels, and a spa. Both are worth doing, and the list below covers both.

The wild springs cluster in the Eastern Sierra and the far north; the resort springs cluster in the desert around Palm Springs and in the north near wine country. Pick by where your trip lands. Several of these pair with a ski trip, so check the best ski resorts in California if you want to soak after a day on the mountain, and with the best desert escapes in California if you are heading to Palm Springs. Start planning at the California travel guide. If you are coming from the Bay, the San Francisco Bay Area puts the northern springs within two to three hours.

The best wild hot springs in the Eastern Sierra

**Region: Eastern Sierra · Type: free, natural · Access: short dirt road** Travertine Hot Springs outside Bridgeport is the postcard wild soak: warm pools terraced on an orange travertine ridge with the Sierra crest on the horizon. A passenger car can usually reach the lot, and it is busiest at sunrise and sunset. It sits just off Highway 395, one of the state's best drives.

**Region: Eastern Sierra · Type: free, natural · Access: short walk** Wild Willy's, in the Long Valley geothermal field south of Mammoth, is a pair of pools reached by a flat boardwalk across the sagebrush. It is one of the easiest wild soaks to get to in the Mammoth area. Base in Mammoth Lakes and it is a 20-minute drive.

**Region: Eastern Sierra · Type: developed, low cost · Fee: around $12 to $15** Keough's Hot Springs south of Bishop is the oldest continuously operating hot spring resort in the Owens Valley, with a large warm pool and a hotter soaking pool. It is a cheap, easy stop on the 395 drive when you do not want to hunt for a wild pool.

**Region: High Sierra · Type: developed, forest setting · Season: summer only** Mono Hot Springs, off the road east of Huntington Lake in the Sierra National Forest, has a rustic resort with mineral tubs and free natural pools nearby along the San Joaquin River. The road in closes with snow, so it is a June-to-October trip.

The best hot springs near Tahoe and the north

**Region: High Sierra · Type: developed state park · Fee: around $10 per adult** Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville, south of Lake Tahoe, has a developed hot pool and a cool pool in a mountain meadow ringed by peaks. It is open year-round and makes a good soak after a Tahoe ski day. See the Lake Tahoe guide for basing.

**Region: High Sierra · Type: retreat, clothing-optional · Fee: day-use pass** Sierra Hot Springs in Sierraville, about 45 minutes north of Truckee, is a nonprofit retreat with hot mineral pools in the forest and meadow. It runs on day passes and memberships and takes a quieter, wellness-focused approach.

**Region: Wine Country · Type: retreat · Fee: day-use and lodging** Harbin Hot Springs in Middletown, north of Calistoga in Lake County, reopened after wildfire and again offers its warm and hot spring-fed pools on a large forested property. It is about a two-hour drive from the Bay and pairs with a wine-country weekend near Napa Valley.

**Region: North Coast · Type: historic resort · Fee: day-use and rooms** Vichy Springs Resort near Ukiah in Mendocino County has naturally carbonated mineral baths, the only ones of their kind in North America, in operation since 1854. It is an easy add-on if you are already exploring the redwood coast.

The best hot spring resorts in the desert and Big Sur

**Region: The Deserts · Type: resort spa · Fee: premium day pass or stay** Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs, just north of Palm Springs, is the best-known hot spring resort in the state, an adults-only property built around natural mineral grottos. The whole town of Desert Hot Springs sits on the aquifer, so there are budget spa hotels there too. See the Palm Springs guide.

**Region: Central Coast · Type: cliffside baths · Access: night reservation only** Esalen Institute in Big Sur runs mineral baths on a cliff directly above the Pacific. The public can book the late-night soak session (typically 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.) by reservation, and it is one of the more memorable soaks anywhere. Pair it with the Big Sur coast.

The desert resorts are best October through April, since Desert Hot Springs runs brutally hot in summer. The Sierra and northern springs are good year-round, though a wild soak in the Eastern Sierra in winter means driving snowy back roads to reach it. Match the season to the region and you will not get burned, literally or otherwise.

Where to stay and how to soak safely

For the Tahoe-area springs, Edgewood Tahoe Resort and Harrah's Lake Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe put you within an hour of Grover. For the desert springs, Palm Springs hotels and the spa hotels of Desert Hot Springs itself are your base. For the Eastern Sierra wild soaks, base in Mammoth Lakes or Bishop. Browse options in the hotels and resorts directory.

A few rules for the wild springs. Test the temperature before you get in, since some natural pools run past 105 degrees. Pack out everything, because these places stay open only when people treat them well. Bring water, since soaking dehydrates you fast, especially at Eastern Sierra elevation. And do not soak with open cuts or right after alcohol. The developed resorts handle the safety for you, which is part of what you are paying for.