Baranof Warm Springs

Baranof Warm Springs is a public soaking site in a small, mostly seasonal settlement on Warm Springs Bay, on the east side of Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska. The settlement lies inside the City and Borough of Sitka, and the city's 2026 Commercial Recreational Land Use Plan describes the site as a short trail, boardwalk, dock, three tubs and a picnic shelter, in a city-owned area surrounded by private property and maintained by residents. Under an agreement with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the city also manages commercial recreation on the Baranof Lake Trail and the Grotto soaking pools. The plan counted about 13,000 unique users and an average of 259 users a day in peak season, with an average stay of five and a half hours. There are no roads. According to Wikipedia's entry on the community, floatplanes fly scheduled trips across the island from Sitka in about 30 minutes on a clear day and about an hour when it is overcast, the Alaska Marine Highway does not stop here, and the boardwalk is the main thoroughfare. The same entry says the property owners association pools money for a winter caretaker, the picnic shelter, the public bathhouse with its three separate tubs, and the communal pools, while the city funds the boardwalk and the dock for visiting boats. It describes nine separate springs ranging from tepid to about 120°F, with the natural pools a quarter-mile walk up the trail against the white water of the Baranof River. The rapids and waterfalls between Baranof Lake and the bay are dangerous, so stay well away from the river's edge. Despite the name, this is hot water. NOAA's thermal springs list records Baranof Warm Springs at 124°F, so test pools and tubs before you get in. No fee is posted by the city, and a third-party guide describes the bathhouse and pools as free. Commercial guides and water taxis need a City and Borough of Sitka permit, and the city requires permittees to give every guest bathing etiquette covering food and drink, soaking times, and where to wait when the tubs or springs are full. Pack out everything you bring.

Sources: cityofsitka.com, en.wikipedia.org, hotspringsguides.com, doi.pangaea.de

There is no road to Baranof Warm Springs in Alaska. The way in on file is Boat or Floatplane (east side of Baranof Island, from Sitka). Listed as a community pool on the operator's own site. The NOAA survey puts this vent at 124°F (scalding), well above typical soak temperatures. Access is priced as free and the amenities list is empty in our data. Our sources are silent on clothing policy at this spring.

Source: NOAA thermal springs survey: BARANOF WARM SPRINGS, 124°F at the source. Despite the name, that is hot water; pools and tubs vary with flow.