Manley Hot Springs Resort

Manley Hot Springs Resort is a family-run lodge in Manley Hot Springs, a small community at the end of the Elliott Highway in Interior Alaska, about 160 road miles west of Fairbanks. The State of Alaska community profile, republished by the Tanana Chiefs Conference, places the town about 5 miles north of the Tanana River on Hot Springs Slough. The BLM's Steese and Elliott highways travel guide puts Manley at Mile 151.2 and says sections of the highway are not paved, but that the gravel sections are well maintained and can be driven by two-wheel-drive vehicles. Expect tight corners, soft shoulders, and dusty or slippery conditions. The operator describes a handcrafted, flow-through tub fed by geothermal water that is rich in minerals and low in sulfur, set inside an enclosed spa house filled with plants such as grape vines and passion fruit, with frosted windows and a door that locks from the inside. Cabin guests get 24-hour access to the spa house in private one-hour soak sessions. Visitors who are not staying can soak for $30 per person per hour, up to five people, but availability is limited when the cabins are booked, so contact the resort by phone or email to set a time. The operator says it is open year-round and lists cabins and an on-site restaurant and bar. NOAA's thermal springs list records Manley Hot Springs at 133°F at the source; the operator does not post a tub temperature. The springs gave the town its first name. According to the community profile, prospector John Karshner claimed several hot springs here in 1902 and started a homestead and vegetable farm, and the area became a supply point for miners in the Eureka and Tofty districts. In 1907 Frank Manley built a four-story resort hotel with hot baths and an indoor pool that used water heated by the springs. It burned in 1913, and the town, then called Hot Springs, was renamed Manley Hot Springs in 1957. The resort's own history page says Elise Wright opened it in the early 1980s and it closed in the late 1990s after her death. Her family returned in 2019, rebuilt the property with new cabins, a spa house and the flow-through tub, and reopened in 2021.

Sources: manleyhotspringsresort.com (1), manleyhotspringsresort.com (2), manleyhotspringsresort.com (3), manleyhotspringsresort.com (4), tananachiefs.org, blm.gov, doi.pangaea.de

Manley Hot Springs Resort is road-close in Alaska: under a quarter mile from drivable pavement. The operator framing on the operator's own site is a developed resort or spa. The survey temperature at the vent is 133°F, hot enough to scald. Expect the $$ entry band on this listing and the listing records lodging on-site, food on-site and reservations required. Whether suits are required is not established in our sources; confirm locally.

Source: NOAA thermal springs survey: MANLEY HOT SPRINGS, 133°F at the source. The operator does not post a tub temperature.