Tenakee Hot Springs

Tenakee Hot Springs is the public bathhouse in Tenakee Springs, a community of about 100 people on Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska. There is no road to town. The community's own site lists two public ways in: Alaska Seaplanes, which flies daily and on charter, weather permitting, and the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry from Juneau, whose schedules vary. Ward Air also flies charters to Tenakee and the surrounding area. According to the community history, the spring was first an open pool draining into the tideland. In 1900 it was enlarged and a log cabin was built over it, enclosed by a cement apron. A separate changing room was added around 1920, and the present tub room, with poured concrete walls and a skylight cupola on a flat roof, dates to 1939. Volunteers formed a bathhouse committee in the 1930s and still maintain the building. The bathhouse is not owned by the city, and the committee is an independent body. No fee is posted; donations for cleaning and upkeep can be left at the Tenakee Market or The Bakery. The town site describes a sulfur hot mineral spring. The water flows at a steady rate of about 7 gallons a minute and about 106°F into a cement and stone tub roughly six by nine feet and five feet deep, set into the tub-room floor, and the overflow drains through a small hole in one corner. NOAA's thermal springs list records Tenakee Hot Springs at 109°F. Even in deep winter the tub room stays warm from the spring. The changing room has benches, hooks, and stained glass windows made by local artists Sue and Paul Scriber. Bathing is by gender on a posted schedule: men from 2 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 9 a.m., women from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. Many residents have no shower or tub at home and rely on the bathhouse to stay clean, so the posted rules are taken seriously.

Sources: tenakeespringsak.com (1), tenakeespringsak.com (2), tenakeespringsak.com (3), tenakeespringsak.com (4), tenakeehistoricalcollection.org, doi.pangaea.de

Tenakee Hot Springs is in Tenakee Springs, Alaska. Boat or Floatplane (ferry or seaplane from Juneau) is the way in; the road data has no drivable approach. A historic bathhouse, as described on the operator's own site. The water here is reported at 106°F. Entry is free and nothing on file lists any amenities. The clothing field is unverified — ask the operator or land manager.