Hot springs guides
16 long-form guides to planning a hot springs trip: regional road trips, the soaks within reach of a city, etiquette, what to pack, and where the free, hike-in and winter springs are. The counts in them come from the same directory of 277 springs the listings use, and update when that data does.
Hot springs etiquette: the unwritten rules
How to behave at a hot spring — clothing norms, noise, glass, packing out, and why regulars care so much about the rules.
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What to pack for a hot spring trip
A practical hot springs packing list — what changes between a resort day pass, a roadside pool, and a backcountry soak.
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The best hot springs near Denver, ranked by drive time
The best hot springs within day-trip distance of Denver — from Idaho Springs' historic pools to Buena Vista's mountain resorts, with drive times and what to expect.
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The Utah hot springs road trip: 11 soaks in one loop
A complete Utah hot springs road trip loop — from Salt Lake City to Zion, linking all 11 springs we track, with route logic and what each stop is like.
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Clothing-optional hot springs: etiquette and where to go
A first-timer's guide to clothing-optional hot springs — the etiquette that matters, what to expect, and where to find legitimate clothing-optional soaks across the US.
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Free natural hot springs in the US — the complete guide
124 natural hot springs — nearly half of America's total — are free to soak in. Where they cluster, what "free" really means, and the practical fine print.
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Hike-in hot springs — the complete guide to earning your soak
34 natural hot springs we've measured sit more than a quarter mile from the nearest drivable road, plus three Washington hike-ins behind road closures. The longest hikes, the sweet-spot day hikes, and what to know before you shoulder a pack.
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Winter hot springs — the complete guide to soaking in the snow
162 natural hot springs across 11 snowbelt states are 100°F or hotter and reachable by car in winter. Where they cluster, the best picks, and how to do it safely.
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The Colorado hot springs road trip: 35 soaks in one mountain loop
A complete Colorado hot springs road trip — from Denver through Steamboat, Glenwood, Ouray, Pagosa, and the San Luis Valley, covering all 36 springs we track with the verified data behind each stop.
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The Idaho hot springs road trip — 63 open soaks, one giant loop
Idaho holds more natural hot springs than any other state — 67 of them, 63 open and 36 free. A Boise-based loop through the central mountains, the southeast resort towns, and the northern backcountry, all verified against our data.
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The Oregon hot springs road trip — 29 springs from the Cascades to the high desert
Oregon's 29 natural hot springs split into two completely different trips — a waterfall-lined Cascades loop out of Portland and a wide-open high-desert loop in the east. 13 are free to soak, 17 stay soakable in winter, all verified against our data.
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The Nevada hot springs road trip — 25 soaks in the freest state in America
Nevada has the highest free share of any state with more than one spring in our directory — 20 of 25 springs are free to soak. Three legs from Reno to the Black Rock Desert to the Great Basin spine, all verified against our data.
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The Montana hot springs road trip — 19 open soaks in the West's resort capital
Montana has the highest resort share of any state in our directory — 16 of its 20 springs are resorts or spas. Three legs along I-90, through the northwest, and down the Bitterroot, all verified against our data.
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The New Mexico hot springs road trip — 16 open soaks in the West's most clothing-optional state
New Mexico's 16 open springs span the Jemez canyon, Taos, and Truth or Consequences — with a 38% clothing-optional share, the highest of any state in our directory. Three driving legs, all verified against our data.
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The best hot springs near Boise — 41 open soaks within two hours
Boise sits inside the densest hot-springs country of any major US city — 41 open springs within 120 miles, 24 of them free. The closest soaks, the Banks–Lowman corridor, and the day trips worth the drive, all verified against our data.
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California hot springs, fact-checked — 15 open soaks and the 7 not to drive to
Every California hot spring in our directory, checked against Forest Service, BLM, National Park Service, State Parks and operator pages on October 1, 2026 — what's open, what "free" really costs, trail miles versus map miles, and the clothing rules operators actually post.
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Want a list rather than a read? Browse the collections or every state.