Hike-in hot springs — the complete guide to earning your soak

The numbers: where the hike-ins are

Hike-in soaking is overwhelmingly an Idaho story. Fourteen of the 34 measured hike-in springs are in Idaho — more than two-fifths of the national total. California, New Mexico, and Colorado have 3 each, and Oregon has 4; Washington has 2 measured, plus the three behind closures; Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada, Texas, and Wyoming contribute one apiece. That distribution isn't an accident. Idaho's backcountry springs sit in wilderness drainages where roads simply were never built, which is the same reason Idaho dominates our free hot springs guide too. In fact, 28 of the 34 measured springs are free to soak — the walk is the admission price. Four of the six exceptions charge: in Oregon, Terwilliger, where the Forest Service charges $12 per person per two hours, and Bagby, which has a $5 cash soaking fee and is closed under a wildfire closure order through at least December 31, 2026; in Washington, Goldmyer ($30 adult permit) and Scenic ($30–35 trail-use fee, reservations required). The other two cost nothing but aren't counted as free soaks: a Texas spring listed as closed, and Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, which has no entrance fee but, the National Park Service says, no outdoor soaking. Its thermal water is piped to the Buckstaff and Quapaw bathhouses on Bathhouse Row, which charge.

Eight of the 34 sit three or more miles from the road. Those are the serious commitments, and they're worth meeting one by one.

The big-hike tier: five miles or more

Only two natural hot springs in our directory sit five or more miles from the nearest road in a straight line, though several more are that far or farther by trail. These are expedition soaks — the kind of trip you plan around, not the kind you stumble into.

Barth Hot Springs, Idaho (10.17 miles) — the farthest from a road of any spring in the country. Deep in Idaho's backcountry, this is a two-day commitment for most people, and exactly the kind of place that stays empty because of it. Our full Idaho hot springs guide has the details.

Gamma Hot Springs, Washington — Washington's most remote soak, and off our count for now because it's temporarily closed. The Forest Service's Miner's Fire closure order (06-05-26-17) closes the Gamma Way Trail, the Suiattle Trailhead and the upper Suiattle Road through December 31, 2026, unless rescinded sooner, and a separate washout order (06-05-26-03) closes the Suiattle River Road to motor vehicles from milepost 4 until January 1, 2028. Nearby Sulphur Warm Springs, reached from the same trailhead, is closed under the same orders. See the Washington hot springs page.

Upper Warm Spring and Lower Warm Springs, California — you'll see Saline Valley's paired desert pools on some hike-in lists, but they aren't hikes. The National Park Service describes Saline Valley Warm Springs as a drive-in backcountry campground at the end of roughly 35–40 miles of dirt road from the closest pavement, and Lower Warm Springs is temporarily closed after the September 2026 fire. The challenge there is the drive — water, heat, fuel, and a spare tire — not the mileage on foot. See the California hot springs guide.

Stuart Hot Springs, Idaho (5.68 miles) — another Idaho backcountry pool, in the family of remote central-Idaho drainages that make the state the capital of this list.

Goddard Hot Springs Tubs, Alaska — not on our hike-in count, and a reminder that the far north plays by its own rules: there's no road or trail at all. Goddard sits on Baranof Island's outer coast, about 16 miles from Sitka by boat or floatplane, so remoteness here means weather, sea conditions, and logistics rather than miles on foot. See the Alaska hot springs guide.

Olympic Hot Springs, Washington — open, and the most famous long walk in this guide, but not on our straight-line count: the nearest road point we could measure sits past a closed gate. The National Park Service says the Elwha road is closed to vehicles at the Madison Falls Trailhead because of a washout, so you park there, hike or bike 9 miles up Olympic Hot Springs Road to the Boulder Creek Trailhead, then walk the last 1.5 miles (no bikes or pets on the trail): about 10.5 miles one way. The pools are natural, unmaintained seeps that the park doesn't test or treat, and camping near them needs a wilderness use permit.

The sweet spot: one to three miles

This is where the best-known hike-in springs live — far enough to filter the crowds, close enough for a day hike. Several of these are destination springs in their own right. Remember that our distances are in a straight line from the road, and the trail is often much longer, so check the trail miles on each listing page before you plan a day trip.

Conundrum Hot Springs, Colorado (1.93 miles in a straight line; about 8.5 miles one way by trail, per the Forest Service) — arguably the most famous hike-in spring in America, set in the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness. It requires a permit, it books out, and it's worth it. The Colorado hot springs guide covers the logistics.

Goldbug Hot Springs, Idaho (1.40 miles) — a tiered waterfall of pools outside Salmon, Idaho. The trail is steep but short, and the reward-to-effort ratio is one of the best in the country.

Goldmyer Hot Springs, Washington (3.13 miles in a straight line; about 5 miles each way by trail) — the Pacific Northwest's beloved permitted soak. It's a nonprofit preserve capped at 20 visitors a day, with a $30 adult permit (bought at least two business days ahead) the only way to guarantee entry; the pools are meticulously maintained, and the old-growth setting is the point. Details in the Washington hot springs guide.

Iva Bell Hot Springs, California (4.52 miles from the road in a straight line) — a Sierra Nevada backcountry classic, and the clearest case of our distances being a floor: the Forest Service puts it about 11 trail miles one way down the Fish Creek Trail, with a mandatory paid shuttle toward the trailhead and a wilderness permit for overnight trips. Plan it as a backpacking trip, not a day hike.

Rainbow Hot Springs, Colorado (3.54 miles in a straight line; about 5.3 miles by trail, per the Forest Service) — a high-country pool near the Continental Divide, best in summer when the high trails are clear.

Stanley Hot Springs, Idaho (2.85 miles), Cox Hot Springs, Idaho (2.66 miles), Skillern Hot Springs, Idaho (2.55 miles in a straight line; about 3 miles each way by trail, per [Visit Southern Idaho](https://visitsouthidaho.com/adventure/skillern-hot-springs/)), Shower Bath Springs, Idaho (2.42 miles), Owl Creek Hot Springs, Idaho (1.74 miles) — this cluster is why Idaho dominates the list. Central Idaho's river drainages hold a constellation of trail-accessed pools; string two or three together and you have a backcountry itinerary no resort can match.

Willett Hot Springs, California (3.91 miles in a straight line; about 9.5 miles one way by trail, per independent trip reports) and Jordan Hot Springs, New Mexico (4.32 miles) round out the longer day hikes, while Kwiskwis Hot Spring, Idaho (3.96 miles) and Three Forks Hot Spring, Oregon (1.02 miles) cover the shorter end of the spectrum. Oregon's entry is a reminder that the Cascades hold their own — see the Oregon hot springs guide.

Why the hike matters (beyond the bragging rights)

The correlation between effort and quality isn't romanticism; it's selection pressure. A spring five miles from the road gets a fraction of the visitors of a roadside pool, which means less trash, less wear on the banks, and water that hasn't been stirred up by a hundred bodies that day. The springs in the big-hike tier are consistently the cleanest and most intact in our directory.

There's also a practical dimension: hike-in springs are almost always on public land — national forest, wilderness, BLM — which is why 28 of the 34 measured springs are free. Nobody is maintaining a ticket booth at the end of an eight-mile trail. The tradeoff is that there's also nobody maintaining the pool. You are the facilities.

What to know before you go

Hiking to a hot spring adds a layer of planning on top of normal soaking. The short version:

• Permits and access change. Conundrum requires a permit. Goldmyer needs a paid permit. Olympic needs a wilderness permit to camp and starts with 9 miles of closed road. Fire season can close entire trail systems in California, Oregon, and Washington with days of notice. Check the managing agency — not a blog post from 2021 — before you commit to the drive.
• Pack for the soak, not just the hike. That means a dry bag for the clothes you don't want to hike back in wet, more water than you think (hot water is dehydrating), and a headlamp even for "day" hikes. Our what to pack guide covers the full kit.
• Test the temperature. Backcountry pools have no lifeguard, no posted thermometer, and no one mixing cold water in. Spring-fed pools can run scalding at the source, and skin contact with water that hot can scald in seconds. Bring your own thermometer, check before you get in, skip any pool you can't check safely, then ease in and keep kids and dogs at the cooler edges.
• Leave it cleaner than the trail. Pack out everything, including things that "biodegrade." The reason these pools are pristine is that the people before you carried their trash out. Read our hot springs etiquette guide — the backcountry sections apply double here.
• Tell someone your plan. Several of these springs are beyond cell coverage. A 10-mile round trip to a hot spring is a wonderful day and a terrible place to twist an ankle alone.

The full list, state by state

Every hike-in spring in our directory appears on its state's page with the road distance shown. Start with the states that hold the most: Idaho (14), California (3), New Mexico (3), Colorado (3), Oregon (4), Washington (2 measured, plus Olympic, Gamma and Sulphur Warm). For the data behind every distance on this page, see our road access report.

The car will always be easier. But the pools at the end of the trail are the reason the list exists.