Hot springs etiquette
Wild hot springs stay open because visitors police themselves. Nearly every closure of a popular pool traces back to trash, glass, or complaints — not to the soaking itself.
Read the clothing situation before you arrive
Clothing norms vary wildly and are rarely posted. A spring can be clothing-optional by long tradition while the resort ten miles away requires swimwear at all times.
On this site every listing shows its clothing policy alongside the source that confirms it. Of 277 springs we track, only a minority have a documented policy — for the rest, assume swimwear and watch what regulars do.
If you arrive somewhere clothing-optional and are not comfortable, that is fine — nobody is required to disrobe. Staring is the actual taboo.
Pack it out — all of it
Undeveloped springs have no bins and no staff. Everything you carry in comes back out with you, including fruit peels and cigarette butts.
Glass is the cardinal sin. A broken bottle in a rock pool can close a spring for a season and injure barefoot soakers for years.
Keep it quiet
Bluetooth speakers are the fastest way to sour a soak. Most people hiked in for the silence.
Voices carry over water at night far further than you would expect. Assume everyone in the pool can hear you.
Respect the water itself
No soap, shampoo, or detergent — even biodegradable products damage the microbial mats that make these systems work.
Do not move rocks or re-plumb pools without knowing the system. Volunteers often maintain these, and casual rearranging drains them.
Never enter a spring in a national park. Features like those in Yellowstone are acidic, scalding, and have killed people.
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