Steam on cold mornings
Hot Springs for RV Travelers
Real hot springs on US public land — where warm water surfaces in canyon bottoms, forest clearings, and high-desert basins, with the season, the setting, and how to find a rig nearby. Facts are sourced from official NPS, Forest Service, BLM, and state-park pages.
Always confirm current access, road status, and seasons on the official site before you go — many springs sit at the end of seasonal roads.
- 19
- Field guides
- 12
- States covered
- 4
- Managing agencies
The springs
Every hot spring in the guide
Arizona & Nevada
Arizona Hot Spring & Goldstrike Canyon
Arizona & Nevada
Arizona Hot Spring & Goldstrike Canyon: A Lake Mead RV Guide
A natural hot-spring destination in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (AZ/NV), managed by the NPS near Boulder City. The Goldstrike Canyon route is a very strenuous Grade 2 canyoneering descent of about 1,000 feet, closed annually from May 15 to September 30 for extreme heat. RV travelers base around Boulder City.
Read the field guideOregon
Bagby Hot Springs in Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon
A primitive cedar-tub soak 1.4 miles into Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon. Forest Service-managed, day-use, cash fee on site. No cell service; roads can close in winter. A classic Cascades old-growth hot spring reached on foot.
Read the field guideAlaska
Baranof Warm Springs & the Tongass National Forest
Alaska
Baranof Warm Springs & the Tongass National Forest
A roadless, fly-in stretch of Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest on Baranof Island east of Sitka. The Forest Service maintains the rustic Baranof Lake Cabin nearby; access is by floatplane or boat, so a Sitka boat rental, not an RV, suits the trip.
Read the field guideWest Virginia
Berkeley Springs State Park, West Virginia
West Virginia
Berkeley Springs State Park, West Virginia
West Virginia's only state-run mineral spa, set in a small downtown park. Spring water flows at a steady 74.3°F; George Washington visited in 1748. Free admission, managed by WV State Parks, in the Eastern Panhandle.
Read the field guideAlaska
Chena Hot Springs & the Chena River State Recreation Area
A paved Interior Alaska road links Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs through a vast state recreation area with three RV-friendly campgrounds, river paddling, and trails. The springs sit at the far end; the public land is the journey.
Read the field guideUtah
Fifth Water Hot Springs (Diamond Fork): A Utah RV Guide
A natural hot spring on Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest land in Diamond Fork Canyon, Utah, reached by a Forest Service trail from the Diamond Fork area near Spanish Fork. Dry Canyon Campground in the canyon connects to the trail.
Read the field guideWyoming
Granite Hot Springs Pool: A Wyoming RV Traveler's Guide
A developed Forest Service soaking pool in Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming, beside the Wild and Scenic Granite Creek. The pool runs in a summer and a winter season, reached on a bumpy dirt road about 34 miles from Jackson, with Granite Creek Campground nearby.
Read the field guideArkansas
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
The only national park built around a working historic spa district. NPS-managed thermal springs feed jug fountains and two operating bathhouses on Bathhouse Row, ringed by 26 miles of mountain trails — all minutes from in-park RV camping.
Read the field guideArizona
Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area
Arizona
Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area: A BLM Arizona RV Guide
A BLM-managed recreation area in southeastern Arizona pairing geothermal soaking tubs with about 2,000 acres of sand dunes for OHV use. The Safford Field Office runs a small developed campground with tent/RV units and a modest fee, making this one of the more RV-friendly public hot-spring sites in the region.
Read the field guideIdaho
Jerry Johnson Hot Springs: An Idaho RV Traveler's Guide
A day-use natural hot spring on Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest land in Idaho, reached on foot from the Warm Springs Trailhead on US 12 along the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River. The trailhead also accesses the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.
Read the field guideIdaho
Kirkham Hot Springs, Boise National Forest
A riverside, Forest-Service-managed day-use hot spring on Idaho's Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway. Pools and steaming cascades sit right beside the South Fork Payette; a per-vehicle day fee applies and overnight camping is not allowed at the site.
Read the field guide
California
Lassen Volcanic Hydrothermal Areas in California
California's window into Cascade-arc geothermal power, in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Fumaroles, mudpots, and boiling springs viewed from boardwalks and trails at Bumpass Hell, Sulphur Works, and Boiling Springs Lake. NPS-managed; entering the water is prohibited and dangerous.
Read the field guideWashington
Olympic Hot Springs in Olympic National Park, Washington
A primitive, unmaintained cluster of hot-water seeps in the Elwha wilderness of Olympic National Park, Washington. Reached only on foot or by bike via a long approach up Olympic Hot Springs Road. NPS-managed; backcountry permit required for overnight camping.
Read the field guideNew Mexico
San Antonio Hot Springs: A Santa Fe National Forest RV Guide
A primitive, undeveloped hot spring in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest, managed by the USFS. Hillside seeps feed rock-lined pools of varying temperature, reached by a short trail off Forest Road 376. RV travelers base in the wider Jemez corridor and approach the trailhead by smaller vehicle.
Read the field guideWashington
Sol Duc Hot Springs in Olympic National Park, Washington
An accessible, NPS-concession mineral-pool resort along the Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park, Washington. Drive-up access when open, daily-tested pools, and a Recreation.gov campground with 17 RV sites. Generally open late March through late October.
Read the field guideNew Mexico
Spence Hot Spring
New Mexico
Spence Hot Spring: A Jemez Mountains RV Guide
A primitive day-use hot spring in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest, managed by the USFS on the Jemez Ranger District. A short trail from a small trailhead leads to the pool. There is no overnight camping at the site itself, so RV travelers base in the surrounding Jemez corridor.
Read the field guideOregon
Terwilliger (Cougar) Hot Springs in Willamette National Forest
Stepped forest pools in a ravine in Willamette National Forest, Oregon, a quarter-mile from the Aufderheide Scenic Byway. Forest Service-managed, day-use, per-person fee. Open sunrise to 10 p.m.; clothing-optional in the bathing area.
Read the field guideWyoming
Hot Springs State Park, Thermopolis: A Wyoming RV Guide
A Wyoming state park in Thermopolis centered on a high-volume mineral hot spring that flows over colorful terraces along the Bighorn River. A free State Bath House operates year-round, and the park adds trails and a suspension footbridge over the river.
Read the field guideOregon
Umpqua Hot Springs in Umpqua National Forest, Oregon
A travertine-terrace hot spring above the North Umpqua River in Umpqua National Forest, Oregon. Forest Service-managed, day-use, short steep trail, cashless fee via Recreation.gov. Road usually closes in winter; nearby Toketee Lake Campground for overnights.
Read the field guide
Where the ground runs warm
Hot-spring country, state by state
Public-land hot springs cluster along the West's volcanic and fault country — the Rockies, the Great Basin, and the desert Southwest. Pick a state to see RV rentals and what else is nearby.
Chasing a warm soak after a cold day on the road?