Hot Springs On Lower Ray River
The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
On the lower Ray River, BLM ground holds a hot spring about twelve miles off the Dalton Highway. The record puts it in Denali Borough, with Healy the nearest town at roughly 150 miles. Access is open. No temperature has been recorded, so nobody can say if it is warm enough to sit in.
Six hundred feet or so above sea level, in interior country that averages in the mid twenties and gets modest snow and little rain. The Dalton Highway is the nearest road, a dozen miles away, and from there the record shows nothing about a route. Central Yukon Field Office land.
Five Mile Campground is the closest camping the record lists, a bit over twenty miles away. The record names no best months. Access is open. No fee shows in the listing. Since the temperature was never measured, go expecting an unverified thermal feature.
USGS hasn't flown a detailed laser scan here yet, so this view comes from aerial photos and older elevation data.
- Setting
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the southwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 83 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southwest
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
Five Mile Campground is located approximately 4 miles north of the Yukon River crossing, at Dalton Highway milepost 60. Newly improved in 2022, it offers a vault toilet, potable water in an artesian well, the only RV dump station along the Dalton Highway, and 7 gravel campsites each with a picnic table and fire ring. A campground host may be present from late May to early September. July 5, 2023: The RV dump station is not available for use at this time due to unforeseen damage. Repairs ar...