Castle Hot Springs (Arizona)
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
The record holds a second entry under the Castle Hot Springs name in Yavapai County, this one placed almost on the road, with Black Canyon City about fifteen miles off. No temperature is attached to this record, so use the resort's own word on how hot the water runs. The USGS carries the point with a 1979 chemistry that reads slightly alkaline with sodium and sulfate among the minerals. Landowner and access are both blank.
Roadside. The closest road passes about two hundred feet away, though its name is not on file. Low desert in the Hieroglyphic Mountains, where snow is a rumor and the temperature averages in the low seventies across the year. Rain is scant. Horsethief Cabin, about thirteen miles away, is the only camp shown, and nothing sits closer.
No best months are given on this record. The approach is a few steps from the road. Since this is a resort property, expect the operator to control entry and plan to ask first. The water has no temperature on file, so do not assume a soak. Horsethief Cabin is the single overnight listing. Nothing on fees.
The resort holds National Register status and, per Wikipedia, has lately been restored. The water chemistry on file dates to a June 1979 sample.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Castle Hot Springs (Arizona).
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 327 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's close to the US average of 65. It's higher than at 4% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
The water at Castle Hot Springs (Arizona) is slightly alkaline (pH 7.7). It is notably rich in sulfate (traditionally used for skin conditions and inflammation) and chloride (natural antiseptic with skin health benefits).
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Overview Horsethief Cabin is situated in a clearing of Ponderosa pines at an elevation of over 6,000 feet in the Bradshaw Mountains of the Prescott National Forest. The original cabin was built in 1939 as quarters and a staging area for Forest Service crews charged with protecting the southern end of the Bradshaw Mountains against wildfires. The cabin was remodeled and modernized over the years, but eventually fell into disuse by the 1980s. The historic structure now enjoys a second life as a...
Castle Hot Springs (Arizona) is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Bring sun protection for exposed soaking.
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Springs Near Castle Hot Springs (Arizona)
Slightly Alkaline Springs (pH ~7.7)
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