Essex Springs
Out in Modoc County, under eight miles from Alturas, Essex Springs comes up barely into soaking range, the low end of warm enough to sit in. It sits beside a road. Owner and access status are missing from the record, so standing next to it legally is an open question.
A couple hundred feet off a road that goes nameless on file, in high plateau country. Winters are cold; the average year brings nearly four feet of snow, and temperatures average around fifty. Rainfall is modest. Pepperdine Equestrian Campground, about 24 miles off, is as close as camping gets on record, so this is a day stop.
Winter is listed as the best season, yet four feet of snow falls here, so the road may be a problem in the very months the record recommends; check conditions. Ownership and access are both unknown. The water is barely into soaking range, so on a cold day it may feel less warm than the number suggests. No fee is recorded.
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 Essex Springs.
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Open ground
- Flat, open ground all around.
- Highest ground nearby
- 37 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
A slice through the ground from north to south, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 39% 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.
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The campsites are mostly shaded and enjoy serene surroundings and are equiped with 12' X 12' metal corrals. A short trail runs over to the start of the Summit Trail where it heads south into the South Warner Wilderness. No wilderness permits are required however, if you plan to use a camp or backpack stove or charcoal barbeque or have a campfire outside the developed campground, you will need a current California Campfire Permit.
Essex Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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