Hot Creek Springs
Scalding water within sight of the road. Hot Creek Springs sits on Inyo National Forest land about nine miles outside Mammoth Lakes, and the temperature on file is well past anything skin can tolerate. It is open to the public. The one thing to know before anything else is that the water is not something to get into.
Hot Creek Hatchery Road is the access, and the springs are a couple of hundred feet from it, so this counts as roadside. Forest Service land. You are at close to seven thousand feet on the east side of the Sierra, where a typical winter lays down seven feet of snow and the remaining months stay fairly dry.
The record puts the best visits in the winter months, December into February. Convict Lake Campground is four miles away. Do not touch the water; it will scald you. The chemistry on file is from a 1997 sample with a high pH, and a photo exists in the record. The access listing says Open, though the file does not say how recent that is, so check with the Forest Service for closures.
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 Hot Creek 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
- 65 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the south
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.
That's about twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 84% 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 Hot Creek Springs is alkaline (pH 8.7). It is notably rich in chloride (natural antiseptic with skin health benefits).
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Overview Convict Lake Campground is situated near Convict Lake amidst the beautiful scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The lake and surrounding national forest provide many opportunities for family fun, outdoor recreation and relaxation. The campground and nearby resort offer many amenities for a convenient and enjoyable camping experience. The facility is located between Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, California, near Mammoth Airport.Recreation The eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains are known...
Hot Creek Springs sits at 6,970 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 28% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Hot Creek Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water is dangerously hot, so bring water shoes and test pools carefully.
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