Kern Hot Spring
Kern Hot Spring is a backcountry soak deep inside Sequoia National Park, nearly eleven miles from the closest road. The record files it under Inyo County with Lone Pine as the nearest town, listed about nineteen miles off. Water comes out at soaking temperature, a touch over body heat. Public access is open. A photo exists.
The nearest road is Mineral King Road, and from there it is a long way on foot, deep in the park at nearly seven thousand feet. Winter snow is heavy. Cold Springs Campground is the camping the record lists, almost twelve miles from the spring. Land owner is the National Park Service.
This is a long backcountry walk, so check with Sequoia National Park about wilderness permits before going. the record's best months are the winter ones, which contradicts the snow figures; the record does not settle the question of timing. Temperature is safe to soak in. No fee 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 Kern Hot Spring.
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
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the east.
- Highest ground nearby
- 1,263 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the east
A slice through the ground from west to east, 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 58% 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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Overview The Mineral King area features the highest elevation campground in the parks. At 7,500 feet (2280 m), it is only open during the summer months. It takes approximately 90 minutes to drive the long narrow, winding, largely unpaved road that leads to the area and its two campgrounds. RVs and trailers are not recommended on Mineral King Road and are not permitted in campgrounds. Mineral King is not connected to the rest of Sequoia National Park by roads. Recreation Trails to alpine lake...
Kern Hot Spring sits at 6,908 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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Kern Hot Spring requires a hike to reach, so pack light but prepared.
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