Scovern Hot Springs
Scovern Hot Springs is a thermal spring system and former settlement in the Kern River Valley, a little over a mile from Lake Isabella in Kern County. The water is hot, hot enough that you would not get in without cooling it. The spring is roadside, ninety feet or so from the road. No owner or access status appears in the record, so it is not clear you can use it.
The southern Sierra foothills, with a modest winter snowfall and dry summers. The spring sits beside a road the record does not name. Pioneer Point campground is about two miles away. No land unit or designation is recorded. A photo is on file. Lake Isabella, the nearest town, is barely over a mile off.
The record puts the good months in winter. Pioneer Point campground is a couple of miles off. It runs well above comfortable soaking heat, so do not step in without checking; burns are a real risk at this temperature. Ownership and access are unrecorded, so confirm both before you stop.
The site has carried other names over the years, Agua Caliente among them, along with Neills Hot Springs and Hot Springs House. It was a settlement once, in the Kern River Valley of the southern Sierra Nevada, and the name survives as a thermal spring system.
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 Scovern Hot 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
- 52 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 23% 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.
Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Overview Reservations not being accepted. Pioneer Point is a high-desert campground near Lake Isabella in the Sequoia National Forest. The 11,000-acre lake is actually a reservoir, one of California's largest, and it marks the division between the Upper and Lower Kern Rivers. Recreation The focal point of this year-round campground is Lake Isabella, where campers can swim, water ski, windsurf and more. The lake is known for trout fishing during the colder months, offering anglers a variety o...
Scovern Hot Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water runs hot, so extra hydration is key.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Springs Near Scovern Hot Springs
More Springs Around 133°F
Hike 4 waterfalls near Scovern Hot Springs
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Scovern Hot Springs, California.