Sespe 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.
Sespe Hot Springs is a cluster of thermal springs and seeps in the Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County, that together form a hot creek. The record has no temperature for this point, so no number here. Access is open on national forest land. Fillmore, about five miles away, is the closest town on record.
The map point is slightly more than half a mile off the nearest road, at around three thousand feet in the mountains near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Rain is modest and snow is light. The land is Forest Service. Which road, and what the walk in is like, the file does not say.
No best months are listed and no temperature is recorded, so the usual guidance about season and soaking does not apply here. Access is open. Middle Lion Campground is thirteen miles away by the record. The condor sanctuary is nearby. Check current Forest Service conditions before going.
The Chumash name for the springs is S'eqp'e'. Wikipedia describes them as a system of thermal springs and seeps that form a hot spring creek in the mountains near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, near Ojai.
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 Sespe Hot Springs.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the north.
- Highest ground nearby
- 572 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 5% 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 Leave the city vibe behind as you meander down a winding, partially paved, narrow road that leads you into wooded Middle Lion Campground and day use area. Relax next to the running creek, take a refreshing dip, or hike the nearby trails. Tucked away in a canyon encased by chaparral and wildflower covered mountains, Middle Lion Campground is particularly beautiful in the spring and fall, but camping is great year-round.Recreation The Lion Canyon Trail (22W06) starts at the back of the...
Sespe Hot Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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