Vickers 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.
Vickers Hot Springs is in Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County, about five miles from Meiners Oaks. The water comes out hot, well above comfortable soaking temperature. Forest Service land, listed as open, sixty feet off Matilija Canyon Road North. This is one of the more looked-for springs in this set, judging by the search traffic it pulls.
Canyon ground around 1,400 feet, dry, with a little snow most years. Matilija Canyon Road North runs within a few dozen feet. National Forest land. Holiday Group Campground is four miles off, the nearest camp on record, and it is a group site.
Best months listed are December through February. Roadside. The water can scald if you go in without testing, so ease in. Camp at Holiday Group Campground if your party is big enough for a group site. Open per the Forest Service, with no fee on record for the spring itself.
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 Vickers Hot Springs.
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 714 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the east
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 close to the US average of 65. It's higher than at 3% 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.
Overview Holiday Group Campground is a relaxing location to enjoy nature all year long; a quick escape from the bustle of the city. It provides access to a variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking, biking and horseback riding. Surrounding trails are also fun for off-road vehicle enthusiasts.Recreation The Wheeler Gorge Nature Trail begins not far from the campground. It is a relatively short, loop trail that leads through thick vegetation along the river banks and to a scenic h...
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