Magic 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.
Magic Hot Springs, the one near Jackpot, is a BLM hot spring listed under Elko County with Jackpot recorded as the nearest town at no distance at all. Open access is on record. The recorded water temperature sits at the upper end of comfortable soaking, and a road named for the spring runs close by. The Burley Field Office manages the ground.
Magic Hot Springs Road gets you to within about five hundred feet, then you walk the rest. BLM public land, no designation beyond that. The elevation is moderately high, and the climate on record is cool and fairly dry, with a little over four feet of snow in an average winter.
The season the record singles out is winter. Diamondfield Jack Campground, about sixteen miles off, is the closest camping listed. The water is warm enough that a first cautious touch is still wise, though it is well short of burning. The chemistry on record is from 1987.
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 Magic Hot Springs.
- Setting
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the southeast.
- Highest ground nearby
- 136 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southeast
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 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 60% 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 Magic Hot Springs is slightly alkaline (pH 7.6).
Diamondfield Jack Campground and Picnic Area is located at the end of a paved road in Rock Creek. The campground is suitable for motor homes, trailers, and tent camping. This area is accessible year around. Campground amenities include drinking water, wheelchair accessible toilets, picnic tables, warming shelter, parking area, and fire rings. It is a winter play area from December through March. Pike Mountain and Eagle Trails (#239 and #243) are easy multi-use trails nearby.
Magic Hot Springs sits at 5,460 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 22% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Slightly Alkaline Springs (pH ~7.6)
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