Hot Hole
Hot Hole sits almost inside Elko, under a mile and a half from town in Elko County. The water is hot, past comfortable soaking without a cool-down. Who owns it is not recorded, and neither is whether the public can get in. A USGS site and a 1978 water sample are attached. A photo is on file as well.
Bullion Road comes within a few hundred feet and the last stretch is on foot. The spring sits at upland elevation with several feet of snow across a typical winter and a dry year otherwise. The 1978 sample came out near neutral. The closest listed camping is the Powerhouse group picnic area, nearly 19 miles out.
Winter months are the listed best. The source will burn skin. Access is blank in the record, so respect any fence or sign you meet. No fee listed. The picnic area listed as the nearest camping is a group picnic area, which may not mean overnight camping.
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 Hot Hole.
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
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the south.
- Highest ground nearby
- 115 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the south
A slice through the ground from north to south, 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 15% 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 Hot Hole is slightly alkaline (pH 7.5).
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Overview Powerhouse Group Picnic Area is set in scenic Lamoille Canyon, next to Lamoille Creek, at an elevation of 6,500 feet. Elko, in northeastern Nevada, is just 25 miles away. Visitors enjoy fishing and exploring local trails.Recreation Fishing for rainbow and brook trout is popular on the creek. Lamoille Canyon contains numerous hiking and horseback riding trails that lead to alpine lakes and scenic vistas. The canyon road itself, Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway, is popular for scenic drivi...
Hot Hole is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water runs hot, so extra hydration is key.
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