The Needle Rocks Hot Spring
Near boiling, according to the only sample anyone took, and that was 1978. The Needle Rocks Hot Spring lies in Washoe County about 34 miles out from Spanish Springs, and this is Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation ground. Public access is unknown, which on tribal land means assume permission is required until you hear otherwise. A photo exists.
A little over a thousand feet on foot from the closest road; no road name is recorded. The ground is tribal land. Low elevation, snow around eighteen inches in winter, and a moderately dry year. The land unit on file is the reservation itself.
The calendar on file favors winter. Scalding at the source; do not touch the water where it emerges. A 1978 sample put the pH near neutral and measured the main dissolved minerals, sodium and calcium among them. Ask the tribe before visiting, since access is not on record. No fee or campground appears.
USGS hasn't flown a detailed laser scan here yet, so this view comes from aerial photos and older elevation data.
The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the southwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 254 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southwest
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 34% 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 The Needle Rocks Hot Spring is slightly alkaline (pH 7.8). It is notably rich in calcium (may support bone density and joint health), magnesium (known for muscle relaxation and stress relief), and sodium (supports circulation and skin hydration).
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The Needle Rocks Hot Spring is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water is dangerously hot, so bring water shoes and test pools carefully.
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