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.
A spring called plainly Hot Springs on the record, in Greenlee County inside the Gila National Forest, thirty miles or so from Clifton. The entry flags it hot without giving a measured temperature, so there is no figure to quote and no way to say it is safe to sit in. The record marks access open. A 1974 sample recorded its pH and a handful of dissolved minerals. No photo has been added.
Forest Service land, part of the Gila National Forest, at foothill elevation. The last half mile from the road is on foot, and no road name is on file. Winters bring some snow, though not a great deal. Rain is modest too, and the yearly average temperature is mild. No campground appears within range, and the designation is national forest, nothing more.
There is no best-months flag for this spring, so go by the climate: light winter snow means most of the year is workable. The half-mile walk is short. Because the temperature is unmeasured and the lone sample is half a century old, test the water before you commit to it. Check with the forest office about the current state of things.
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 Springs.
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 686 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the south
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 7% 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 Springs is slightly alkaline (pH 7.3). It is notably rich in chloride (natural antiseptic with skin health benefits).
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Springs Near Hot Springs
Slightly Alkaline Springs (pH ~7.3)
Hike 2 waterfalls near Hot Springs
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Hot Springs, New Mexico.