Ojo Caliente 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.
Ojo Caliente Hot Springs is a group of thermal springs, also called the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, with a long record of use by native New Mexicans. The record files it under Rio Arriba County with Ohkay Owingeh about eighteen miles away, while Wikipedia places the group in Taos County. No temperature is attached to this point. This point carries no owner and no access note.
The springs sit beside a road, under a hundred feet away, moderately high up. Winters bring a fair bit of snow and the year is otherwise dry. It stays cool on average. The nearest camp in the entry is Riana at Abiquiu Lake, about twenty-two miles off. No road name and no land unit are recorded.
Nobody has flagged best months. The snow totals favor spring through fall for easy travel. The only chemistry is pH plus sodium and chloride from a 1974 sample, and the temperature is missing, so this entry tells you little about what the water feels like. Ask on the ground about access and any fee before planning around it.
Wikipedia describes Ojo Caliente as a group of thermal springs in Taos County, also known as the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, used by native New Mexicans for many years.
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 Ojo Caliente Hot Springs.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the northwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 285 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
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 about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 54% 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 Ojo Caliente Hot Springs is slightly acidic (pH 6.6). It is notably rich in sodium (supports circulation and skin hydration) and chloride (natural antiseptic with skin health benefits).
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Overview Riana Campground is located on a 150 ft. bluff overlooking the scenic Abiquiu Lake in northern New Mexico, just one hour northwest of charming Santa Fe. The lake sits at an elevation of 6,400 feet on the Rio Chama, a tributary of the legendary Rio Grande. Recreation Abiquiu Lake offers many opportunities for outdoor recreation. The fishing here is some of the finest in northern New Mexico. Visitors enjoy boating, water skiing, and hiking. Lake shore access for boat launching is 1 m...
Ojo Caliente Hot Springs sits at 6,220 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 25% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Ojo Caliente Hot Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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Springs Near Ojo Caliente Hot Springs
Slightly Acidic Springs (pH ~6.6)
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