Borax Lake (Hot Lake)
Borax Lake, also called Hot Lake, is in Harney County, Oregon, about eighty eight miles from Hines. The water measured 97 degrees, soaking warm. The land is held by a nongovernmental organization as a conservation property, and public access is listed as unknown. A photograph is on file. The USGS has it in its list of thermal waters.
Borax Lake Road passes within about half a mile, so reaching the lake is a short walk across conservation land at around forty one hundred feet. A desert basin: little rain, a light dusting of snow. South Steens Campground, about twenty four miles off, is the nearest camping listed.
The rankings favor January, with December and February close behind. The water is soaking warm. Access is unknown and the land is a private conservation holding, so contact the owner before visiting. South Steens is the camping option.
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 Borax Lake (Hot Lake).
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
- Open ground
- Flat, open ground all around.
- Highest ground nearby
- 1 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
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 10% 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.
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Overview:South Steens Campground is located in the heart of Steens Mountain. Visitors will find picnic tables and grills at 36 family campsites amid juniper and sage. The equestrian site, designed specifically for horse users, is directly adjacent to the family campground. Recreational stock (horses, mules, llamas, goats, etc.) are not allowed in the family portion of South Steens Campground, but are welcome and comfortable at 15 equestrian sites complete with tie posts and small corrals.Know...
Borax Lake (Hot Lake) is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear.
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