Paulina Springs
Paulina Springs is a barely warm spring in the Deschutes National Forest, Deschutes County, at well over six thousand feet. It takes a hike to reach, a bit over a mile in from the closest road. Public access is open. Three Rivers is the closest town, thirteen miles out. It has a USGS number as a thermal site, though at seventy degrees it sits closer to a cold spring than a hot one.
This is high country. Over a hundred inches of snow falls in an average winter, so the way in is buried for months and the hike, about a mile, becomes a trip over snow in the season the record says is best. Little Crater Campground is close, under a mile and a half. The land is Forest Service, National Forest designation, with no fee recorded.
Cold months rate highest here, and with that snowpack you will be walking in over snow. Either direction, count on a mile-plus hike. Little Crater is the nearest campground. Public access is open. The water runs cool to lukewarm, so do not come expecting a soak. No fee is recorded.
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 Paulina 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.
- Setting
- Hillside
- The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the north.
- Highest ground nearby
- 357 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
A slice through the ground from south to north, 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 38% 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 Situated on the edge of the beautiful Paulina Lake, Little Crater Campground is conveniently located within Newberry National Monument. Visitors to this area are taken aback by the incredible views this area has to offer, highlighting volcanic landscapes intermixed with diverse forests, typical of central Oregon. Popular for both its geological significance and multitude of recreational activities, Little Crater Campground is ideal for individual and family camping excursions. If y...
Paulina Springs sits at 6,338 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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Paulina Springs is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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