Olympic Hot Springs
Olympic Hot Springs is a group of seeps in Olympic National Park, Clallam County, roughly fourteen miles from Port Angeles. Wikipedia counts twenty-one of them along Boulder Creek, some tepid and some hot enough to burn, and the single reading on file lands in the hot range. Public access is open. Five miles of park backcountry separate the seeps from the closest road.
Two thousand feet up in the park's interior. The record lists no named road, only a five-mile gap between the end of driving and the springs. Wet climate, seventy inches of precipitation, with snow in the winter at a moderate total. Boulder Creek, which the seeps sit beside, drains into the Elwha River.
Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort campground, eight miles or so off, is the camping in the record. The best season on file is winter; the five-mile approach will be wetter and colder then. Temperatures vary seep to seep, and some are hot enough to scald, so test each pool before getting in. National park backcountry rules apply; ask the park about permits.
Wikipedia describes the site as twenty-one seeps near Boulder Creek, a tributary of the Elwha River, with temperatures between tepid and 138 degrees. USGS has a site entry for it and OpenStreetMap carries the same name.
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
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 707 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southwest
A slice through the ground from west to east, 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 55% 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 For up to date pool schedule information, please visit our website here. Pool access fees are $19 for adults, $15 for children ages 4-12 and $15 for seniors over 62 years old per session. Towel rentals are $5. You may bring your own towel. Lockers are available, but locks are not provided. Located along the Sol Duc River, Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort Campground is on the "edge of the backcountry in the heart of the Olympic National Park" with hot spring pools and access to many hiking...
Olympic Hot Springs requires a hike to reach, so pack light but prepared. The water runs hot, so extra hydration is key.
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