Auburn 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.
Auburn Hot Springs is a scalding spring in Lincoln County, Wyoming, about eight miles from Afton. The water on record is 144 degrees, hot enough to cause burns in seconds, and the record is silent on both ownership and public entry. It is close to a road, under a hundred feet.
No road name is recorded, only that the spring is within about eighty feet of one. No land unit either. Elevation is a little over six thousand feet in country that sees nine feet of snow through the winter and about two feet of rain and melt across the year. Stump Creek Guard Station is the nearest camping on file, under five miles off.
Do not get in. The temperature on record is above the scalding threshold, so the only reasonable contact is a fingertip, and only where the water has clearly cooled away from the source. Access is not recorded, so assume private until confirmed. December through February is the window on file. Chemistry comes from a 1971 sample.
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 Auburn Hot Springs.
- Setting
- Open ground
- Flat, open ground all around.
- Highest ground nearby
- 60 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the northeast
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, 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 26% 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 Auburn Hot Springs is slightly acidic (pH 6.6). It is notably rich in calcium (may support bone density and joint health), magnesium (known for muscle relaxation and stress relief), and sodium (supports circulation and skin hydration).
Overview Stump Creek Guard Station is located along what was once the Lander Cutoff for the Oregon Trail. Visitors can trace the path that covered wagons traveled on over 150 years ago on their way to the Pacific Northwest. Wagon ruts are still carved into the soil. The guard station is accessible by car during warmer months, but guests should be prepared to ski, snowshoe or snowmobile more than a mile to reach he cabin in winter. Guest will need to bring much of their own supplies and gea...
Auburn Hot Springs sits at 6,080 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 24% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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