California is one of the most geologically alive states in the country, and that underground energy translates into an extraordinary variety of hot springs. You can soak in a remote desert basin with Death Valley at your back, watch dawn break over the Sierra Nevada from a steaming roadside pool, or slip into perfectly warm water on a Big Sur clifftop with the Pacific crashing below. With nearly 280 springs catalogued in the Soakr California guide, this state rewards soakers of every persuasion — from backcountry adventurers to resort devotees. These 12 standouts offer a tour through the best hot springs in California, from the high desert east to the fog-draped coast.
Eastern Sierra: California’s Hot Springs Heartland
If you had to pick one region that defines California’s hot springs culture, it would be the Eastern Sierra. The stretch of highway running through Mono and Inyo Counties sits atop some of the most active geothermal terrain in the American West. Volcanic history runs deep here — the Mammoth Lakes area sits within a genuine volcanic caldera — and the result is a concentration of soaking opportunities unmatched anywhere else in the state.
Travertine Hot Springs
Just outside Bridgeport, Travertine is arguably the most visually stunning free hot spring in California. A series of natural rock formations channel geothermally heated water down a hillside and into a cascade of pools, each with its own temperature and character. The setting — open high desert backed by the Sweetwater Mountains — gives the whole scene a cinematic quality, especially in the golden hour before sunset. Travertine is well-known, which means weekends can get crowded, but visitors willing to arrive early or stay late often find the place nearly to themselves.
Buckeye Hot Springs
A few miles from Bridgeport in a different direction, Buckeye feels like a secret the Eastern Sierra keeps for those who know where to look. The spring flows directly into the Buckeye Creek canyon, and the contrast — frigid creek rushing alongside hot mineral pools — is one of those natural combinations that never gets old. The setting is lush by Sierra standards, with willows and aspens framing the pools in a way that feels genuinely remote even on busy summer weekends. Buckeye rewards spontaneous visits and rewards early mornings even more.
Little Hot Creek
Between the Mammoth Lakes turnoff and the town of Bishop, Little Hot Creek sits roadside but rewards those who take it seriously. A series of small natural pools line a narrow canyon cut into volcanic rock, with temperatures varying dramatically from pool to pool. Some are nearly too hot for extended soaking; others are perfectly dialed. The spring is unimproved — no facilities, no signage, just a series of holes worn smooth by geology and decades of patient soakers. It’s the kind of place you file away for return visits.
Mono Hot Springs
Deeper into the Sierra Nevada, tucked into the Sierra National Forest above Huntington Lake, Mono Hot Springs is where the Eastern Sierra experience graduates into a full overnight. A small rustic resort has operated here for generations, offering basic cabins and a cafe in a setting that feels genuinely remote. The springs themselves emerge from granite-lined pools near the South Fork of the San Joaquin River, and the combination of elevation, forest, and mineral water makes for one of the more complete soaking environments in the state. This is not a place you visit for an afternoon — build in at least a night.
Explore all four of these Eastern Sierra springs — plus GPS directions, trail conditions, and community reviews — in the Soakr app. Download free for iOS
High Country: Grover Hot Springs State Park
Grover Hot Springs State Park
Near the tiny Alpine County town of Markleeville, Grover Hot Springs occupies one of California’s most scenic mountain valleys. The state park wraps the spring in actual infrastructure — a developed pool complex in a meadow ringed by Jeffrey pines and 10,000-foot peaks — which makes this one of the more approachable soaking experiences in the Sierra. It’s the right call when you want guaranteed water quality, clean changing facilities, and a reliable experience rather than a scramble across unmarked terrain. Markleeville itself is worth exploring: it’s one of California’s smallest county seats and has the quiet, slightly forgotten quality of a town that history left mostly intact. A modest day-use fee applies.
Desert Springs: Death Valley to the Mojave
California’s desert soaking scene operates on a completely different frequency than the Sierra. Out here, the landscape is vast, access is often demanding, and the reward is proportional. Desert springs tend to attract serious soakers — people who appreciate solitude, self-sufficiency, and the specific meditation of sitting in warm water with nothing but open sky and silence in every direction.
Saline Valley Hot Springs
Saline Valley is the benchmark against which all remote California hot springs are measured. Located within Death Valley National Park on the far side of the Saline Valley road — one of the longest unpaved roads in the park — getting here requires commitment: a high-clearance vehicle, a full fuel tank, and a willingness to be genuinely far from help if something goes wrong. What you find after the drive is a tiered oasis of warm pools maintained by a devoted community of long-term visitors who have built this place into something that functions like a low-key desert village during the cooler months. Soaking at Saline Valley under a star field with zero light pollution is an experience that has no suburban equivalent.
Tecopa Hot Springs
The small town of Tecopa sits at the southern edge of Death Valley, and for decades it has operated as a quiet destination for desert soakers seeking warm mineral pools without the logistical demands of a place like Saline Valley. The county-run bathing facilities here are simple but reliable — a pair of gender-segregated indoor pools filled with geothermal water that locals have been soaking in since the town’s early mining days. Tecopa pairs well with a visit to the Amargosa Valley and the quirky arts community that has taken root in this improbable corner of the Mojave.
Deep Creek Hot Springs
On the other end of the state’s desert soaking spectrum, Deep Creek sits in San Bernardino National Forest above the communities north of Los Angeles — which means it draws a larger crowd than most primitive springs. The hike to reach it filters out casual visitors, and the canyon setting along Deep Creek is genuinely beautiful: a live stream, shaded banks, and several pools of varying intensity arranged along the water. Deep Creek has a devoted following in the Southern California outdoor community, and for good reason. The combination of wilderness proximity to a major metro area makes it irreplaceable. It can get crowded on weekends; weekday mornings are a different world.
Two Bunch Palms
In Desert Hot Springs — a city that sits atop one of the most active natural hot spring aquifers in California — Two Bunch Palms has been a resort destination since the 1940s. The property channels geothermal water into an outdoor pool complex set among mature palms and desert landscaping, and the vibe leans deliberately wellness-forward: quiet, unhurried, and restorative. It’s the right choice when your idea of the perfect California hot spring day includes a massage treatment and a good meal rather than a hike with a pack on your back. Resort pricing applies, and the experience is worth it for what it delivers.
Ready to find your next desert soak? Soakr has GPS coordinates, seasonal access notes, and community check-ins for all of these springs and hundreds more. Download Soakr free for iOS
Northern California: Where Geothermal Meets Wine Country
Northern California’s hot springs scene gets less attention than the Sierra, but the region holds some genuinely exceptional soaking environments — especially for people who want to combine geothermal water with the rolling golden hills and oak savanna of the inner Coast Ranges.
Wilbur Hot Springs
In Lake County, a few hours north of San Francisco, Wilbur Hot Springs operates as a clothing-optional wellness retreat on a historic property that has been in continuous operation since the 1860s. The springs feed a series of indoor and outdoor pools in a setting that feels deliberately removed from the modern world — no cell service, a library and yoga space instead of TVs, and a communal kitchen model that encourages actually talking to other guests. The water quality at Wilbur is exceptional: sulfurous and mineral-rich in the way that genuine geothermal springs tend to be, and noticeably different from anything man-made. Advance reservations are required; day passes are available on select days but limited. If you’re traveling the Northern California wine country corridor, Wilbur makes a worthwhile detour.
Coastal California: Soaking with an Ocean View
California’s coastline sits atop the Pacific Plate boundary, which means geothermal activity extends right to the edge of the continent. Two legendary soaking destinations make this connection explicit.
Esalen Institute
On a cliffside in Big Sur, Esalen has been welcoming soakers to its legendary baths for more than six decades. The facility perches directly over the Pacific, close enough that you can hear — and sometimes feel — the spray from swells hitting the rocks below. Esalen is a retreat and education center first, which means access to the baths is primarily for registered workshop participants. However, the institute does open the baths to the public during overnight “bath house” reservations in the early morning hours — and experiencing those pools by lantern light while the ocean works below is an experience that has no equivalent anywhere else in the country. Plan well in advance; these slots fill quickly.
If you want to understand what makes Esalen so enduring, the history of hot springs bathing in America offers useful context. These baths have been drawing seekers to Big Sur since the 1960s counterculture era, and the place has only deepened in character since.
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
Deep in the Ventana Wilderness above Carmel Valley, Tassajara is a functioning Zen monastery that opens its doors to guests during the summer months. The springs here feed a series of plunge pools and enclosed baths in a creek-side setting that operates according to a monastic rhythm — meals at set times, minimal technology, an atmosphere of deliberate quiet. The access road into Tassajara is genuinely demanding; the monastery runs a shuttle during the guest season to make the descent manageable. What you find on arrival is one of the most peaceful environments anywhere in California: spring water, forest, creek, and a centuries-old practice of mindful living. Day visits are available in summer; overnight stays book out months in advance.
Planning Your California Hot Springs Trip
California’s hot springs don’t all operate on the same calendar, and matching your visit to conditions makes a significant difference. The Eastern Sierra springs are accessible for most of the year but can be snowbound during winter storms. Summer is the most popular season, which brings crowds to the well-known springs. Spring and fall — particularly late April through June and September through October — offer the best combination of pleasant temperatures, manageable crowds, and reliable access.
Desert springs like Saline Valley and Tecopa shine in the cooler months. Summer in the Mojave pushes temperatures to extremes that make outdoor soaking genuinely uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. Plan desert visits for October through April.
For resort destinations like Two Bunch Palms, Esalen, and Tassajara, advance reservations are not optional — they’re required. These places operate at capacity during peak season, and showing up without a booking will mean turning around.
If you’re combining a California hot springs trip with camping — one of the great pleasures this state offers — the hot springs camping guide covers planning in detail, including how to set up multi-night itineraries that put you close to multiple springs without doubling back.
One aspect of California soaking worth understanding before you go: many of the state’s most celebrated primitive springs are on public land managed by the Forest Service or BLM, which means the rules (and the level of enforcement) vary by district. Some areas require a fire permit during summer; some have specific rules about camping near water sources; some have had closures in recent fire seasons that are worth checking before you drive several hours to reach them.
Whatever combination of wild and developed you’re after, California can deliver it. Few states offer this range — from a sunrise soak in a granite-walled Sierra pool to a cliffside bath above the Pacific to a remote desert oasis that takes a day of dirt road driving to reach. The common thread is the water: genuine geothermal mineral water emerging from the earth the same way it has for thousands of years.
For couples planning a soaking-centered trip, the hot springs for couples guide highlights the most romantic settings across the country — including several California properties that pair naturally with a longer road trip through the state.
California’s 280+ hot springs — and over 2,000 more across the US — are in the Soakr app. Get GPS directions, community check-ins, photos, seasonal conditions, and offline maps for every spring in this guide. Download Soakr free for iOS