Los Angeles is a city defined by its appetite for escape. Within a few hours of the 405, the landscape transforms from concrete to canyon, from palm-lined boulevards to backcountry wilderness — and tucked into that wilderness are some of Southern California’s most rewarding hot springs. Whether you want a quick day-trip soak in the San Bernardino mountains or a full weekend in the remote Mojave, there are hot springs near Los Angeles worth every mile of the drive.
California hosts over 280 hot springs across the state, and a surprising number of them are within reach of the greater LA metro. The challenge isn’t finding them — it’s knowing which ones reward the effort, which require advance planning, and which are worth turning into a full weekend. This guide breaks it all down, without giving away the GPS coordinates your trail companions worked hard to earn. For that, you’ll need the app.
Day Trip Hot Springs Near Los Angeles
The best day trips from LA are the ones that feel like a different world by the time you arrive. These springs deliver that shift — from freeway to forest, from city noise to the sound of water moving over stone.
Deep Creek Hot Springs
Deep Creek is the quintessential Los Angeles hot spring: beloved, well-known, and still capable of stopping you in your tracks the moment the pools come into view. Carved into the gorge of the Mojave River near Apple Valley in the San Bernardino National Forest, Deep Creek offers a cluster of natural pools fed by a geothermal source that has been drawing soakers for generations.
The hike in is real — don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. You’ll descend into a canyon, navigate rocky terrain, and earn every degree of that water by the time you arrive. The reward is a series of pools ranging from warm to genuinely hot, right where the geothermal source meets the cold creek. The contrast bathing here is some of the best in Southern California.
Deep Creek has a well-deserved reputation for a free-spirited, clothing-optional vibe — something it shares with other primitive backcountry springs. If that’s your scene, you’ll feel at home. If you prefer a more family-friendly environment, plan your timing accordingly. Weekday visits are dramatically quieter than weekend crowds.
Get trail conditions, GPS directions, and current crowd reports for Deep Creek in the Soakr app. Download free for iOS
Gaviota Hot Springs
Head north on the 101 toward Santa Barbara and you’ll reach Gaviota State Park, where a relatively short hike leads to one of the most approachable primitive hot springs in the region. Gaviota Hot Springs sits in a shaded canyon, and the approach feels more like a stroll through coastal sage scrub than a serious backcountry mission.
The spring itself pools into a small, rock-lined basin. It runs warm rather than scalding, which makes it particularly pleasant in warm months when you want a soak without the full pressure-cooker experience. The surrounding canyon is beautiful year-round, and the proximity to the Pacific makes this an easy pairing with a beach day.
Gaviota is a genuinely good entry-level hot spring for people who are new to the experience — the hike is manageable, the setting is lovely, and the whole trip is achievable in half a day.
Big Caliente Hot Springs
Santa Barbara County’s Los Padres National Forest is one of the most underrated hot spring regions in California. Big Caliente Hot Springs sits at the end of a forest road in a remote stretch of the backcountry, rewarding visitors with a developed concrete tub and an adjacent creek for cooling off.
The soak here feels civilized in the best possible sense — a proper tub, hot water, clean surroundings — without the crowds or fees of a commercial resort. The drive in can be long and the road requires attention, but the Forest Service maintains the site and it holds up well through most seasons.
Plan to combine this with nearby Little Caliente Hot Springs if you’re making the drive worth your while. The two springs are relatively close and offer different experiences — Big Caliente is hotter and more developed, while Little Caliente runs cooler and feels more raw.
Weekend Getaway Hot Springs from Los Angeles
Some of the best hot springs near LA require more than a day. These are the ones worth packing a bag for — the springs where arriving at sunset and waking up with coffee by the pools turns the whole trip into something you’ll talk about for years.
Sespe Hot Springs
Sespe Hot Springs is the crown jewel of Los Padres, and getting there is not for the faint of heart. The route winds through the Sespe Wilderness, gaining and losing elevation across terrain that demands both a strong pair of boots and a permit. But those who make the journey arrive at a remote oasis of cascading pools that feels genuinely untouched.
Multiple pools sit at different temperatures, fed by one of the most active geothermal sources in Southern California. The surrounding wilderness is dramatic — rugged sandstone, creekside campsites, condor country. The California condor recovery program operates in this region, and sightings are not uncommon.
This is a backpacking trip, not a day hike. Plan two to three days. Bring everything you need. Leave nothing behind. And treat the pools with the care that something this rare deserves.
Explore all 280+ hot springs in California — with GPS directions, offline maps, and community check-ins — in the Soakr app. Download Soakr free for iOS
Saline Valley Warm Springs
Few places in the American West feel as remote or as alive as Saline Valley. Deep inside Death Valley National Park, reachable only by a long, rough unpaved road, Saline Valley Warm Springs is a genuinely otherworldly destination. Three distinct spring areas sit scattered across the valley floor: Lower Warm Springs, Upper Warm Springs, and Palm Spring.
The community that has gathered here over the decades is part of what makes Saline special. The springs have an informal, self-governing ethos — visitors maintain the pools, camp for extended stays, and look out for each other in a place where the nearest gas station is hours away. Shade trees, outdoor showers, and a low-key social atmosphere have accumulated over generations of use.
Come prepared for true desert conditions. Summers can be punishing — this is Death Valley, after all. Spring and fall are ideal, and winter visits are genuinely magic when the nights are cold and the pools are steaming. Check road conditions before you go. A high-clearance vehicle is not optional, it’s required.
Kern Hot Springs
The Kern Hot Springs sit at the bottom of the Kern Canyon deep in Sequoia National Park, accessible only after a significant backpacking approach through wilderness that earns its reputation for beauty. The Kern River is one of the most stunning in California, and the hot spring sits right at the river’s edge — a single concrete tub perched above the rushing current with views up and down the canyon.
This is a destination you build a multi-day backpacking trip around. The Kern Canyon route is one of the classic Sierra Nevada wilderness corridors, and the hot spring is the kind of reward that makes hard miles feel worthwhile. Permits are required for overnight stays in the wilderness.
Luxury and Commercial Hot Springs Near Los Angeles
Not every hot spring trip requires a multi-mile hike. The Palm Springs area — roughly two hours east of LA — hosts one of the highest concentrations of natural mineral hot springs spas in the country, including options that range from affordable community soaking pools to full luxury resort experiences.
Desert Hot Springs
The city of Desert Hot Springs sits directly atop a massive aquifer of naturally hot mineral water, and the local spa and resort industry has been drawing visitors since the 1940s. Unlike most spa towns, the springs here are genuinely natural — the water that fills the pools rises from the earth at temperature without mechanical heating.
Dozens of small motels and day-use facilities operate in Desert Hot Springs, and the range of experiences is extraordinary. Some properties offer simple, clean pools at modest prices. Others are architecturally ambitious boutique resorts with curated mineral pools, restaurant service, and the kind of design sensibility that photographs well. Whatever your budget, there’s likely a soak waiting for you.
The larger Palm Springs area adds resort options at every tier, from family-friendly pool complexes to clothing-optional adults-only retreats. If your version of a hot spring weekend involves room service and a spa menu rather than a tent and a headlamp, this is your quadrant of the map.
Two Bunch Palms
Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs occupies a category of its own among Southern California spa resorts. The property has operated as a mineral springs destination since before World War II, and its natural pools — fed directly by the underlying aquifer — remain among the best in the region. The resort has been through several reinventions over the decades and currently operates as a high-end wellness destination with a strong emphasis on privacy, silence, and intentional restoration.
Treatments here are grounded in the mineral water itself, and the pool experience is designed to be contemplative rather than social. It’s a destination for people who want the backcountry energy of a remote soak translated into a setting with a proper bed and a chef.
Planning Your Hot Springs Trip from Los Angeles
Day Trip vs. Weekend: How to Choose
The primitive springs — Deep Creek, Gaviota, Big Caliente — are genuine day trips if you’re motivated. Get an early start, build in time for the hike, plan to soak for a couple of hours, and head home before traffic. These aren’t comfortable if you’re rushed, so don’t schedule them around a later obligation.
The backcountry springs — Sespe, Saline Valley, Kern — require overnight commitment. Trying to do Saline Valley as a day trip, for example, is an exercise in frustration. Give these the time they deserve.
The Palm Springs resort scene is the easiest to plan around — hotels, restaurants, and infrastructure handle the logistics, and the soaking is available on demand.
Seasonal Timing
Coastal and mountain hot springs in the Los Padres and San Bernardino national forests are at their best in fall and spring. Summer brings heat that can make the hike and the soak unpleasant simultaneously. Winter can bring trail closures or road conditions that cut off access entirely — check ahead.
Deep Creek is popular year-round and particularly beautiful in winter when snow dusts the canyon walls above the steaming pools. Dress for the cold on the way in and out.
Saline Valley is a winter and shoulder-season destination. Desert Hot Springs is comfortable year-round, though summer in the Coachella Valley is genuinely hot — the pools are air-conditioned in their own way, but stepping out is a different story.
What to Bring
For primitive springs, the basics apply: water (bring more than you think you need), snacks, a towel, sandals or water shoes for navigating rocky approaches, sun protection, and a swimsuit unless you’ve established that clothing-optional is the norm. At backcountry sites, pack in everything and pack out everything, including trash that isn’t yours.
For the Los Padres springs specifically, fire restrictions change seasonally and can affect campfires entirely. Check current restrictions with the Forest Service before you go.
For resort soaks, confirm what’s included in a day-use fee, whether reservations are required, and whether there are any age restrictions before you make the drive.
For a full gear rundown, our hot springs camping guide covers everything from the right towel to backcountry camp kitchen setup.
Etiquette
Hot springs have a culture, and that culture keeps them functional. At primitive springs, the rules are mostly unwritten but universally understood: quiet voices, clean camps, leave nothing behind, don’t monopolize a pool, and read the room when it comes to clothing norms. At developed and commercial sites, posted rules govern.
If you’re new to hot spring etiquette, our guide to hot springs etiquette covers the fifteen rules that every soaker should know before their first visit.
Safety
Geothermal water carries genuine risks, particularly at primitive springs where temperatures aren’t regulated and bacterial hazards exist. Keep your head above water, especially at hotter springs. Avoid soaking with open wounds. Know the signs of heat exhaustion — headache, nausea, confusion — and don’t push through them. Children and pregnant women should consult with a doctor before soaking in very hot springs.
Our hot springs safety guide covers the full picture, including the science behind why certain springs carry more risk than others.
Find Every Hot Spring Near Los Angeles in the Soakr App
This guide covers the highlights — but the Los Angeles region has more soaking options than any single article can hold. California alone has over 280 springs in the Soakr database, and many of the best ones aren’t famous enough to show up in a Google search. They’re the ones discovered by hikers who noticed steam rising from a canyon, or passed down through communities of soakers who’ve been making the same drive for decades.
Those springs are in the app. So are the GPS directions, trail details, current community check-ins, offline maps for when you lose signal in the backcountry, and filters that let you find exactly what you’re looking for — primitive or resort, free or commercial, dog-friendly or clothing-optional.
Hot springs near Los Angeles and over 2,000 more across the US are in the Soakr app. Get GPS directions, community check-ins, photos, real-time conditions, and offline maps — everything you need before you leave the driveway. Download Soakr free for iOS