Hot springs in Oregon

Two mineral pools on the McKenzie River, a lodge and its gardens: Belknap is the easy, comfortable soak on this stretch of river. Drive up, pay, get in. The catch is the clock. Walk-ins get one hour for $12, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and full-day passes are gone. If you want a long, lazy soak, book a room, cabin or campsite instead, and the pools are yours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Swimsuits stay on, children under 5 stay out of the pools, and the glass, snacks and beer stay in the car.

Out in the Harney Basin, 25 miles southeast of Burns, Crane has been a hot springs since 1920. The draw is a big spring-fed pond, about 5 feet deep in the middle and averaging 101 F, plus cedar-walled private tubs where you set the temperature yourself. A pond soak is $15 for 4 hours, a generous window; the private tubs are $15 per person per hour. Everyone checks in at the office and is out by 10 p.m. If you like your water freshly cleaned, the pond gets a deep clean early on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Hot Lake has history on its side: a restored 1906 lodge heated by a spring that puts out up to two million gallons a day at about 186 F, and nine outdoor pools along the lakeshore, 8 miles south of La Grande. Every day-use soaker books online. Monday to Thursday costs $20, Friday to Sunday $29, and Wednesdays are 2-for-1 through 2026. Arrive within 15 minutes of your slot. Swimsuits are required in every pool, and the single-person cold plunge sits around 40 to 45 F for the brave. Stay the night and the soaking is free.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs reopened Kah-Nee-Ta in July 2024 after closing it in 2018, and it's now a family resort in the Warm Springs River canyon with seven pools, including a hot springs lazy river, a kids' pool with jets and a cold plunge. The operator puts the natural water at 92 to 104 degrees, with some pools up to 110. Day passes are timed, and the All Day Pass runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for $29 on weekdays, and the Twilight Pass from 3 p.m. costs less. Book online ahead to save 10%. Shower first, and leave the picnic at home.

Out on the edge of the Alvord Desert playa, at the east foot of Steens Mountain, two concrete pools from the 1940s take water that leaves the ground at 170 F and cools as it mixes. It's a long way from anywhere, and that's most of the appeal. Day soakers should phone first, because the owners ask you to call for availability and they don't publish a day-use price. Stay the night in a bunkhouse or campsite and you can soak at any hour. The road in is county gravel, so ask about conditions while you're on the phone, and bring your own linens for the bunkhouse.

A worker-owned cooperative has run this off-grid retreat in the forest above Detroit since 1989. You'll find river-rock Meadow Pools (one kept silent), four Spiral Tubs from 100 to 110 F with a cold dip, and a steam sauna built over a capped geyser. You can't just turn up. Every visit needs an advance pass, day passes run $40 on weekdays and $50 at weekends, and they often sell out weeks ahead. Clothing is optional, and the place is substance-free and fragrance-free, so skip the cologne. From November 1 to April 1 the forest road needs chains or traction tires.

No day use here: Summer Lake Hot Springs is for overnight guests with a reservation. If that suits, it's a 145-acre resort in the Oregon Outback, about two hours southeast of Bend, with a big indoor pool at 98 F, outdoor rock pools at 104 F and ten geothermally heated cabins. Cabins and houses need two nights. Bring your own towels and bedding, expect no Wi-Fi, and keep your voice down; the owners say plainly that loud noise isn't welcome. Pools close overnight on Thursdays and Sundays for cleaning, and the indoor pool runs through November 15.

This is a soak in antelope country: a natural hot spring inside the Hot Springs Campground on the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, at the eastern base of Warner Peak. It's free, and so is the first-come camping. The refuge doesn't describe the pool or publish a water temperature, so arrive curious. After the 2024 Warner Peak Fire, new campsites went in behind buck-and-rail fencing to let the streamside recover; please keep to them. There are vault toilets and no water, so bring everything you'll drink. Trailers over 24 feet won't fit, and weather can close the road.

Right off Highway 58, about 8 miles east of Oakridge, McCredie is the roadside soak: a short trail from the Salt Creek day-use area leads to the springs. Pay $5 per vehicle (Northwest Forest and Interagency passes work) and come in daylight, since it's day use only, sunrise to sunset, with no camping. The Forest Service doesn't describe the pools or publish temperatures. Parking holds nine cars and one RV, so a weekday morning is your friend. There's a vault toilet but no water and no trash service, so pack out what you bring. Clothing-optional use is customary.

The water here leaves the bank at 190 degrees, so test any pool with your hand before you sit. Along the Lower Owyhee River, soakers have piled river rocks into pools that mix that scalding source with river flow, and in spring runoff the river can swallow the pools entirely. It's free BLM land, open for day use from sunrise to sunset, and the no-camping rule is strictly enforced, as is the fire ban. There's a vault toilet and parking. Head out from Adrian on Owyhee Lake Road and make it a canyon afternoon.

Terwilliger burned in the 2018 fire that shares its name, and the Forest warns of loose rock, debris flows and weakened trees, so watch your footing and don't linger under damaged trees. The reward is four rock-walled pools stepping down a ravine above Cougar Reservoir, 85 F at the bottom and 112 F at the top, so you choose your heat. It's a quarter-mile walk. The fee is $12 per person for 2 hours, paid on site, with no passes accepted. It's closed 10 p.m. to sunrise and Thursday mornings for cleaning, no pets or alcohol. Parking is limited, so come early.

A single travertine tub, about 3 by 5 feet, sits on a rock face 150 feet above the North Umpqua River under an open-air roof, filled by water seeping from a fault at 100 to 115 degrees. It's small and popular, and the Forest Service tells you to expect crowds and nudity. The trail is a steep 0.3 mile, but in winter the road gate usually closes and it becomes a 2.5-mile walk. Pay $5 per vehicle by card or pass; cash and checks aren't accepted. Day use only, sunrise to sunset; Toketee Lake Campground is the nearest place to sleep.

High in the Newberry caldera, about 25 miles south of Bend, thermal vents and hot springs warm the northeast edge of Paulina Lake. You reach them on the Paulina Lakeshore Trail from the day-use area, which charges $5 per vehicle or takes a Northwest Forest or Interagency pass. Plan it for summer, because Paulina Lake Road becomes a snow road in winter. The Forest Service doesn't say how long the walk is, how big the pools are or how hot they run, so give yourself time and carry a map. The day-use area has picnic tables and a boat launch, and no camping.

Closed for now. The Forest Service has marked Bagby 'Site Temporarily Closed' under the Clackamas River fire closure for the Austin and Narrows fires, and it reopens only when the Forest lifts that order. Check the Mt. Hood National Forest alerts before you drive. Once the order lifts, you get the classic Oregon forest soak: a 1.4-mile hike to hand-hewn cedar log tubs in two bathhouses, filled from a spring that runs at 138 F and cooled with cold water. Bring cash for the $5 per person fee, keep your swimsuit on (public nudity isn't allowed) and expect no cell signal.