Hot springs near Santa Fe

Between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Ojo Santa Fe is a spa resort with seven pools in three soaking zones, including a saltwater pool, filled with triple-filtered water from its own aquifer at about 98-105 F. The resort calls it natural spring water but doesn't say it comes out of the ground hot, so treat this as a spa day with warm mineral water. Day soaking runs 10am to 10pm daily at $45 Monday to Thursday and $65 Friday to Sunday, locker and towel included. They don't take reservations for day soaking, so get there early on weekends. Swimsuits on in the communal pools.

Between Santa Fe and Taos, Ojo Caliente has nine communal pools, most named for what's in them (Iron, Soda, Lithia, Arsenic) plus a Mud Pool, running from 80 to 105 F. The resort calls the water naturally sulfur-free, so there's no rotten-egg smell to take home in your swimsuit. Day passes are $45 Monday to Thursday and $65 Friday to Sunday and holidays, sold at the door 10am to 10pm, first come first served. Come midweek if you can. Swimsuits are required in the communal pools. To stay over, there are suites, cottages, vintage trailers and RV sites.

Concrete and rock pools right beside NM 65 near Las Vegas, on land owned by the United World College and looked after by the Friends of the Montezuma Hot Springs, a community nonprofit. It's free and open 6am to 10pm daily; stay past 10 and you're trespassing. The house rules are short and firm, banning nude bathing, drugs, alcohol, smoking, vaping and glass. The Friends don't run a website, so the posted rules are what you go by. Leave something in the donation box on site for the people who keep it open.

A forest walk to a spring the Forest Service itself names 'warm', which is fair notice for anyone hoping for a hot tub. Park at the Battleship Rock Trailhead off NM 4, about five miles north of Jemez Springs, and follow East Fork Trail #137 roughly 1.8 miles each way. There's no potable water, so carry your own, and expect snow on the trail in winter. The Forest Service doesn't publish a temperature, a pool description or a fee, so set out for the walk and count the soak as a bonus.

Keep water out of your nose at Spence: the water quality isn't monitored and the Forest Service warns of Naegleria fowleri. Nudity is cited here as a violation of state law. That said, it's an easy outing, a short walk from a seven-space paved lot five miles north of the Jemez Ranger District office, with no sign for the spring. Temper your expectations on heat. It was about 95 F and has been cooling for several years, so it's now roughly body temperature. No glass, camping or campfires, and dogs stay leashed. With seven spaces, early is better.

Formerly Giggling Springs, and the site footer still says so, these are outdoor mineral pools on the Jemez River right in the village. It's walk-in only: $25 buys an hour and $50 buys two, with no reservations unless you're a private group of 10 or more coming before opening. Swimsuits stay on in every pool, and it's ages 14 and up. Mind the hours, which change by the day. It's closed Tuesdays, open 9 to 7 on Friday and Saturday, and shorter the rest of the week. With no booking to fall back on, arrive early on a weekend.

Owned by the Village of Jemez Springs and run as a non-profit, the Bath House is soaking the old-fashioned way: eight oversized cement tubs in private rooms, where you blend hot and cooled mineral water to the temperature you like. A 25-minute soak is $18 and 50 minutes is $25, plus tax. The prices page says reservations are required while the homepage welcomes walk-ins, so book and spare yourself the debate. It's closed Wednesdays, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Bring your own towel, and leave dyed bath products at home.

Hot water seeps out of a steep hillside and fills several rock-lined pools, each a different temperature, in the Santa Fe National Forest. When the road is open you drive 5 miles up Forest Road 376 from NM 126 (high clearance) and walk 0.7 mile. When it's gated, you walk or cycle in and add about 5 miles each way. It closes to vehicles every winter (from Jan 2, 2026), and in 2025 it also closed Mar 3 to Jul 1 for breeding wildlife. Check the forest's closure notices before you set off, and bring a bike if the gate might be down.

Black Rock is a set of primitive pools right at the edge of the Rio Grande below the John Dunn Bridge, on BLM land in Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and a short walk from the road on the west side of the bridge. The pools rise and fall with the river, so their state on any given day depends on the water level. The BLM closed the area during the bridge work through March 19, 2023, and the access road has a history of closures. Call the Taos Field Office (575-758-8851) before you drive out. There's no fee, and they don't publish a temperature.

The ruins of an old bathhouse and stagecoach stop sit beside these rock pools on the east bank of the Rio Grande, which is half the reason to come. Getting there legally takes some care. The BLM says the only access is by river float or on foot from the John Dunn Bridge trail, and the scenic easement off Tune Road is closed to the public, so ignore any old directions that send you down Tune Drive. The pools depend on the river level, the area was closed during the 2022-23 bridge work, and the BLM gives no temperature. Check with the Taos Field Office before you go.

A restored motor court in T or C's historic bathhouse district, where each of the 12 rooms is themed on a TV show and comes with its own hot spring bath for unlimited private soaking. If you'd like to soak whenever the mood takes you, this is the base. Day visitors can walk in for the three private outdoor baths ($25 for 45 minutes) or The Wet Room ($50), booked on the hour and subject to availability. The operator says the water reaches the baths at around 110-112 F, clear and odorless. Note the age rule, too. You must be 21 or older to book a room or a bath.

Eight common pools sit along the bank of the Rio Grande at 100 Austin St, each at its own temperature between 95 and 107 F, so you can work your way up. Seven private pools are clothing-optional. Reservations are required, by phone or online, and nobody under 12 is admitted. A one-hour common-pool pass is $30 Monday to Thursday and $40 Friday to Sunday for one or two people. Plan around the Thursday cleaning closure from 10am to 4pm. If you're tempted to stay, overnight hotel and RV guests get the common pools free.

A Ted Turner property: a 17-room lodge built in 1929, on the National Register in the Hot Springs Bathhouse and Commercial Historic District, with private indoor and outdoor soaking rooms fed by 104 F mineral water. Overnight guests get a complimentary 30-minute soak every day, which is the surest way in. The website doesn't make clear whether non-guests can book a soak on its own and posts no soak price, so phone before you plan around it. Continental breakfast is served 7 to 10am, and a two-bedroom Casita suits a small group.