Just yesterday I was asked to add an area about hotsprings. We'll here it is. Post away.

John

hey john, this page has been viewed 176 times. i think people want you to post hot spring locations.

I agree, but I don't really know of any locations for hotsprings If you do I would encourage you to post them

Cheers,

John

Okay folks. After much searching for hotspring hikes, I have found some posted on this site - www.vtrail.com. It is the only place I have found so far that posts hotspring hikes with pictures that don't gross me out. Happy hiking!

Go here for hot spring information: http://www.hotspringsenthusiast.com/WA.htm

Message: A couple years ago I hiked up to the Olympic Hot Springs. It's a pretty easy hike, with quite a bit of it actually on an old road. There were a handful of hotsprings, differing in size based on how well people had built them up in the past. We actually did some more extensive hiking following our night at the hot springs.

Our Itinerary:

Friday evening: Hike up to hot springs, spend evening relaxing in springs (note: be sure to remove any jewelry before going into springs, the sulfer will make the jewelry ugly very fast) then spend the night in the camp area up above.

Saturday: Hike up to to Three Horse Lake, then Blue Lake. This hike is partially on trail (to Three Horse Lake I believe), partially back country (from Three Horse to Blue). This hike wouldn't be for beginners. Saturday night spend the evening at Blue Lake.

Sunday: Hike up over Mt. Appleton (back country) then catch trail linking Sol Duc Hot Springs to Olympic Hot Springs and follow trail back to car past the Olympic Hot Springs.

My brother and I did the hike. It is definately not for beginners, but is a great hike. Some friends of my brother did the hike in 1 day, but took slightly different approach. You can actually climb Mt. Appleton on the north side, then go down the east side and catch the trail from there. My brother and I (mostly I) are not much into climbing so we took an easier route (although longer). We climbed over Mt. Appleton on the north side, then down into the "valley" on the southwest side, then climbed a ridge to the west of Mt. Appleton and then caught the trail well to the west of Appleton Pass.

If you're interested learning more, I have posted a photo of the map with a rough estimate of our path, and the alternative. The blue line is our path, the pink line shows the possible shotcut. The red circle (blob) are the campsites.

The file is at: http://www.brianfeller.com/pics/olympichotsprings.jpg

The map used for example is from is from here: http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parks/olym/ppMaps/OLYMmap1%2Epdf

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email (hiking@brianfeller.com). Also, if you're interested in some longer hikes, I've done a couple in the 50 mile ballpark (I believe both are under, but with side treks can make them 50 if you wanted) and I can provide some details.

Brian

the best resource for hotsprings is www.soak.net, seach by state to find various listings. the only down side to the site is that they list fumaroles alongside the normal warm&hot springs which gives the impression that they are okay to go in - they are not.

notes about some of the more popular ones:

GOLDMYER is run by a preservation society of sorts, there is a fee and reservations are recommended. contact info, location, etc can be found at www.goldmyer.org

WIND RIVER is A+++, there are four or five more hs located around the bonneville damn area. i would highly recommend if youre down near portland.

i havent been to the ones in the OLYMPICs but i hear good things.

SCENIC on hw 2 is currently closed to the public (rumors abound of a comercial hs opening up)

BAKER has a serious eccoli problem, such that i wouldnt suggest going there anytime soon

SULFUR CR, GAMMA and KENNEDY were almost completely if not totally wiped out by the mud/landslide that also took out parts of the mtn loop hwy the other year - i really hope gamma hs returns in some fashion, however even when it does the 14(?) mile trail to gamma ridge needs to be completely replaced :( i am unsure of the current status of this project.

im sure im leaving a lot out but most of info can be found by the willing on the internet. hopes this helps a little

Hiked into this hot spring just outside of Salt Lake City on vacation last year, too bad we were there in the summer. http://www.climb-utah.com/WM/fifth.htm

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Relax! You will get over it.