Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bagby Hot Springs,
c/o Clackamas River Ranger District, 503-630-6861.
Olympic Hot Springs.
High above the Elwha River Valley in Olympic National Park, this re-
mote cluster of steaming springs and pools is sandwiched between a forest of fir and hemlock
and the rushing rapids of Boulder Creek. There are seven places to soak, including one that's
next to a small waterfall. Although the Northwest Native Americans had a legend about the
springs being bitter hot tears of some battling schools of fish, it's actually geothermal water
that bubbles up at around 105°F, perfect for soaking. The hike is about 2.5 miles, a beautiful,
winding trek through a river canyon and bordered with breathtaking mountains and forests.
In the early 1900s, Olympic Hot Springs was a resort, and it even had a swimming pool and
little cabins. But weather and neglect and washouts closed the roads, and eventually it disap-
peared from maps and park rangers quit promoting it. There's nothing left of the old resort,
but the springs continue to bubble out of the rocks. To get to the trailhead, take U.S. 101 from
Port Angeles about 10 miles to Elwha River Road. Turn left and follow the road for 9 miles
until you can't drive any farther.
Olympic National Park,
600 E. Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362, 360-565-3000,
www.nps.gov/olym.
Stanley Hot Springs.
East of Lewiston, Idaho, in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, this
springs, a chain of hot pools, requires an 11-mile round-trip hike. Although the trail through
islands of Douglas fir, pine, and cedar is well maintained, there is one point where you need
to ford a river. You'll know you've reached the hot springs when 120-degree water steams
out of a canyon bank, getting cooler as it flows into descending pools. Each pool is lined with
logs, and the temperature can be fine-tuned by shifting rocks to admit more or less cold water
to the mix. There are spacious campsites tucked into the nearby woods. One word of caution:
The moose also find the springs inviting, and they get first choice of pools. The trailhead
for the springs is the Wilderness Gateway Campground off U.S. 12 (milepost 122). Go past
Loops A and B to the Trail 211 parking area.
Bitterroot National Forest,
1801 N. First Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, 406-363-7100,
www.fs.fed.us/r1/bitterroot.
