Rocky desert canyon walls frame a series of clear geothermal pools and a narrow trickle of water spilling between pale, weathered boulders. Bright morning light highlights the layered stone and the green tint of the calm pool in the foreground.

Deep Creek Hot Springs

Lake Arrowhead, CA

Deep Creek Hot Springs consists of several natural geothermal pools along Deep Creek in the Mojave River watershed within the San Bernardino National Forest. The springs range from 100-108°F and sit beside the cold creek, creating steam effects in cooler weather. The area is accessed via a 4-mile trail through a rocky desert canyon with dramatic geological layering.

Photography Guide

Best Time: morning
Crowds: Moderate
Shot Types: landscapelong-exposuredetail
Best Seasons: fallwinterspring

Practical Tips

The main access trail from Bowen Ranch charges a parking fee; the alternative Bradford Ridge trail is free but longer. Carry all water needed as there are no facilities.

Is it a good day to go?

7-day outlook

Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.

Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.

Author's Comments

Eight miles round trip through a canyon that does not particularly care whether you make it. That is the bargain at Deep Creek, and I think it is part of why the place still feels like a secret even when there are twenty people in the pools. You earn it. The trail drops through rock that has been folded and tilted into something almost theatrical, layers of pale and rust and gray stacked at angles that read better in raking morning light than in the flat blaze of midday. I prefer December here. The air is cold enough that the springs steam properly, rising off the pools and curling against the canyon wall behind them, and the contrast between the geothermal water and the cold creek running alongside is at its most visible. A long exposure on the creek will smooth the cold water into something silvered and ghostly while the hot pools sit still and steaming a few feet away. That is the photograph I keep going back for, though I rarely get it right. Start before sunrise from Bowen Ranch. The first light hits the upper canyon walls maybe an hour into the descent, and if you have timed it well you arrive at the springs as the steam is at its heaviest and the pools are mostly empty. By ten in the morning the day-trippers are arriving and the spell breaks somewhat. By then I am usually working details - mineral staining on the rock, the strange pale green of the algae at the pool edges, the way the cold creek braids around boulders. There is more here than the wide shot suggests. You just have to slow down enough to find it.

Gallery

Large pale granite boulders rise above a clear green pool, with the creek slipping around the rock ledges in a narrow, shaded channel. Sunlight highlights the cracked stone surfaces and the sparse desert greenery along the bank. Photo: Levi Clancy / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Sunlit white boulders frame the hot springs, with dark pools tucked into the rock and a narrow ribbon of clear creek water running through the center. Sparse grasses and scrub cling to the canyon walls, giving the scene a rugged desert look. Photo: Levi Clancy / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Rocky white boulders frame several dark green hot-spring pools tucked into a desert canyon, with a small spillover cascade at the lower right. Sparse grasses and shrubs cling to the sunlit slopes, giving the scene a dry, rugged look. Photo: Levi Clancy / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Clear green hot spring pools sit beside a rocky creek in a desert canyon, with pale boulders, sunlit shrubs, and layered cliffs framing the water. The calm surface reflects the canyon walls and trees in bright morning light. Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

A small, rock-lined hot spring pool sits in a sunlit desert canyon, with pale boulders rising around still, dark water that reflects the blue sky. A narrow trickle spills over the right side, and sparse grasses and scrub cling to the layered rocky slopes above. Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Sunlit granite walls rise around a clear green hot spring pool, with tree reflections rippling across the water and pale boulders framing the foreground. Sparse shrubs and a bright blue sky emphasize the dry desert canyon setting. Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Sunlit desert canyon hot springs form a series of small green pools beside a shallow creek, with pale boulders and layered rock walls framing the scene. Golden shrubs and scrub-covered hills rise under a clear blue morning sky. Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Clear geothermal water pools at the base of pale, jagged canyon rocks, with green shrubs and dry scrub covering the steep desert slopes under a bright blue sky. The calm surface reflects the boulders and hillside, giving the hot springs a still, sheltered look. Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

A dark geothermal pool sits between smooth pale boulders, with a small stream trickling in from a narrow notch and rippling the water at the center. Above it, a dry desert hillside with sparse shrubs rises under an overcast morning sky. Photo: Eeekster Richard Ellis / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0

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