Hot Springs Near Steens Mountain, Oregon
A few years ago we packed the car and headed to the remote southeastern corner of Oregon to visit Steens Mountain, which turned out to be one of our favorite areas in the state. A year later when the pandemic started we sought out the less-visited and more remote destinations to maintain our social distance, which ultimately led us back to the Steens region. There are a handful of natural natural hot springs in the area and we’re on a mission to visit them all—keep reading to learn about our experiences so far.
Barnes Warm Springs, a.k.a. Frenchglen Warm Springs
The town of Frenchglen is 340 miles from Portland; it’s one of the “largest” towns (population around 12) in the Steens Mountain wilderness and one of the few places where you can get gas for miles. Barnes Warms Springs is free to access and pretty close to the town of Frenchglen. From the general store, travel south for a quick minute before turning left onto the Steens Mountain Loop Road. Shortly after turning you’ll see another dirt road to your right; turn there and park by the closed gate. After a flat 0.9 mile walk down an old sandy dirt road, you’ll begin to approach some trees and vegetation. Look down to your left, and keep your eyes peeled for the small pool with a trail leading down to it.
I remember reading that this spring used to be quite popular, equipped with bathhouse and all, but now I’m having trouble finding a source to corroborate that information. The warm spring, which only reaches about 90 degrees, felt more like bathwater than a hot spring—hence the name warm spring. (I’m assuming the temperature was much higher at one time and as the spring cooled, it’s luster faded. Today you’d never guess this place used to be a buzzing bathhouse!) It’s pretty secluded and certainly the least visited of the hot springs we discovered. While we appreciated the seclusion and naturalness of Barnes Warm Spring, it would have been more enjoyable had we not been attacked by all the bugs—WOW! Considering that it’s in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge it’s not surprising to find lots of insects, but we truly didn’t understand the magnitude or quantity we’d encounter here in early July! Be sure to pack the bug spray high in DEET for this hike. We stayed submerged in the 20-inch deep warm pool so the mosquitoes couldn’t attack us, but they were buzzing around our faces so intensely that we didn’t want to hang around there very long. If you travel all the way to Frenchglen we encourage you to make the short, easy trek to explore Barnes Warm Springs, especially if you’re looking for remote hot spring without any company. 2023 update: We’ve been back to Steens in early September the mosquito experience wasn’t nearly as crazy!
Alvord Hot Springs
The Alvord Hot Springs are sandwiched between the Steens summit and the Alvord Desert, which provides a stunning backdrop for a soak. Located along East Steens Road, these privately owned and maintained springs collect into two concrete pools; one of them is out in the open and the other is enclosed for some privacy. The water exits the ground at a scalding 170 degrees but is mixed with cold water before collecting in the soaking tubs. The temperature of the water can be regulated by spigots in each pool. Ten dollars was the going rate for a day soak when we visited in 2019, but I can’t find the current prices listed on their website today. We suggest that you call for the most up-to-date information regarding the hot springs and camping availability. A soak pass will get you all-day access during business hours and campers have 24-hour access to the hot springs—which I can only imagine is amazing at sunset, sunrise, and for stargazing. (We’ll let you know after our trip there in May 2023!) The Alvord Hot Springs are cool, actually hot, but they lacked the seclusion that we so loved about Barnes. This high-trafficked area is right on the edge of the Alvord Desert on one of the main (and only) roads in the Steens Mountain Wilderness, so it brings in a good number of visitors traveling through. We visited in the middle of the afternoon and found several groups of people in the pools, along with several more soakers coming as we left. If you’ve dreamed of visiting the Alvord Hot Springs let me offer some advice—go soon and plan ahead. I called to make our campsite reservations a few days ago and spoke with the owner, who confirmed my assumption that the area has been seeing increased traffic in the past few years. So much so that he may stop selling day-soak passes on the weekends because he’s trying to manage crowds in order to preserve the hot springs’ quality and create a positive experience for camping guests.
A store, reception center, and restrooms are available onsite at the Alvord Hot Springs. This is also where the day soakers, tent campers and bunkhouse guests check-in. They now have these cool looking M.A.S.H. bunkers you can camp in for $100 per night. For $10 per day you can also use their private road, which is navigable in a passenger car, to access the desert playa. Though there are several other free access roads to get onto the Alvord Desert many of them are only passable for high clearance vehicles.
Mickey Hot Springs
Mickey Hot Springs is literally like a baby Yellowstone, and just like Yellowstone there is NO swimming allowed! This was the only hot spring we visited where we couldn’t soak, but it was absolutely worth the seven-mile drive down a road that looks more like an old four-wheeler path or horse trail. We initially missed the road because it’s not labeled. Fortunately we had picked up a map locally, and on it I could see a road shoot off from a severe bend on East Steens Road (a righthand turn if you’re traveling north, lefthand turn going south). After realizing we had already driven around that bend (it’s almost a 90-degree turn), we back-tracked, paying better attention this time—and BOOM, found it! After driving for what felt like the longest seven miles ever, on what we weren’t sure was the correct road, seemingly out of nowhere appeared a sign that read, “Mickey Hot Springs: Area of Critical Environmental Concern.”
Supposedly there’s one pool in this geothermal area that has a temperature low enough to render it safe for soaking, but honestly, after seeing the bubbling mud pots and hissing pools reminiscent of Yellowstone, it didn’t feel like a good idea to soak in anything at Mickey Hot Springs. The sign at the gate warns of hot water and thin ground surface that can break under your feet, so be exceptionally cautious here. In some areas the ground beneath your feet felt hollow—it was spooky. Leash your dogs, stay away from the edges and don’t linger too long on the fragile ground; seriously, this isn’t a place to get hurt because there’s virtually no traffic, little cell service and East Steens Road is still seven miles back the way you came. Nonetheless, this was one of the most unique hot springs and it continues to blow our minds that it’s here in Oregon!
Check out the Bureau of Land Management website for more information about Mickey Hot Springs. Depending on the time of the year, the hot springs can be pretty active but at other times not so much. Apparently a mini geyser even sprouted up here surprisingly for a short time in 1992—you truly never know what conditions you may find at Mickey!
Crane Hot Springs
Last but certainly not least, we ended our first Steens trip at the relaxing Crane Hot Springs in Burns, Oregon. Crane is awesome! But Crane is also experiencing increased traffic in recent years, and they have been expanding their camping and lodging services to accommodate the increased visitation. Because of this, we highly suggest to make reservations in advance of your stay. Though we typically prefer remote and secluded hot springs, Crane is our exception. The hot spring pond and private soaking tubs are available for day use until 10 p.m., but onsite campers can access the pond all night. The temperature of the pond ranges from 99 to 102 degrees and is hottest near the fountains where water dumps into the pool. The pond reaches up to seven feet deep in the middle, but most of it is shallow enough that you can walk around and touch the bottom. Plenty of picnic tables surround the hot spring where we left our shoes and towels before hopping in the water. Sorry skinny dippers, unlike many of the “clothing-optional” hot springs found in the wild of Oregon, bathing suits are required in this public space. Adjacent to the pond sits a marsh teeming with migrating birds that pass through the wildlife refuge; it was neat to watch and listen to the variety of birds while soaking in the morning. We found that the pond is large enough that it never really felt too crowded. Crane Hot Springs was the most relaxing of all that we visited and an amazing way to end (and/or begin) a camping road trip.
Because Crane was our last stop on a four-day camping trip we decided to treat ourselves to a “glamping” experience in the Running Horse Tepee. With heating, a king bed, trendy lighting, and it’s own private soaking tub, it was difficult to leave! The private courtyard was outfitted with comfy lawn chairs, a picnic table, charcoal barbecue and fire pit. The soaking tub, a large trough, can be filled with hot mineral spring water on demand. There’s a window next to the tub that can be propped open to view the desert and starry night sky. Seriously, magic! The only drawback of the teepee sites is that they have no private restrooms, but public restrooms are only a short walk away in the neighboring bathhouse.
In addition to the three glamping teepees, overnight accommodations include plenty of tent and RV campsites, rooms, cabins and apartments. There’s a camp kitchen onsite for guests to use, which includes a refrigerator, stovetop, oven, microwave, sink, barbecue grills, ALL the utensils and cookware, and I’m sure tons more that I’m forgetting. It’s stocked! The reception building includes a gift and supply store, and a cozy shared-use lounge for the guests. We 10/10 recommend Crane Hot Springs; it’s a must-stop if you’re traveling anywhere near Burns, Oregon.
2021 Update: In the fall of 2020 we returned to Steens Mountain, and just as we planned, we started and ended our road trip at Crane Hot Springs! They were just finishing up work on a new bathhouse that’s closer to the teepees, it may be open by now. We stayed in one of the little bunk houses next to the pond, which had air conditioning that came in clutch during the hot weather. This time, because we were conveniently located next to the camp kitchen, we used it to cook a full meal. It had everything we needed and it worked perfectly! We stayed again on our way back home, but this time in a tent in the overflow campground. We were surprised to still find campsites available last minute on Labor Day weekend, but I’m not sure that will remain possible as Crane becomes increasingly more popular. Because we made our reservations so late, we wound up in the overflow section which is up on a hill. I think this is the best seat in the house for the sunset, which has been a banger every time we’ve stayed at Crane Hot Springs. We’re heading back in May 2023 and have the French Country Suite reserved; we’ll be sure to provide an update after our trip.
Last update: March 15, 2023
