Arizona Hot Springs — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Arizona Hot Springs is located at Mile Marker 4 US 93 South Of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, NV 89005. Those directions will take you to the parking lot trailhead.

Although it’s only a 6 mile round trip hike, make sure to bring plenty of water as it gets extremely hot in the canyon. A bathing suit and water shoes are highly encouraged as you will pass multiple hot springs (when I say they’re hot, they’re steaming hot). Here, you can relax for a little bit in the man made jacuzzi, or continue your hike until you hit a 20 ft ladder which you need to climb and then you’re minutes away from the Colorado river.

Just an FYI,The hike itself is closed during the summer months.

In terms of camping, once you reach the Colorado river, you will come across a beachy area. You can set camp here for the night. Just an FYI, it gets pretty crowded prior to the summer months so get here early in order to get a nice spot. First come basis, no reservation. Free of charge, can stay up to 15 days. Primitive campsite with limited fire pits available. However, the area is absolutely beautiful, and makes up for the primitive campsite with so many amazing options from dipping in the hot springs or jumping in the river to cool off.

Don’t forget to bring your candles or lanterns for late night at the hot springs when you stop off at this amazing stop just inside the Arizona state line.

I chose the hike in option, parking at the entrance around mile marker 4 and from there the adventure began. To get to this site you will need to make sure you pack in all your supplies because going back to the car is not an option.

We broke in our new hiking packs for the trip and included our bathing suits and towels for a nice dip on a spring day. This site is not recommended during summer months as heats make for dangerous hiking and no freshwater stops are available.

We hiked in on the upper side of the hot springs and had to trek through the series of 3 pools before arriving at the beach camp area. While there is camping just before the springs as well, the vault toilets are not located on this side.

After hiking through the springs we climbed down a ladder to the lower section which led through the narrows toward the beach just a short distance from the springs themselves.

As the narrows opened you could find plenty of spaces to set up camp on the soft sand. There is no single defined sites it is open for all those choosing to camp with only a few understood rules.

1- trash in trash out, leave nothing you bring in 2- campfires must be made in fire rings (stones are abundant and easy to move to create these) 3- be aware that nudity does exist in and around the springs but try to cover up at public campsites

Toward the river itself are many tree covered areas. During the spring the water can create quite a chill however with winds so we chose to explore a bit further inward to set up our site.

We spent hours in the springs with other hikers until well into the evening hours. The glow of candles provIded by one hiker created an ambiance and after the glow faded the darkest most star filled night skies could be seen.

It was amazing!!

TIPS:

• Pack plenty of water!! There are NO places to collect potable water so you will want to make sure to have enough for the hike in and out as well as the night otherwise carry a lifestraw with you to filter the water from the river.

• Bring toilet paper. The toilets are vault toilets and not often attended to so you will want to make sure you bring toilet paper for them as a precaution.

• Consider water shoes. While the hot springs themselves are quite smooth on the bottom the path to and from the campsite is not as smooth and easy on the bottom of your feet. It can also be slippery and it is best to have a shoe that can grip as opposed to flip flops for walking to and from your camp.