Arizona Hot Springs — Lake Mead National Recreation Area

You can either hike in or boat in to get to this location. We kayak in to set up camp for the night. There is a rustic toilet you can use, no water available other than the river. Our camp site was away from the masses, we took our camping gear further away from the crowded main camping area. It was worth the little hike away to be camping alone.

Little bit of road noise, but free and at the AZ hot springs trailhead. No toilet or service but AZ hot springs are boss.

We came in through the main gate of willow beach and you can leave your vehicle and use the ramp to get where you need to, so make sure your aware there is a park fee, unless you have America the beautiful pass. Plenty of little sandy/ rocky pull offs you can get to from any boat or water vessel. Bring everything you need because it’s dispersed and there is NOTHING and make sure you have lights because it does get dark. But nothing better than waking up to the river and the majestic water sounds. We didn’t see the hot springs but next time we will hike in so we can get to them from the main road. My images are of little places we passed where you can pull over and camp at. Also the water is extremely low at this time if you have a bigger water craft.

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.

lots of fun not a lot of people grate views of stars

Arizona Hot Spring campground is located just below a dramatic slot canyon that joins the river just downstream of Ringbolt Rapids and the Arizona Hot Spring.

The hot spring, which is the main reason to camp here, forms several pools that are located about 1,000 feet from the river, where the canyon walls are nearly vertical and about 6 to 9 feet apart.

The spring discharges highly mineralized water at a rate of about 30 gallons per minute and a temperature of about 111 degrees Fahrenheit. The spring issues from fractures in Miocene-age volcanic rocks near the intersection of two faults.

You'll have the place to yourself during the week, but on weekends, plan on sharing the beach with a couple other campers. Just a couple hundred feet up or down river are smaller beaches which make excellent campsites too.