Fish Lake Valley Hot Well

There's a large area of dispersed camping around the hot spring pool; you can set-up as close as a few feet from the steaming water or further away in the surrounding desert. The closer you set-up to the springs, the more 'social' the experience. Outhouse (reasonably clean) and trash barrels on site. Also a sink station with ongoing hot water for cleaning and dishes.

It's a bit of a drive into this location on a dusty, washboard road. But we found access to the springs and the amazingly dark night skies well worth it. We also used this as a basecamp for hiking up near-by Boundary Peak.

We are full-timers and have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow. We stayed for two nights here in mid May to enjoy the spring. This is a nice comfortably hot spring with no odor and two stage lake with Coots and lots of little fish. They are in the process of putting up barriers to prevent people from camping right next to the Hot Well, but there is plenty of dispersed camping around it. Also, unfortunately, there is a new sign (the old one was shot up) that reads “This facility will be closed and filled in if the vandalism and killing of wildlife continues”. Some people are just bent on ruining things for everyone else. There were only a couple other people here during our stay. There is absolutely no light pollution here, so the skies when clear are awesome, as was the view of the snow capped White Mountains to the West. We had zero AT&T service. Starlink had speeds up to 8 MB/s and we had DISH coverage on all of the western satellites. We didn’t try any OTA channels with our fixed omni antenna.

A few reviewers have said that they fround the spot full of trash, people, and noise. I think it really depends on when you're there. I heard from the other group that just before we arrived, there were a bunch of people. We were there in the summer on a weekday. Besides us, there was only one other group. It was serene. We swam with the goldfish and it was awesome! The temperature of the spring was perfect too.

After bouncing down 6 miles of washboard for an hour we arrived. Site needs some work and the hot pool needs cleaning. But then the people started to arrive and the noise level was to much to take. Why people go to the wilderness for solitude and then crank up their music at bar level I can’t figure. I won’t be back - not worth the trip out there.

Unlike most hot springs, this place can get busy and noisy. I spent a Sunday and Monday here in early November and there were a constant stream of people coming through. Mostly as a stop and soak instead of camping (low temps were in the teens) The rednecks were complaining about the hippies and the hippies were complaining about the rednecks (I fit in well with both groups apparently). However both groups were complaining about the perverts that showed up that previous Saturday evening as they harassed at least two women. There was one van parked directly in front of the soaking area all night and I suspect they were pervs too. Inconsiderate at best. Somehow, I’m thinking that is a theme here. Generators going all night, people flying drones, etc. That said, I came here expecting that... so my experience was great. The scenery is amazing (snow dusted mountains at the time) The parking area is HUGE so you can likely be “secluded” within walking distance of the pool and pond. I even got about a two hour stretch on Monday where I had the place to myself. Lastly, the road coming in from the north is washboardy with sharp undulations and longer than the comparatively smooth road coming in from the west. If you have a trailer, come in from the west. I had no AT&T service but kept getting emails and texts randomly. You don’t need to go far if you absolutely need consistent service (without a booster that is).

We went in the middle of July when the high temperatures were reported in the 90s. I was in a travel trailer with generators so I was able to stay cool during the day and the nighttime temperatures were tolerable at around 65°. This is not a regulated site and the trash bins were overloaded. There were only a few of us there but there were regular visits by tanker trucks to fill with water. There are barbecue stands but not actual sites for camping. We pretty much just parked. This is a hotspot for people with ATVs and motorbikes and on the day we left, it filled with people ready to do just that. According to one of the locals, he reports that these sites are completely packed during the spring and the fall when the temperatures are the nicest. There is one vault toilet. As previously mentioned the road to get to this site is extremely primitive, so I traversed it at around 25 to 30 mph with my small 3000 pound trailer. The hot spring flows into a small 3’ deep pool that is about 3’ by 8’ (I’m guessing) and about 100-104° that trickles into a large pond that was nice to swim and cool down. The base of the pond is thick with mud so don’t wear shoes you want to see again. Overall we had a very nice time, and on the last night we were there it began to pack with people due to the drizzling rain and cooler temperatures. Because of the excess noise and motorbikes, I did not give it a five star rating because it decreased our solitude. However, if you are into sites that accommodates, and are well known for, these types of OHV’s then this may be the place for you.

Road into this camping area is horrible. Eight miles of washboard road. This area where the hot spring is located is owned by the county. The area has been improved with a vault toilet and trash cans that were overflowing. The tub is small for how many people visit this place. We were there during the week and camped by ourselves but had a few locals show up to use the tubs.
Our camping area was wide open with nice views but had lots of face flies and other flying bugs everywhere. One night was enough for us. No cell signal or radio stations.