Juntura Hot Springs

been here several times while hunting in the area. beautiful. there is also a smaller pool rocked in right by the river. it’s a little cooler. need 4WD to drive to the island otherwise you need to park further back on the rough road and cross the small channel by foot.

I soaked here today 5-24-14. Turn off Hwy 20 at
43 46 0.37, -118 2 23.14 and take dirt road along river. Go under the steel bridge and then turn right where bridge is closed. I was able to go 3/4 mile in small car from hwy 20, then walk the last 1/4 mile to the island. The river was fast moving and waist deep, I recommend having a walking stick to assist balance when fording river on foot. The main soaking pool is large and 4′ deep at places. Very warm water percolates up through the natural bottom. This temp of this large pool only allowed soaks of 5-10 minutes due to high temps. There are two smaller, shallower pools on the bank of the river that are cooler. Lots of camping spots in immediate area.

We went there today and there was absolutely nobody there. We took off route 20 and drove all the way on the dirt road (across the small steel bridge) for about a mile until we saw the island on our right. There was a small foot path down to the river and we took it and “swam” across the river to the island. The current was strong but we managed to swim across and back (but wouldn’t recommend it for everybody). On the island there were few cairns and we were able to find the hot springs fairly easy. There was also two blue tarps there that we used to sit in and hold down the steaming hot water. Such an interesting and fun experience!

I went there on 4/19/18. I car-camped across the river from the hot springs. There are two relatively large campable spots on that side (west of the hot springs island). A local gentleman who was camping on the island came to pick me up near the Hwy 20, and gave me a lift in his truck to cross the river to get to the hot springs so I could soak. I think it was about 102-103 degrees. There was very little trash (forgotten water bottle) and I thought the area was lovely. The scenery was beautiful especially at dusk. He told me that today would be the last day before the run off water would get too high to cross the river. So, unless you have some means to cross the river, it might be a bit difficult to get to the hot springs on foot for awhile till summer, but not sure. The dirt road to get to closer to the island from hwy would require 4wd or awd. Ruts were deep.