Owens Valley Hotsprings
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We have an old Rockfax Owens Valley Hotsprings guide PDF which is restricted. Highly recommended!
South of Bishop
- Keough Hotsprings. 7 miles north of Big Pine, and 7 miles south of Bishop. There's a commercial hotsprings here, which is as you'd expect. They can loan you a swimming suit. Water's not especially hot. There's also runoff that flows down to a little creek, and this (free) hot spring area (known as Keough Hot Ditch) is a popular spot, though a bit hard to find. I think the water gets warmer once the commercial hot spring closes for the night, since then there is more runoff.
Between Bishop and Mammoth
The motherlode! Lots of hot springs. See the rockfax guide. Here are a few (please add more, and add to the map). These are relatively popular (though some are tricky to find) so there's a reasonable chance you won't find one to yourself if you're on a weekend evening. See the rockfax guide for info on driving (on 395, look for a green church which marks the turn-off onto Benton Crossing Rd). This road is paved, but after about 1.3 miles, turn left onto a dirt road. There are small dirt roads all over the place, which makes this a bit complicated, but you can find most hotsprings with some perseverance.
- Crab Cooker. There are two ways to drive here: the first way takes you to just a few hundred meters before Shepherd hotsprings; the second (not yet tested) way is via a different turnoff from Benton Crossing road (so shorter, but a small rough dirt road). This hot springs is the hottest one, and you can easily make it as hot as you want (past 110 F). Most of the other hot springs top out at roughly 100 F.
