The biggest is the size of a hot tub the smallest, no bigger than a bathtub. This stretch of canyon has four or five pools. He’s sunbathing on the edge of a hot springs bath about 10 feet wide and 6 feet deep. On the other side, I spot a long-haired, middle-aged dude wearing a Fu Manchu mustache and nothing else. The cool, slow-moving creek water is waist deep and easy to cross. I climb down to a sandy beach, where a blue rope stretches across the 25-foot-wide creek, marking the best crossing point. Below, beige and gray granite and cottonwood, eucalyptus and willow trees surround a sharp bend in the creek. The path ends on top of a spear-shaped rock outcropping, about 50 feet above Deep Creek. The rocks in the pools can be extremely slippery.Īfter a two-hour drive from Pasadena to a dirt parking lot in the southwestern corner of the Mojave Desert, I begin a two-mile hike along a dusty trail bordered by Joshua trees, yucca plants and beavertail cactus. INSIDER TIPS Take food, lots of water, sunscreen, a hat, sturdy shoes and a towel. More detailed directions and an alternate route that avoids crossing the creek at. Follow it two miles to a bend in Deep Creek, where you will see a rope stretched across the water. Trail posts numbered “3W02” mark the route. Take a trail map offered at the ranch entrance. Slip the money into the supplied envelope, write your license plate number on the outside and drop the envelope into the metal slot. The ranch owner charges $5 to park on the land. When you reach private property known as Bowen Ranch, you will come to a stop sign. Continue on Bowen Ranch Road for about six miles. Turn right on Central Avenue and go about three miles, turning left on Ocotillo Way. Exit east on Bear Valley Road and continue for about 10 miles. THE BEST WAY From Los Angeles, drive north on Interstate 15 toward Hesperia. It’s wedged in a canyon in the arid foothills of Round Mountain, about 10 miles south of Apple Valley. Most natural hot springs in the state are tucked away in remote canyons or deep forests and call for some serious backcountry orienting and hiking to uncover.
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