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Travertine hot springs is an amazing place, whether you are into geology, soaking, or just plain incredible landscapes. The travertine ridges here are around
10,000 years old and have built up to heights of 30 feet and lengths of nearly a 1/4 mile in parallel rows where the underlying faults in the rock below lie. Most of the mounds are inactive, but here and there hot water rises out of the cracks at the top of these mounds feeding several human-improved pools. A nature trail meanders through the travertine ridges offering a fascinating walk.
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Near the middle of the trail lies the main set of pools. These pools have been formed from chunks of travertine mortared together with the rich lime mud that coats the bottoms of the pools. This natural cement and continuous reapplication by soakers makes for some very deep, very comfortable pools. The soft mud is actually quite nice (and I usually HATE gooshy bottomed pools!) The water here is usually hot, though the pools towards the rear of the photo are somewhat cooler. Notice the town in the background. These springs are nearly within the city limits and very accessible.
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seconds after snapping this photo, I succumbed to temptation and hopped in the middle pool for a few minutes. The wife and girls were busy making some lunch in the parking lot and were a bit angry that I’d gone soaking without them when they found out later!
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“Heat control” for the pools pictured above is simple: by placing small stones in the water channels in the travertine mound, varying amounts of hot water can be diverted to the various pools. Travertine is a heavily visited spring but there was no evidence of trash this visit. I’m told that Friday and Saturday night can be a bit crowded here though. We’ve always managed to visit mid-day and mid-week to find the place nearly empty, maybe 1 or 2 other vehicles in the parking lot.
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The main source for these springs shows how these ridges formed: the hot, mineral laden water rises along cracks in the earth. The water is somewhat corrosive; it dissolves the rock and creates a widening crack. Cooling water deposits a line of travertine along the sides of the crack. As the line grows, the water in the crack rises higher creating a cycle where the crack grows wider as the ridge grows taller. Some of the older ridges have central cracks wide enough to walk in. The newer source in this picture has a very narrow crack. Notice how smooth the fresh young travertine is compared to the older, more weathered stone uphill from the source.
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Travertine is very valuable as a decorative building material. The light colored spot in the background, just left of the reservoir visible even further in the background is an active travertine quarry. The area 300 yards to the west of the springs is also a former travertine quarry now enclosed in the BLM protected area that makes up the park. The quarry provides a perfect opportunity to see beautiful cross sections of this multicolored and layered crystalline rock.
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The upper pool at Travertine Hot Springs resembles a commercial hot tub: the bottom, sides, and deck are concrete with a nice bench and artificial turf. As you can see, the pool is practically in the parking lot. Though this area has it’s share of naturists, the upper pool is pretty much bathing suit and family territory. It’s a very nice soak with a clean tub and good temperature.
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There’s also a small 3rd pool at Travertine that most people don’t seem to know about. I won’t reveal it’s location other than to mention that it exists and is nice for a really private soak or if the other pools are jammed on a weekend, even if it does have a bit of thermophilic algae at times. Look around, it’s there somewhere.
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Disclaimer: All photos on this site our property of offroadexplorers.com. Unauthorized use will cause us to employ our team of flesh-eating lawyers to sue your ass off. Off-Road and desert travel carries with it inherent risks. Pack plenty of water, spare gas and a lot of common sense. If you break down 75 miles from the nearest point of civilization, don’t come whining to us! Respect the roads and artifacts you might find off-road. Leave everything where you find it so your children and grandchildren might have something to see in the future. Above all, tread lightly & pack out your own frigging trash.
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