After a couple months of non-stop craziness, I decided to take a few days off and enjoy my birthday in the quiet and solitude of the outdoors. Squamish and Crater Lake were close contenders but in the end, the Eastern Sierra won out because hot springs. Seriously, what better way is there to rejuvenate than in the mountains soaking in a hot tub? The first stop was Travertine Hot Springs.
How to get to Travertine Hot Springs
Travertine is a fairly popular pool, complete with signage off the 395. There was a bit of traffic in and out of the road on our way down and up 395. The dirt road up to them isn’t too shabby. Make sure your vehicle isn’t super low to the ground and you should be okay. There’s plenty of information on the internet about Travertine if you do enough sleuthing. Discovering these little hot spots is half the fun of soaking!
There are three main pools, one by the parking area and two behind the rock. The first pool is alright, nothing more than a shallow concrete bath in the ground; the other two are much more stunning. The springs have a pit toilet. Use it!
If you’re looking for a place to spend the night, a local told me that you can camp on the hill outside of the fenced in area by the road. Supposedly there’s a campsite at the bottom of the hill. I wasn’t looking too hard.
Please respect Travertine Hot Springs. Pack out any trash you or others have left behind and reduce your impact, so the springs can be enjoyed for many years to come. How could you not want to sit in this place forever?
I’ve been here three times now. First time I couldn’t find it in the dark. Second and third it was too full with other visitors. One of these days I’ll time it right!
Fourth time’s the charm! Let me know if you need any beta :) Totally, totally worth the wait.