The Deep Creek Hot Springs have been known about for centuries by the Native American peoples who inhabited the area. The area first saw heavy recreational use in the 1970s when the pot-smoking hippie crowd discovered them.
Hot springs along the south bank of Deep Creek have been diverted into pools made by volunteers from attractive stone-and-cement work. They are among the more spectacular of the hot spring pools I've ever visited.
The main spring complex consists of three big pools and several smaller ones hidden within a large outcropping of boulders on the south bank of Deep Creek. The upper Anniversary Pool is the newest. It is fed by a small hot waterfall and is the warmest of the major pools, around 103F. The water is 2 to 3 feet deep and crystal clear. This pool holds about six people comfortably, but can (and often does!) hold more.
The water from this pool cascades through a few small pools and over a waterfall to the massive Middle Pool, about fifteen feet below. If you choose to climb down instead of following the trail behind the rocks, be very cautious, it is EXTREMELY slippery. The Middle Pool is normally around 98F, a perfect temperature for all-day soaking. It is over 8 feet deep at its deepest point, and can accommodate 10 or more people. Water exits the pool in a 10-foot waterfall down to Deep Creek, which can be fun to play in. There is also a separate cascade into the Lower Pool, which is a foot deep and holds a few people if it doesn't have trash in it.
There is a large creek side pool upstream from the main pool complex. Follow the trail to it. It usually hovers around 102F but the temperature can be regulated by moving around boulders to admit cool creek water. Also, a tiny upper pool big enough for one person may exist higher up on the hillside, feeding the waterfall which creates the Anniversary Pool.
The atmosphere at Deep Creek can vary dramatically. Sometimes it is very hippyish, with pot smoke scenting the air. Sometimes it can be crowded at night with local teenagers drinking beer and having sex. During the days, it is usually only sparsely visited, and mostly by nudists who celebrate a quiet, Zen environment to bask naked in the warm waters.
Camping at the spring is officially illegal, but many people do it, either on the opposite bank at the foot of the cliff (quite a lovely campsite, actually) or in the grassy field above the Anniversary Pool. I do not condone camping it the area, it kills the grass and increases litter. If you want to soak at night, camp at Bowen Ranch and hike in and out. Camping is not permitted within 1 mile of the banks of Deep Creek anywhere in the canyon.
Deep Creek Hot Springs is maintained by a group of volunteers from the Naturist Society. Deep Creek is their pet and they work hard to keep it clean and open to the public. If you like the area and would like to contribute, see their website at http://blacksbeach.org/dcv.htm . Because it is a haunt for naturists, expect everyone you see there to be naked. They won't expect you to get naked too, but you might feel strange being the only "textile" there. Be polite and don't ogle, because they certainly won't ogle you. They try to keep the place family oriented, and it is common to see little naked children scrambling around the rocks on weekend days. I don't recommend bringing children at night.
Because of its proximity to the masses of SoCal, Deep Creek is always standing on the brink of closure. People are injured here all the time, the place gets trashy after holiday parties. But Deep Creek is still an extraordinary anomaly, and one of my favorite hot springs in the world. Love it. Take out more trash than you arrive with. If you're going to drink or smoke, do it in moderation, and quietly, and be sober when you start the hike out, which is much tougher than the hike in.
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