Woody's Feather River Hot Spring Soak Report 2011

Woody's Feather River Hot Spring August 2011

It was a huge disappointment to learn that Woody’s Feather River Hot Spring had closed to the public due to garbage and disrespectful visitors. We had hoped to visit this spring regularly while living/working in the area this summer. It was sometime in August 2011 when we finally decided to actually stop and talk to someone about the possibility of soaking.

Though the hot spring was clearly closed, (there were large signs telling so, a locked gate, and huge downed trees blocking the parking area) the manager of the adjoining RV park said day soaking was possible for a $5/pp fee.  The owner of the property later confirmed the spring was now open to the public when she arrived to work her small plant nursery that is also on the property. Soaking is included in the $25/night RV fee. Tent camping is not allowed. Maybe the closed signs have been removed by now. If the place still looks closed when you visit I’d double check with the RV park.

The Feather River from the soaking tubs. August 2011

You pickup the plugs for the tubs at the RV park manager’s office. They were in a little box when we were there. You also return the plugs to the same box. This sort of caused a problem for soaking. Since the tubs are empty when we arrived, it took nearly an hour for them to fill. The smaller tub with less water flow never filled completely in the two hours we were there. Luckily there were tons of magnificent blackberries along the banks of the river that the owner said we could have our way with. We picked blackberries, and played in the cold Feather River, until the big tub filled. We were told that you can phone ahead to the RV park and they will plug the tubs for you before you arrive. This would be necessary if you are trying to fit in a quick soak.

Soaking in the Feather River. August 2011

As for details of the water, I have none! We didn’t bring a thermometer since we didn’t plan to soak. I remember the water being to hot to soak as the day began to get hot. Flow from the hot tubs runs into the river where another more temperate soak is possible. The river water its self was cold and fast. We had driven by Woody’s a bunch of times. Most of these times a strong sulfur smell was encountered. The first time we tried to make a visit I could smell the sulfur a couple of miles down the road. That’s how we knew to slow down and start looking for the spring. During our actual soak there wasn’t a strong sulfur smell. This kind of thing can change from time to time much like the water temperature. Though we didn’t encounter much sulfur, this hot spring is known to be kind of stinky.

Woody's Feather River Hot Spring

To get to Woody’s: The closest town for gasoline and supplies would be Quincy, CA. From the intersection of CA HWY 70 and HWY 89- Go 4 miles West on HWY 70 to Woody’s and the RV park. CA 70 parallels the Feather River as it makes its way through the spectacular Feather River Canyon. The scenery is beautiful, and the road is fast and winding. Be careful of log trucks! The hot spring is located around mile marker 28.

Hunt and Kosh Hot Springs Soak Report July 2011

Copyright © 2011 TheGypsiesTownsed.Com

In July 2011 we made a short three-night trip for Ryan’s birthday to visit Burney Falls and Hunt/Kosh Hot Springs. The hot springs are situated close to one another along the shores of the Pitt River and Kosh Creek in Northern California.

I can’t seem to find my notes anywhere (I have a hot spring notebook that is MIA), so I do not have exact temperatures for this soak report. I’m also writing this well after the visit, so details are from memory. Hopefully I won’t leave anything out!

The tubs you can see from the parking area. Hunt Hot Springs July 2011

Hunt Hot Spring is made up of multiple springs and soaking pools/tubs along the Pitt River. From the parking area three tubs are visible along the river. The two big tubs were in disrepair during our visit. The extremely hot water was flowing from the broken pool into a large rock soaking pool along the river. Because the water was so hot (at least 150F), and the river water so cold (50F maybe), there wasn’t really a good place to soak. The river pool was either entirely to hot or to cold. Behind the broken tubs there is a small one person soaking tub that is tucked beneath the trees. This tub offered a very nice soak. It has a separate source from the tubs in front of it, so the water wasn’t as hot.

Looking towards the downstream tubs @ Hunt Hot Springs.

There are three other rock tubs along the river that you can not see from the parking area. These pools are about 100 feet upstream and offer the best soaking locations. These tubs are filled by a different source and the water temperature was a little cooler then the tubs downstream. We spent the majority of our time soaking in these tubs. It looks like at one time there was a fourth tub here, but the river has now reclaimed it.

Kosh Hot Spring soaking tub. July 2011

Kosh Hot Spring is located directly over the hill from Hunt Hot Springs. There is a steep trail over the hill to the soaking tub. Kosh is located along Kosh Creek, where the creek meets the Pitt River. A beautiful tub large enough for a few friends greets you after your climb. Though the source for this spring is pretty hot, the soaking tub is around 90F. A little to cool for us, but still a nice soak.

 

Accessibility to these hot springs is hard. The road we took to drive directly to the springs was HORRIBLE! We made it, and others did to, but 4x4 high clearance is HIGHLY recommended.  There is an alternative route, but I’m not sure what it is. The only reason I know of it is because of other visitors walking into the hot spring site from a trail downstream. There seemed to be lots of folks walking in vs driving. If there has been any rain I would not try to access these springs. The road had deep ruts and huge holes. Be very careful!!

Our favorite tub @ Hunt Hot Spring. July 2011

Here are the directions we used: From the small town of Big Bend CA travel over the Pitt River bridge on paved FS11. Once you pass FS37 on the right, look for a rough dirt road on your left. Travel down FS37. At the fork go right. You will be traveling downhill. You will pass the Wright Native American Cemetery as you approach the springs. From pavement to parking area is about two, very rough, miles. Make sure you double check directions by using Google Earth (or something similar) before heading out to these hot springs.

Were the hot water from the broken tubs and the cold river water meet. Hunt Hot Springs

We only got to enjoy these hot springs privately for very short amounts of time. There was an almost constant flow of visitors.  Soaking the natural way (no clothes) is the norm here. A family that visited while we were soaking was “appalled at the nudity”.  We were the only ones with suits on, so I guess they felt like they needed to tell us about their dislike of the other visitors being naked. Big Bend also has a developed hot spring that was closed at our visit. Rumors have it that it as closed due to nudity. We don’t mind nudity. If you do I’d stay away from this soak. Clothed people will defiantly be an outcast here.

These hot springs are all located on private land. The owners are ok with the public soaking, but camping is strictly prohibited. Please clean up after yourselves!!!!! Private hot springs will be closed by owners when the trashing gets to bad. Visitors do a great job of keeping the area free of trash and cleaning the tubs. Please do the same. There are no trash cans on site, so if you see garbage please, please, please take it with you. <>Nicole<>

A smaller tub located downstream from parking area. July 2011

Quartzsite Picture Post

A few pictures from around Quartzsite, AZ.

Copyright © 2011 TheGypsiesTownsed.Com

Copyright © 2011 TheGypsiesTownsed.Com

Copyright © 2011 TheGypsiesTownsed.Com

All Is Quiet On The Home Front

My Dad @ Christmas sometime in the 60's.

Happy Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Holidays and so on and so on!

It's been awhile since my last post. We really haven't been to busy. Just work and crafting. Not much exploring to be done lately. The weather here in south western Arizona has been foul for a couple of weeks. Hopefully winter will pass soon, and mild summer (what I like to call the winter here) will be back. By the way, Quartzsite has two seasons in my opinion: mild summer and extreme summer. Extreme summer starts around the time we leave...when temps reach 100F for extended periods of time. Mild summer is the rest of the year :)

We have made progress with summer employment. If all goes as planned we will be back in the colorful state of Colorado during the summer of 2012. We spent two summers there already, but there is still plenty for us to do in the area. To tell you the truth it would be impossible to explore all of the wonders of the state in a lifetime.

Happy holidays to all! This will probably be my last post until the new year. Thank you all for following along with our travels and ramblings. I'm looking forward to lots of great exploring in 2012!! Happy trails to all! <>Nicole<>

Ripped Off By Quartzsite Again

Don't worry it would have been theft under $5. But really, Check expiration dates on food! Not only in Quartzsite, but any rural area where products tend to sit on the shelves. I’ve been burned this way a few times over the years while traveling. It’s not a big surprise that my first grocery shopping trip in town yielded two 2-litters of coke that expired a year ago. The coke products where replaced when I bought them back to the store. I usually check the dates, but it totally slipped my mind this time. It’s kind of a habit that I’ve been trying to make automatic.

It's not a big deal since they fixed the problem. I think I'm more pived about having to make a trip back. I'm glad it was only $5 that I almost got taken for. Somewhere out there there is someone getting ripped off for much more.