Circle Hot Springs

Worth the drive

Is it plungeworthy?

135°F

135°F — scalding — look, don't touch.

Scale37/60

Documentation20/20

Character16/20

The details

Soak: Scalding — look, don't touch
Area: Circle
Coordinates: 65.483, -144.637

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About Circle Hot Springs

Circle Hot Springs is a natural hot spring in Alaska, reaching about 135°F (57°C).

At that temperature it's scalding — look, don't touch — check current conditions and always test the water before getting in.

Plungeworthy rates Circle Hot Springs 7.3/10 — worth the drive. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

Arctic Circle Hot Springs Resort — the 1905 miners' spa at Central whose pool once steamed through minus-forty winters — closed years ago and is decaying toward the ground: vegetation in the pool, rot in the grand hotel, ownership unresolved.

Do not visit expecting a soak; the legal access status is unclear and the buildings are unsafe. Listed for the record.

Getting there

Road: Steese Highway to Central, then a spur — drivable, but there is nothing open at the end

When to go

If restoration ever comes (adjacent land decisions are actively in flux), this page will follow it.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: No public facility
Warnings: Deteriorating structures; unclear ownership; don't trespass.

Researched from Wikipedia — Circle Hot Springs. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Circle Hot Springs recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.