Bagby Hot Springs

If you're passing

Is it plungeworthy?

—temperature

A natural thermal spring.

Scale30/60

Documentation14/20

Character10/20

The details

Soak: Temperature unrecorded
Area: Salem
Coordinates: 44.936, -122.173

Get directions →

About Bagby Hot Springs

Bagby Hot Springs is a natural hot spring in Oregon.

At that temperature it's temperature unrecorded — check current conditions and always test the water before getting in.

Plungeworthy rates Bagby Hot Springs 5.4/10 — if you're passing. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

A backwoods institution: cedar bathhouses in old-growth forest where 138°F spring water runs through hand-hewn wooden flumes into tubs you temper yourself with cold creek water. The lower bathhouse holds three small tubs and a big communal round; the upper deck has another round. The historic five-tub main bathhouse has been closed since 2018 awaiting rebuild.

Getting there

Trailhead: Bagby Trail #544, off FR 70 — about 26 miles from Estacada
Parking: Trailhead lot by Bagby Campground
Road: Mostly paved, narrowing to forest gravel; FR 46/63/70 shed rocks and slides regularly and get no winter maintenance
Hike: 3 mi round trip, 275 ft of climb (easy)
Heads up: A gentle creekside walk in big trees — the approach is half the experience. No cell service anywhere on the trip.

When to go

May through October, road-dependent — snow and storm damage own the off-season. Weekends bring waits for tubs; midweek is the soak you're imagining.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: $5/person soaking fee (cash tube at the trailhead, or card at Ripplebrook Store). Trailhead camping $27/night.
Dogs: Leashed, in the campground and at the springs
Hours: No fixed hours; camping first-come
Camping: Bagby Campground at the trailhead
Warnings: Check FR 46/63/70 status before driving — a January 2026 slide closed FR 70 for a stretch, and closures recur. The site only reopened in 2024 after years of fire damage; treat the rebuilt bathhouses kindly.

Researched from USFS — Bagby Hot Springs · Bagby Preservation — updates. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Bagby 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.