East Lake 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: Crescent
Coordinates: 43.719, -121.209

Get directions →

About East Lake Hot Springs

East Lake 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 East Lake 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

Geothermal seeps bubbling up through the gravel shoreline of East Lake, inside the Newberry Caldera. In low-water late summer you can dig shallow soaking pools where 176°F seep water meets cold lake water — a volcano soak with trout rising offshore. Ephemeral by nature: high water submerges everything.

Getting there

Trailhead: Hot Springs boating site on East Lake's shore, Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Parking: Gravel lot at the boat launch
Road: Paved from US-97 into the caldera; the monument road is snow-gated roughly November through May
Hike: 0.8 mi round trip, 20 ft of climb (easy)
Heads up: Roughly a third of a mile of shoreline walking from the launch; exact pool spots shift with the lake.

When to go

July through mid-October, and the later the better — falling lake levels expose more seeps. Closed to vehicles all winter with the caldera road.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: $5/vehicle Newberry Monument day pass, or Northwest Forest Pass / America the Beautiful
Hours: None posted; day use recommended
Camping: East Lake and Cinder Hill campgrounds on the lake; East Lake Resort cabins
Warnings: Seep water reaches 176°F — dig and test before you sit. Expect sulfur smell; most springs are underwater until late season.

Researched from USFS — Newberry National Volcanic Monument · Oregon Discovery — East Lake Hot Springs. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to East Lake 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.