Dirty Socks Hot Spring

What to expect

Dirty Socks is less a hot spring than a relic. In 1917 someone drilled a well on the south shore of Owens Lake looking for fresh water and hit warm, mineral-heavy water instead. The well has flowed ever since. A decade later, in 1927, developers poured a large concrete pool around it and tried to build a health resort. The venture failed within about ten years, the buildings came down, and by the mid-1940s nothing was left but the pool.

Inyo County took the site over in 1965 and turned it into a small county park with restrooms, picnic tables, trees and a paved entry road. Keeping it up in such an empty place proved too hard. Accounts of the period describe signs burned for firewood, trash cans used for target practice and algae that had to be scraped out every week. On October 17, 1978, the county board of supervisors ended the lease and the park closed for good.

What you find today is a big, round, concrete-lined pool sitting in flat alkali desert, with the Sierra Nevada rising steeply to the west and the Inyo Mountains to the east. Old foundations and a few metal railings mark where the buildings stood. The water is warm, around 90°F to 94°F32°C to 34°C depending on the source, and it smells strongly of sulfur, which is the most likely reason for the name. The local story about Cerro Gordo miners washing their socks in it is fun, but unproven.

Be ready for the state of it. Recent reports describe a thick layer of green algae across the water, trash on the margins and broken glass both in the pool and in the dirt around it. The well still pours in a steady flow, but nobody cleans or manages the site. Many visitors stop for photos and a look at the history and move on.

Getting there

The pool is on the south side of the Owens Lake bed, along California State Route 190, the road that links US 395 with Death Valley National Park.

• From US 395 at Olancha: Turn east onto CA-190 at the junction just north of Olancha. Drive just under 5 miles across the flats. After you pass under a line of power lines, look for a narrow paved spur on the left (north) side. It runs a few hundred yards to the pool.
• From Death Valley: Come west on CA-190 through Panamint Springs. Where CA-136 splits off north toward Keeler and Lone Pine, stay on CA-190 along the south shore of Owens Lake. The spur is on your right shortly before you reach US 395.
• From Lone Pine: Drive south on US 395 to the CA-190 junction near Olancha, then follow the directions above.

The spur road was paved when the county ran the park, and an ordinary car can handle it, though the pavement is old and broken in places. Park on the hard ground near the pool. The ground off the pavement can be soft sand or salty crust after rain, so do not drive out onto the lake bed.

When to go

Dirty Socks is reachable year-round, but timing changes the experience a lot.

October to April is the comfortable window. Days are mild, and on a cold morning the warm water gives off a little steam, which makes for the best photos. Snow on the Sierra crest behind the pool adds to the scene.

Summer is harsh. The Owens Valley floor bakes from June to September, and there is no shade at the pool. Warm water in hot weather is unpleasant, and algae growth tends to be worst then.

Wind is the other thing to watch. Owens Lake was drained after the Los Angeles Aqueduct diverted the Owens River in the early 1900s, and its exposed bed has long been a source of fine alkaline dust. On windy days the air can be thick with it. Check the forecast and pick a calm day.

Rules and etiquette

There is no staff, no fee and no posted rule board. The county lease ended in 1978, and the current ownership of the land is not clearly documented in public sources. Some visitors describe it as private land. Treat it with care:

• Respect any signs you find. If an area is posted or fenced, stay out.
• Pack out everything. There are no trash cans or toilets. Carry out bottles, cans and toilet paper.
• No glass. The pool already has a broken glass problem. Do not add to it.
• No soap or shampoo in the water.
• Clothing is up to you, but this is a roadside site with traffic on CA-190 and the occasional photographer, so swimsuits are the norm.
• Leave the remains alone. The old foundations and railings are part of the history.

Where to stay nearby

• Informal camping: A few people camp on level ground around the pool. There are no facilities at all, so bring water and everything else you need, and leave the spot cleaner than you found it.
• Lone Pine: The nearest town with a range of motels, restaurants, gas and groceries, north on US 395. It is also the gateway to the Alabama Hills and Whitney Portal.
• Diaz Lake Campground: An Inyo County campground just south of Lone Pine, beside US 395, with developed sites.
• Olancha: A small highway stop with limited services. Fill your tank before heading east toward Death Valley, where gas is scarce and expensive.

Safety notes

• Water quality: The pool is stagnant at the edges, algae-covered and unmanaged. Warm, still water can carry bacteria and, in rare cases, amoebas that enter through the nose. Keep your head above water and do not let children or dogs drink it.
• Broken glass: Wear sturdy shoes around the pool, and water shoes if you go in.
• Heat and sun: No shade, no water. Carry more than you think you need, especially in summer.
• Dust: Owens Lake dust storms are a known air quality hazard. Avoid the area on high-wind days, especially if you have asthma.
• Remoteness: Cell coverage is unreliable. Tell someone where you are going if you plan to camp.

Nearby stops worth adding

Keeler, on CA-136 along the east shore of the lake, is a near-empty former mining town with an old railroad depot. Above it, Cerro Gordo, a 19th-century silver mining camp, is reached by a steep dirt road that needs a high-clearance or 4WD vehicle. The Cottonwood Charcoal Kilns, a short detour off US 395 north of Olancha, are the crumbling remains of the kilns that once supplied fuel to the Cerro Gordo smelters. The Owens Lake shoreline is also a growing birdwatching spot as dust control projects have brought back shallow water.