Double Hot Springs

What to expect

Double Hot Springs is on the eastern edge of the Black Rock Range, about 5 miles north of Black Rock Point, inside the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA). The springs come up in deep pools close together. The water is close to boiling, around 180°F82°C according to Friends of Black Rock-High Rock, and it steams hard on cool mornings. Hot runoff streams spread out from the pools into a green meadow, a startling patch of color against the gray-brown desert.

The springs are surrounded by a fence and posted with warning signs. That tells you what kind of place this is: a historic site and a landmark, not a soaking spot. Come to see it and read the history, then drive on to a spring you can actually get into.

The history is the main reason to stop. Emigrants on the Applegate-Lassen Trail crossed the Black Rock Desert in the 1840s and 1850s, and the hot springs along the east side of the range were rare reliable water. At Double Hot Springs they boiled food and washed clothes in the hot pools. The land west of the springs was homesteaded in the 1870s.

There are no facilities. No water, toilets, shade or trash service, and the NCA has no potable water anywhere.

Getting there

From Reno, take I-80 east to Wadsworth and NV-447 north to Gerlach, about 110 miles in all. Gerlach is the last place for fuel, food, water and a phone signal.

From Gerlach, the usual approach crosses the Black Rock Desert playa toward Black Rock Point, the dark, pointed peak on the northern horizon, then follows the dirt road north along the foot of the range past Black Rock Hot Springs. Double Hot Springs is about 5 miles further north. Friends of Black Rock-High Rock describes the turn as west at a junction signed for Hardin City. A trail guide calls this stretch of the Applegate Trail flat and easy but bumpy, with gullies cut by runoff from the mountains. The same road continues north toward Soldier Meadows, so you can also come in from that end on County Road 217.

The playa rule is absolute: if it is not bone dry, stay off it. Rain turns the lakebed and the clay roads into deep mud that can trap a vehicle for days. High clearance and 4WD are recommended. Carry a full-size spare. Off the playa, drive only on existing roads and never into wilderness areas. Check conditions with the Friends of Black Rock-High Rock office in Gerlach (775-625-7848) or the BLM Black Rock Field Office in Winnemucca (775-623-1500).

When to go

Late spring and fall are the best seasons, when the playa is most likely to be dry and the days are mild. Summer is very hot and the glare off the lakebed is intense. Winter brings cold, snow and storms that make the playa impassable.

Plan around Burning Man. Under a BLM notice published June 20, 2023 (FR Doc. 2023-13016), part of the playa near Gerlach in Pershing County closes for about 66 days each year from 2023 to 2027, roughly late July to early October, covering setup, the event and cleanup. Double Hot Springs is in Humboldt County, outside the closure, but routes across the playa change during that window and traffic on NV-447 is heavy.

Rules and etiquette

These NCA-wide rules apply here, most of them from the BLM’s supplementary rules for the NCA (73 FR 39028, July 8, 2008):

• No fees for entry or camping.
• Permits: Commercial, competitive or organized group activities need a BLM Special Recreation Permit from the Black Rock Field Office.
• Pulling off the road: You may leave a designated road or trail by no more than 50 feet to park or camp, and only where you will not crush vegetation or create a new track.
• Vehicle camping in designated sites only in several parts of the NCA: High Rock Canyon, the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Area, Class A and B segments of the emigrant trails, the Stevens Camp, Trego, Massacre Ranch and Mud Meadows areas, and the front country management zone (the playa itself is excluded from that zone rule). Double Hot Springs lies on the Applegate Trail, so check with the Black Rock Field Office (775-623-1500) before planning to camp here.
• Water holes: Do not camp within 100 yards of a spring or water hole in a way that blocks wildlife or livestock from the water. Friends of Black Rock-High Rock goes further and asks visitors to keep camps 300 feet from any water.
• Fires: No campfires on the playa or adjacent dunes without a surface protecting device such as a raised fire pan. Check current fire restrictions before you go.
• Vehicles: Stay on existing roads. No vehicles in wilderness.
• Fences and signs: Stay outside the fence. Do not damage or remove the warning signs.
• Private land: The meadow and pools just west of the fenced springs, including a soaking tub about 50 yards downstream, are on a private parcel. Do not use them without permission.
• Pack it out. Everything, including human waste on the playa.

Where to stay nearby

At the springs: Camping near the springs depends on the NCA’s vehicle camping rules for emigrant trail segments, so confirm with the Black Rock Field Office (775-623-1500) first. Wherever you camp, stay within 50 feet of the road, well back from the water, and off the private parcel to the west.

Elsewhere in the NCA: The BLM has designated campsites and rustic cabins in the Soldier Meadows area and High Rock Canyon to the north, and at Stevens Camp and Massacre Ranch. Trego Hot Springs, across the playa, also has designated sites. Black Rock Hot Springs, 5 miles south, is the other common stop on this road.

Gerlach has a motel, restaurants and fuel. Reno is the nearest city with full services. For a hot spring you can swim in, Trego Hot Springs on the east side of the playa off the Jungo Road is the one most people use.

Safety notes

• Scalding water: At around 180°F82°C, a fall into these pools is life-threatening. Do not test the water with a hand or foot. The runoff streams are almost as hot for some distance from the source.
• Steep, slick banks: The banks are steep and often coated in slippery mud. The Gerlach fire chief has said people who fall in have little chance of getting out without help.
• Dogs: Keep dogs leashed. Dogs that jump in to chase something or cool off are killed or badly burned, and owners who go in after them end up in hospital. That is exactly what happened here in 2014.
• Children: Keep them close and outside the fence.
• Remoteness: There is no cell coverage. In 2014 rescuers struggled to find the injured hunter for that reason. Carry extra water, food, a spare tire and warm clothes, and leave your route with someone.
• Weather: Dust storms can cut visibility on the playa to nothing, and a passing shower can strand you. Watch the forecast and have a plan to wait it out.