Hooker's Hot Springs (Muleshoe Ranch)

What to expect

Hooker’s Hot Springs is the hot spring at the headquarters of the Muleshoe Ranch, in the southern foothills of the Galiuro Mountains northwest of Willcox. The spring comes out of the ground at about 127°F53°C, at an elevation of roughly 4,060 feet, beside Hot Springs Canyon, whose creek is one of seven permanently flowing streams on the surrounding preserve.

For a long time this was one of the more unusual soaks in Arizona. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) owns the ranch headquarters and rented a handful of casitas there, and staying in one was the only way to use the hot spring tubs. Day visitors could hike but could not soak.

That is no longer possible. TNC closed the casitas for the 2022/2023 season and said it was reviewing the future of the lodging. Its current preserve page is plain: the headquarters is closed to the public, and “all Muleshoe Ranch headquarters buildings and the hot springs are closed to the public.” There is no booking system, no day-use soak and no permission process to ask about. This page is kept so that people searching for the spring know the status before driving out on a long ranch road.

What you can still do is hike. The ranch is the gateway to the Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area, a mosaic of TNC, BLM and Coronado National Forest land that TNC describes as nearly 50,000 acres (other TNC figures run up to 56,000). The draw is water in the desert: lush streamside habitat along permanent creeks, native fish including the endangered Gila chub, and a long list of birds.

History

The hot spring is why people settled here. Glendy King, the original homesteader, opened a spa on the land in the early 1880s. Henry Hooker, a prominent Arizona rancher (played by Charlton Heston in the 1993 film Tombstone), later bought the property, and the spring has carried his name since. In 1905 the writer Joseph Amasa Munk described water piped into a bathhouse with a row of tubs that could be filled at whatever temperature bathers wanted. Visitors came to drink the water and bathe in it, and Munk wrote that the springs had a local reputation for cures. That was a claim of the time, not something this page vouches for.

TNC later acquired the headquarters and manages it with the BLM and the Coronado National Forest as a cooperative management area, with a focus on restoring the creeks.

Getting there

The Muleshoe Ranch is about 30 miles northwest of Willcox. TNC’s directions:

1. Take I-10 to exit 340 in Willcox.
2. Go south on Rex Allen Drive, turn right onto Bisbee Avenue, then right onto Airport Road.
3. Drive west about 15 miles to a junction just past a row of mailboxes. Bear right onto Muleshoe Ranch Road.
4. Continue northwest about 14 miles to the ranch.

The day-use parking lot is 0.3 miles north of the Muleshoe Ranch sign at the cattle guard, on the left, south of the main gate. Trail maps and information are posted there. There are no services and no phone reception out here, so arrive with a full tank, water and a downloaded map.

Beyond the ranch, Jackson Cabin Road continues into the backcountry. TNC limits it to high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles: it is very rough, not maintained and often washed out. It passes through TNC property, and everyone using it must sign in and out at the welcome kiosk at the start of the road.

When to go

The hot spring itself is closed all year. For hiking, October to April is the comfortable window at this elevation. Summer days are hot, and July to September brings monsoon storms that can send flash floods down Bass Canyon and Hot Springs Canyon. Do not hike the washes when storms are building.

Trails are open daily from dawn to dusk. TNC warns that trails can be hard to follow and may close for maintenance or to protect sensitive wildlife areas. Email muleshoe@tnc.org before a trip to check current trail status.

Rules and etiquette

The preserve has a long list of rules, and they are stricter than on most public land:

• No access to the hot springs or headquarters buildings. Respect closed gates and signs.
• Stay on established trails.
• No pets, swimming, wading, fishing, hunting, picnicking, camping, fires, alcohol, firearms, bicycles or motor vehicles on the trails. Radios and electronic calling devices are banned too.
• No smoking at headquarters, on the trails or in the parking areas.
• No drones anywhere on the preserve.
• No collecting of plants, animals, wood, minerals or artifacts.
• Day-use parking only in designated lots. No camping or overnight parking at headquarters or the day-use lot.

On the BLM and Forest Service land inside the management area, normal public land rules apply, including wilderness rules where relevant.

The hike most people do

The Bass Canyon-Hot Springs Loop, profiled by Arizona Highways, is about 3.5 miles round trip and rated easy, between about 4,090 and 4,200 feet. It follows Jackson Cabin Road over a ridge with wide views, drops into Bass Canyon on a route marked with blue ribbons (floods keep wiping out any formal trail), and returns up Hot Springs Canyon toward the ranch. Expect sand, boulders and some route-finding. The article was written when casita guests could soak at the end; today the loop ends at the parking lot, not in a tub.

Where to stay nearby

There is no lodging at the ranch now.

• Backcountry cabins: Jackson Cabin (about 14 miles in) and Hooker Cabin (about 20 miles in) are on Coronado National Forest land and are open first come, first served. Both need a high-clearance 4WD on Jackson Cabin Road. Treat the historic buildings with care.
• BLM land within the management area allows low-impact camping. Car and RV camping is discouraged by the partners.
• Willcox, about 30 miles southeast, has motels, restaurants and fuel along I-10.

Safety notes

• Remoteness: No services and no phone signal. Tell someone your plan and expected return time.
• Flash floods: Bass Canyon and Hot Springs Canyon are drainages. Stay out of them when storms threaten.
• Heat and water: Carry plenty of water. There is none to drink on the trail, and creek water should not be drunk untreated.
• Wildlife: Rattlesnakes, javelinas and coatimundis live here. Give them room.
• Do not trespass: The spring is on private TNC land that is closed to the public. Entering it is trespassing, and the water is near 127°F53°C at the source, hot enough to scald.