Melozi Hot Springs

What to expect

Melozi Hot Springs is a place most people only ever read about. About 20 springs come up along Hot Springs Creek, a side stream of the Melozitna River in the hills north of the Yukon. The source water is listed at 131°F55°C, and in photos a steaming stream of it pours down a small bank into the creek below.

People have used the springs for more than a century. A U.S. Geological Survey party in 1911 found a two-room cabin and two small bathhouses here. One old log building, known as the Reindeer Cabin, is said in BLM records to have been built almost a hundred years ago for servicemen stationed at Kokrines, a former settlement on the Yukon.

The more recent history is the reason Melozi shows up on lists of Alaska resorts. In 1966 the BLM leased the site to Leonard and Pat Veerhusen, who built a fly-in lodge with cabins and an indoor pool. The lodge changed hands over the years, and in 1996 the BLM, unhappy with how the lease terms had been met, let the lease expire without renewal. Since then it has been empty.

What is there now, going by reports from visitors and a regional brownfields inventory, is a decaying lodge, several small cabins, a maintenance shop and a pool house that has caved in. Visitors in the early 2010s soaked in a small hot tub near the falls where the spring water runs down to the creek. Do not expect anything to be maintained.

Land status and the lodge question

This is the part to sort out before you spend money on a charter.

• The lodge: Some tourism directories still describe Melozi as the site of a private fly-in wilderness lodge and give the number (907) 892-6987. Everything else we found points to an abandoned property: the lease lapsed in 1996, a 2010 trip report found the place empty and waiting on a possible new BLM lease, and a Fairbanks Daily News-Miner feature described the lodge as deserted and fading. We could not confirm any current operator.
• The land: The lodge ran on federal land under a BLM lease, and BLM handled the cleanup. However, BLM’s national surface-management map now shows the land around these coordinates as State of Alaska land. The state may have taken title, or the map may not show a small federal parcel. Ask the BLM Central Yukon Field Office in Fairbanks (907-474-2200) and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources who manages the site today and whether camping there is allowed.

Until someone confirms otherwise, treat Melozi as an undeveloped spring next to a derelict building site, not as a lodge.

Getting there

There are no roads anywhere near Melozi. The nearest villages are Ruby, about 35 miles to the southwest on the Yukon River, and Tanana, farther upriver. Both have airstrips used by small planes from Fairbanks.

The Melozitna is a 135-mile tributary of the Yukon that flows southwest out of the Ray Mountains and meets the Yukon about 2 miles northeast of Ruby. Hot Springs Creek joins it roughly 10 miles from the main river, and the springs are on the creek. The options:

• By boat: Hire a local boat operator in Ruby to run up the Melozitna in summer, then walk up Hot Springs Creek. Water levels vary a lot; low water and sweepers can stop a boat well short.
• By air: Reports say the lodge airstrip has grown over, so a fixed-wing landing is unlikely. A helicopter charter is the realistic fly-in option, and an expensive one.
• Overland: In winter, experienced parties with snowmachines and local knowledge can reach the area from the Yukon. This is serious backcountry travel with no trail support.

Carry USGS topographic maps of the area and a GPS. The coordinates for Melozi vary between sources. The map pin here uses the USGS spring record on Hot Springs Creek (Melozitna A-4 quad, about 900 ft), but cross-check it before you commit to a route.

When to go

July and August are the practical months. The Melozitna is ice-free, boats can usually run and the days are long. Mosquitoes and biting flies will be heavy.

June can bring high, cold water after break-up. September cools off and gets dark again, with a chance of early snow.

Winter is possible only for self-sufficient parties prepared for Interior Alaska cold and very short days.

Rules and etiquette

There is no operator and no posted rule list, so follow good backcountry practice and whatever the land manager tells you.

• Stay out of the old buildings. They are decaying and the site has had a contamination cleanup.
• Do not dig or dam the springs to make bigger pools.
• Pack out everything, including the trash other people left.
• Respect local use. People from Ruby and nearby villages may know and use the area. Ask locally before you go.

Where to stay nearby

You camp. Pick a site well away from the old lodge buildings and the contaminated ground around them. Ruby and Tanana have very limited visitor services, so arrange any lodging and transport there well in advance. Fairbanks is the nearest city with full services.

Safety notes

• Scalding water: At 131°F55°C the source water can burn. Mix it with creek water and test before you get in.
• Contamination: In 1997 the BLM removed burned battery plates, ash and stained soil from the site. Tests afterwards still found diesel-range compounds above the cleanup level, and drums of excavated material were left on site. Do not drink or cook with water from near the buildings, and keep kids and dogs away from the debris.
• Collapsed structures: The pool house has fallen in, and other buildings are in poor shape.
• Remoteness: There is no cell service and no help nearby. Carry a satellite messenger, a first aid kit and enough food for weather delays, and leave a detailed plan with someone who will raise the alarm.
• Wildlife: Black and brown bears and moose live along the Melozitna. Store food properly and keep a clean camp.
• Rivers: Cold, fast water and sweepers are the biggest risks on the boat approach. Wear a life jacket.