Serpentine Hot Springs
171°F
Source water (NOAA)
Access unknown
Hard access
Free
No fee reported
Serpentine Hot Springs is a geothermal site among granite tors in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve on the Seward Peninsula. Spring water is piped into an enclosed bathhouse tub, and a public bunkhouse sits nearby. Most visitors charter a small plane from Nome or Kotzebue to the gravel airstrip, and use is free.
01 · Before you go
Plan your visit
What to expect on the ground: rules, facilities and when to go.
- Camping nearbyPublic NPS bunkhouse sleeps up to 12 in three rooms with bunks, Coleman stoves, a heat stove, water filters and a bear-safe food locker. Visitors bring their own fuel, food and sleeping gear.
- Toilets & lodging
- PoolsOne bathhouse tub, with an outdoor soaking area when conditions allow
- QuietSummer for hiking weather, or winter for a warm bathhouse; allow extra days for weather delays.
- SeasonOpen year-round. Most visitors fly in by charter; overland travel is by foot or bike in summer or snowmachine in winter. Weather delays are common.
- Winter: possible with effortOpen year-round; fly in or snowmachine in winter. Winter guide
- Free to soakNo fee, permit or reservation required; bunkhouse is first come, first served.
Best time to go. Summer for hiking weather, or winter for a warm bathhouse; allow extra days for weather delays.
02 · Live
Conditions
Access status, weather and hazards. Closure feeds are checked automatically every morning.
Access
Check before you go
National Park Service: Broken Windsock at Serpentine Hot Springs Blizzard Warning in effect until Sat, 24 Oct 2026 18:00 UTC.
Checked 22 Oct · updated daily
Checked Oct 2026: NPS pages (updated March 2026) describe the bathhouse and bunkhouse as open year-round, and the preserve's fall 2026 update reports no Serpentine closure. The bathhouse was closed in April 2020 for COVID-19 and is now described as operating.
Fly-in only for most visitors, and fog, wind and low cloud often delay flights. Brown bears are present. Source water reaches about 170 F, so the tub temperature is adjusted with cooler piped water. Terrain around the granite tors is slippery tundra and rock. Treat drinking water. Extreme cold in winter.
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03 · Route
Getting there
Nearest town: Nome.
- 1
The usual approach is a charter flight of roughly 45 to 60 minutes from Nome or Kotzebue to the gravel airstrip beside the springs.
- 2
Overland routes exist: a long roadless trek of about 30 miles in summer, or a multi-day snowmachine trip of around 100 miles from Nome in winter, both needing GPS navigation.
- 3
Contact the preserve on 907-759-8020 before going.
65.8580, −164.7100 · nearest town Nome, AK
04 · Where to stay
Stay nearby
Start early and stay close. Places to stay near Nome, from campgrounds to cabins.
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Checked against 5 sources, with closures, wildfires and weather warnings re-checked daily.Show sourcesShare your photosSuggest an update
- hotspringsguides.com (access, facilities, hazards, fees, temperature)
- home.nps.gov (bathhouse, access modes, contact)
- home.nps.gov (year-round bathhouse, toilets, bears)
- nps.gov (bunkhouse)
- nps.gov (2020 closure history)
