Verde Hot Springs
98–104°F
Pool temperatures
1mi
Hike, one way
Free
No fee reported
Verde Hot Springs is a set of natural geothermal pools beside the Verde River in the remains of a hotel that burned in 1962. The main pool sits inside the roofless bathhouse walls at roughly 98 to 102 F, with a smaller pool nearer the river up to about 104 F. Access is a roughly one mile walk from the Childs camping area after a rough forest road drive and a river crossing.
01 · Before you go
Plan your visit
What to expect on the ground: rules, facilities and when to go.
- Clothing optionalCommon here, not official policy
- Camping nearbyFree dispersed camping at the Childs area with a vault toilet, limited to 5 consecutive days.
- Toilets & parking
- Pools2 main pools plus several smaller rock pools downstream
- SeasonLast stretch of the dirt access road is rough and steep and is hazardous when wet. The Verde River crossing is usually knee deep but can be waist deep after heavy rain.
- Free to soakNo fee or permit is reported.
02 · Live
Conditions
Access status, weather and hazards. Closure feeds are checked automatically every morning.
Access
No closures reported
No closure, fire or weather warning found in Forest Service, wildfire (NIFC) or National Weather Service feeds. That isn't confirmation it's open, so check with Prescott National Forest.
Checked 22 Oct · updated daily
Searched Tonto and Prescott National Forest alerts and news in Oct 2026: no 2025-2026 closure of Verde Hot Springs found. The only closure located was a two-week May 2021 river closure for feral cattle removal. Check Prescott NF alerts for fire, flood and road orders before going.
Remote site with unreliable cell coverage. Rough forest roads, river crossing, rattlesnakes, deteriorated concrete ruins, and a bacterial exposure risk in natural pools. As with all untreated warm water in Arizona, avoid getting water in the nose or head because of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba risk. Flash floods can raise the river and block the crossing. Nudity is technically prohibited on National Forest land even though swimsuits are not always worn.
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New closures, reopenings and new states, about once a month. No spam.
03 · Route
Getting there
Nearest town: Camp Verde. Then a 1-mile hike, one way.
- 1
From Camp Verde drive east on Highway 260 for about 7 miles, turn onto Forest Road 708 (Fossil Creek Road) for roughly 13 to 15 miles, then Forest Road 502 south for about 6 miles to the Childs dispersed camping area.
- 2
A high-clearance vehicle is recommended.
- 3
Walk about one mile along the river, crossing the Verde River, to the pools in the old bathhouse ruins.
34.3570, −111.7100 · nearest town Camp Verde, AZ
These coordinates are for the spring itself, not the parking area. Navigate to the trailhead named in the directions.
04 · Where to stay
Stay nearby
Start early and stay close. Places to stay near Camp Verde, from campgrounds to cabins.
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Checked against 4 sources, with closures, wildfires and weather warnings re-checked daily.Show sourcesShare your photosSuggest an update
- hotspringsguides.com (access, directions, trailhead, hike, fee, clothing, camping, hazards, temps, pools, land manager)
- en.wikipedia.org (history, temperature, location)
- kjzz.org (status_notes)
- fs.usda.gov (status_notes)
