Hot springs by state
The West has 1,605 hot springs. You can soak in about 300.
NOAA's thermal springs list counts 1,605 hot springs across the 12 western states. We found 306 where the public can actually soak: resorts, town pools, and natural springs on public land or where the owner welcomes visitors. Here is how every state compares.
What we found
Nevada has the most hot springs, and you can use almost none of them
Nevada has 312 thermal springs on NOAA's list, more than any other state. Only 18 are places the public can soak, about 6%. Most of the rest are on private ranch land, far too hot, deep in the desert or long since dry. Colorado is the opposite: 33 of its 47 springs (70%) are now pools, resorts or soaks open to visitors.
Idaho is the West's soaking capital
Idaho has 80 public soaking spots, the most of any state, ahead of California's 64. With fewer than 2 million people, that works out to about 43 places to soak per million residents, against 1.6 in California.
The best states for free soaking, and the one where we found none
Alaska (11 of 15), Nevada (12 of 18) and New Mexico (8 of 15) have the highest share of free soaks, mostly natural springs on public land. In Montana, all 16 of the soaking spots we list are paid pools or resorts. There are a few primitive soaks in the state, but none on our list yet. Across the West, 106 of 306 (35%) are free.
Where you can still soak in winter
Every Montana spring we've rated (14) and every Wyoming spring we've rated (9) stay reachable in a normal winter, mostly resorts and town pools on plowed roads. Idaho is the hardest: 32 of the 65 we've rated (49%), because so many of its best soaks sit up unplowed forest roads. See the winter guide for each spring.
The 2026 fire season hit the Northwest hardest
A 2026 wildfire came within 15 miles of 60% of Washington's soaking spots and 59% of Oregon's. Alaska had none. Across the West it was 97 of 306. The fire season recap has every spring.
Every state, ranked
| State | Soaking spots | NOAA springs | Share | Free | Winter | Fire, 15 mi | Per million people |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 80 | 232 | 34% | 30 | 32 of 65 | 31 | 43 |
| California | 64 | 304 | 21% | 18 | 32 of 39 | 13 | 1.6 |
| Colorado | 33 | 47 | 70% | 5 | 24 of 27 | 12 | 5.7 |
| Oregon | 22 | 126 | 17% | 6 | 10 of 14 | 13 | 5.2 |
| Nevada | 18 | 312 | 6% | 12 | 6 of 7 | 6 | 5.8 |
| Montana | 16 | 61 | 26% | 0 | 14 of 14 | 2 | 15 |
| Alaska | 15 | 108 | 14% | 11 | 8 of 9 | 0 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 15 | 77 | 19% | 8 | 6 of 7 | 4 | 7.1 |
| Utah | 13 | 116 | 11% | 6 | 6 of 7 | 7 | 4.0 |
| Arizona | 10 | 60 | 17% | 4 | 6 of 6 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Washington | 10 | 30 | 33% | 3 | 5 of 10 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Wyoming | 10 | 132 | 8% | 3 | 9 of 9 | 2 | 17 |
| The West | 306 | 1,605 | 19% | 106 | 158 of 214 | 97 |
Soaking spots: places we list where the public can soak. Winter: reachable in a normal winter, out of the springs we've rated. Fire: a 2026 wildfire of 100 acres or more within 15 miles.
State by state
- Idaho: 232 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 80 public soaking spots (34%), 30 free, 32 of the 65 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 31 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- California: 304 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 64 public soaking spots (21%), 18 free, 32 of the 39 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 13 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Colorado: 47 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 33 public soaking spots (70%), 5 free, 24 of the 27 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 12 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Oregon: 126 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 22 public soaking spots (17%), 6 free, 10 of the 14 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 13 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Nevada: 312 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 18 public soaking spots (6%), 12 free, 6 of the 7 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 6 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Montana: 61 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 16 public soaking spots (26%), none of them free, all 14 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 2 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Alaska: 108 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 15 public soaking spots (14%), 11 free, 8 of the 9 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and no 2026 wildfire within 15 miles of any of them.
- New Mexico: 77 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 15 public soaking spots (19%), 8 free, 6 of the 7 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 4 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Utah: 116 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 13 public soaking spots (11%), 6 free, 6 of the 7 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 7 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Arizona: 60 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 10 public soaking spots (17%), 4 free, all 6 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 1 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Washington: 30 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 10 public soaking spots (33%), 3 free, 5 of the 10 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 6 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
- Wyoming: 132 thermal springs on NOAA's list and 10 public soaking spots (8%), 3 free, all 9 we've rated for winter reachable in a normal winter and 2 with a 2026 wildfire within 15 miles.
How we counted
- Hot springs are the records on NOAA's Thermal Springs List for the United States (1980), which NOAA retired in 2025 and we host again. It's a science list, so it includes springs that were never soakable. The whole US has 1,661; this page covers the 12 western states.
- Public soaking spots are the springs we list: resorts, pools and natural springs on public land, plus private springs only where the owner runs them for visitors or openly allows the public. What we list and why. A few are newer finds that aren't on NOAA's list.
- Free means no entry fee. A parking pass or recreation pass may still apply.
- Winter comes from each spring's seasonal access notes, rated as reachable or snowed in for a normal December to February.
- Fire is the straight-line distance to the nearest 2026 fire perimeter in the National Interagency Fire Center's year-to-date data.
- Per million people uses the 2020 Census count for each state.
The figures update as our list grows. Last built from our data on 2026-11-11.
Use this data
Journalists, bloggers and teachers are welcome to use these figures and the chart, with a link to this page. Both datasets are free to download: our soaking spots (CC BY 4.0) and the NOAA list (public domain). Want a number for your state or town that isn't here? Ask at hello@hotspringswest.com.