Hot springs in New Mexico

About hot springs in New Mexico

New Mexico's best-known hot water is in the north and the Jemez. Jemez Springs is a village with paid bathhouses and a run of free soaks nearby, including San Antonio Hot Springs, Spence Hot Springs, McCauley Warm Springs and the travertine at Soda Dam. Up the Rio Grande near Taos, Manby Hot Springs and Black Rock Hot Springs sit by the river, and Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort and Spa is a classic day trip.

Further south, Truth or Consequences has a cluster of small downtown bathhouses drawing on one geothermal aquifer, most selling private tubs by the hour. The southwest has Faywood Hot Springs, which takes reservations, and Gila Hot Springs Campground, plus the harder trips, Turkey Creek Hot Springs and San Francisco Hot Springs. Montezuma Hot Springs, near Las Vegas, is free and open from dawn until 10 p.m.

Rivers set the calendar. Manby and Black Rock can flood at high water, Montezuma sees river flooding in monsoon season, and the Jemez has afternoon thunderstorms from July to September. Fire closures sometimes shut Forest Service areas in the Jemez, so check before you drive to McCauley. Our tip: at several free springs the hottest pool can scald, so test the water first.