Buckeye Hot Springs

Wonderful unspoiled natural hot springs empties into Buckeye Creek near Bridgeport. Some maps seem to confuse its location with Travertine Hot Springs, so see Gøögle map or my review of Buckeye Campground for directions.
From parking area, hike carefully down a rocky hillside to the main collecting pools, rock-​dammed & less than a foot deep, on bank of (cold!) Buckeye Creek. The grassy areas of the slope, where springs feed the vegetation, can be slippery. I stick to the bare stone & sand.
There’s also a nice, if somewhat deeper & cooler, soaking pond next to the lone tree just below the parking area. (See pictures.)
As at most remote USFS springs, expect a variety of nude bathers, especially in late morning or after sunset. If you feel more comfortable in swimming togs, just keep yours on!

Gotta love this place! A bit more secluded than nearby hot springs which means not as many people. So nice to see the water drop down over the pools and listen to the cool creek run next to you.

Were Buckeye not a 4-​hour drive through winding mountain roads I would come here every weekend. Were I a self-​confident civil engineer I would devise a way to divert some of the scalding hot water gushing out of the spring into my own backyard. Or maybe I wouldn’t, because at least 30% of the appeal of Buckeye is the fact that it borders the shockingly cold waters of Buckeye Creek.
The «entrance» to Buckeye is just past Buckeye campground where a flat, dusty stretch of ground serves as a makeshift parking lot. Be careful when driving on the unpaved roads especially after rain (probably the least of California’s worries now). Pick a path, any path, that heads downhill and be careful. Bring plenty of sunscreen, water, hats, towels, etc. You can take a detour to visit the source of the spring on a bare, rocky face where no plants grow because… Sulfur. You’ll smell it. Yes, it’s hot.
The one pool to the bank is the hottest, but can reach a nice temperature when some of the creek water is diverted. From this pool, the water cools as it travels down to the successive pools until it rejoins the creek. I felt like Goldilocks hopping from one pool to the next until I realized that we could reconstruct the pools to change the temperature. Just be careful to ask your fellow bathers and return it to the way it was when you leave!
There’s actually another more secluded pool perfect for a mini-​retreat if you can get to it first. Fondly dubbed «The Bathtub» for its ambient temperature, it’s close to the top of the hill, in the other direction from the bank, and has a stunning view of the valley as well as some nice, shady trees.
I really enjoyed this visit as it was my first «natural» hot springs experience. You’ll meet some pretty awesome people lounging around in the squishy sand and ducking in and out of the creek. Apparently there are fish here for at least part of the year, but we didn’t see any when we went in May. Great way to relax after a long day of hiking or to spend a long, lazy day.

Nice place to visit. Started getting crowded with children and family after 1pm. Still a great place to go hangout in the hot water. Be prepared though with food and and camp gear if you plan on staying all day or camping out.

The hike down to the hot springs could be a bit difficult from some.
If it was empty it would be better, this place always seems crowded. It’s just a more popular well known springs. But the spring is really cool and somewhat unique, situated at the edge of the river.
Everyone has different feelings about the crowds at hot springs and that’s obvious from reading all the reviews here.
Creepy naked people.
People on drugs
Creepy naked people on drugs
People uncomfortable around naked people
People uncomfortable around naked people who are on drugs
Naked people uncomfortable being naked in front of people who are not naked and or on drugs.
People who don’t care.
But everyone should be relaxed at this point so mostly it should just be a bunch of people who don’t care about what other people are doing. Everyone has a comfort level.

Absolutely an excellent place for soaking. There are no services nearby, but beautiful flat places in the woods for camping just up the road.
It’s really my favorite hot springs in the Eastern Sierra. Wear shoes, and expect a moderately steep hike down (it is very short). Also please do not be surprised if people are naked. This hot spring is on federal land and clothing is optional.
For people less inclined to hike there is another improved pool closer to the parking area (built into the hill).

Love this place but, do not bring kids! Too much nudity and being «free». Hard to talk to someone when their balls are hanging out. Much better than Travertine but harder to get to. The trail down is steep and you may be greeted by 2 of the largest garter snakes I have ever seen in my life. Don’t worry, they go away and are harmless.

Wow another great hot springs.
As has been mentioned it’s a much more treacherous hike than Travertine, but less crowded so there’s give and take.
Again, you cannot be offended by naked people, they will be there, so get over it I guess. What I particularly like about this location is that it’s in the river and several different pools all at different temperatures. And we did not have as much wind as at Travertine (very nice when getting out of the hot water).

I camp in this area every year, but don’t always make it down to the spring, too busy riding, fishing, etc.. It is very nice and I did go down this year from camp to relax early in the morning.
Some newage hippies came down, were friendly, got naked, and did their «wake and bake» routine. I dont think the stuff the naked hippies are smoking is anything near what we smoked in the 70’s. We were happy stoners, these newage hippies act like they are on mars. Oh well, guess I’m too old to go naked and smoke the synthetic bud.
Nice hot springs regardless, be careful on the hike in!

Have stayed at Buckeye a few times over the years. On the right day it is excellent — nice hot soak in the pools, with cold plunge in the river to cool off. Like most hot springs it can get crowded, but I’ve personally never seen it too full to become awkwardly crowded. There is also a small hot pool up the river bank from the main pool — only ever found this late one night so could not describe how to find it again (try drinking a few beers, fumbling around in the dark, an viola!).
I’m always amused by hot spring reviews with people aghast at clothing optional use — really folks, it’s a fairly remote, natural hot spring, it’s the rule rather than the exception! It’s typically been a mix when I’ve been there, and the clothed and unclothed coexist in perfect harmony (amazing).
I would rate some of the springs in the Mammoth Lakes area higher, because of the amazing views and larger concentration of pools (i.e. less crowds), but Buckeye is definitely worth a visit.

Much like with nearby Travertine Hot Springs, the experience at Buckeye really depends on how crowded it is.
You’ll have to travel along a couple of miles of dirt roads and scramble down a very steep hill to get here, but the site is pretty easy to find. Wear good shoes! We arrived in our flip flops and it was very difficult to get up and down the hill.
In one important way, it’s better than Travertine. At Buckeye, the springs run into a river, and the hot water is captured by man-​made rock piles that create a few small pools of varying temperature. The river water cycles through, leaving the pools a bit cleaner than those at Travertine. The scenery is very beautiful.
When we arrived here in the late morning, the pools were all being used by groups, but it was not too crowded. However, I get easily skeeved out by lots of people in any small body of water, so the experience wasn’t ideal.
Yes, the water is warm, and the minerals feel great on your skin and hair. There were a couple of families here, so we didn’t feel too creeped out. Unfortunately, a group of about 4 guys showed up soon after we did, and my sister noticed they appeared to be enjoying the springs in their underwear. On a very hot day, this seemed pretty nasty, but perhaps was be just as much so for all of us in our swimsuits, also sweating like crazy.

Very crowded with three types:
* locals pissed that anyone else is there and being rude to non-​locals;
* hippie types going naked;
* partying conservatives uncomfortable with the naked hippies.
Saw this over and over returning as we did (camping locally) in the morning, early evening and at night.
EXTREMELY Steep 400′ drop. saw more than a few people stumble and fall, twist ankles etc. Or you can cross the roaring river and go up the other steep side. It’s a dangerous entry, no matter which direction you arrive from.
The pools are right by the river, so only good after the river has gone down (July 1 through the next snow — October?). Seat about 6 each in each of the two pools — if you squish in, which is mostly what we saw happening in the 18″ of hot or warm water.
Overall: just overrun with people clashing from 7am to 1am. No amenities, no potable water for miles, bathrooms are a few miles away.

Nature at its best. Check out the photos, what’s there not to love!

Steep hike in. Secluded!
I like it better than the more touristy Travertine springs.
View is ok.

I would never give less than 4 stars to something as cool as a natural hot spring, but Buckeye wasn’t really my favorite. A rough scramble down the hillside into a really tiny little pool next to the river, kind of set under an overhang. Too small and full of people. But it was nice clear water, and worth a trip if you’re nearby. Clothing optional, which was fine either way.

It is a nice hot springs. But beware that the hippies like to go and get naked there, and when you are with your 2 young daughters it is very uncomfortable. I’m not sure why the hippy pedos show up and feel they must get naked in a public place.

Beautiful hot springs with a natural grotto/​waterfall right on the river! It’s hard to find by car (enter Buckeye Campground, drive on the dirt road left of Doc & Al’s, cross two one-​lane bridges and follow the signs to Buckeye Hot Springs at the top of the hill on your right). It’s kind of hard to hike to (very steep hike of about 400′ with an elevation drop of 150 – 200′) so bring your hiking shoes and ditch the flip flops. There are other routes in/​out but that’s the my bf and I took.

Buckeye is definitely better than Travertine, which also is more frequently policed by the local authorities looking to be jerks about nudity. However, Buckeye is often overrun by rednecks who have issues with nudity or burningman types who just overcrowd the hot spring and make it not fun no more either way.
This hot spring is in a river — that means that it doesn’t really exist til the snow melt is done and the river level has gone down — you probably won’t find any warm pool in June, for example. By the time it is ready for soaking — it’s burningman time and … well… there ya go.
There are plenty of other hot springs that aren’t quite as popular destinations on the route between SoCal and the Nevada desert. Check those out, too!