Dirty Socks Hot Spring
Address:
Owens Lake, Nevada, USA
Category: Hot Springs-soakable
GPS GeoCoords: 36.329218,-117.948698
The cement pool called Dirty Socks Hot Spring is large, shallow, lukewarm, and rather unappealing. It may be algae-laden or fairly clean. But it does have one attraction: unlike the previous entry, which is also off Highway 190, this site is just 300 yards from the highway and there are no dirt roads or trails to take.
Directions: From Los Angeles, take Highway 14 to Highway 395, exit at Olancha and go north on Highway 190 for five miles. Look for a one-lane paved road, turn west onto it, and go 300 yards to the pool.
The pool: It's just a shallow cement pool with no amenities. The spring is surrounded by miles of flat, open desert dotted with sage and the occasional telephone pole.
The crowd: You may have it all to yourself.
Problems: Algae, shallow water, unknown legal status, need shoes to protect feet, spring warm (less than 90 degrees) not hot, not much to do.
Virtual Panorama of the site
