I’ve written about camping on BLM land before. For us, it’s the ideal situation: it’s free, often remote & less crowded than campgrounds, and there’s plenty of nature right outside your door.

Finding this perfect stopover so close to a road that we travel every summer was a great reminder to always keep exploring, even when you’ve been there before.

When prepping for this year’s road trip from Colorado to California, Spencer Hot Springs came up in a Google search. We did a little bit of research and determined that it was worth adding the stop to our itinerary.

Spencer Hot Springs

Spencer Hot Springs is located on BLM land right off of the Loneliest Road in America. In addition to the hot springs, there are beautiful views, AND wild burros. They make absurd donkey noises when you’re sleeping, and it’s hilarious.

There are a number of different pools at the site that have been maintained/upgraded by locals. The temp of each pool can be controlled by the pipes that feed in the hot water (moving it out of the pool to cool things down). Of the two that we saw, one was a stock tank and the other was more natural with a stone and mud bottom (that’s the one we visited).

We arrived around 4pm on July 3rd. I always worry that it’ll be hard to get a campsite on a holiday weekend, but that wasn’t an issue here! A few other campers already set up, but there was plenty of space in the area for the campers that came later in the evening. Some campsites had fire rings. In other places there was a definite pull-out

Hot Springs Etiquette

If you haven’t visited hot springs, or even if it’s been a while, it’s always good to review the dos and don’ts. Bottom line: use common sense and kindness.

One that’s worth mentioning, because somehow it’s not obvious: if you’re camping at the hot springs, do not camp ON the hot springs. Leave plenty of space so that your camping situation isn’t spilling over into the social space around the hot spring.

If you have kids, you’ll also want to think about how the vibe of the pools will change throughout the day and evening. With two young kids, late afternoon was the a great time to enjoy the hot springs without a crowd. We didn’t want the kids to be too rambunctious for visitors looking for peaceful soak. Clothing is often optional at a place like this, but kids + naked strangers can be a bit awkward, so choosing a less busy time makes it easy avoid an unwanted interaction.

Getting There

There are no signs for the hot springs as you’re driving, and nothing to suggest BLM camping, but there it is, right off the main road! We followed Google directions both on the way in and the way out. Since we were driving west on Rt50 and continuing in that direction after our stay, the map app had us go in and out on two different roads. Both were gravel and seemed to be equally maintained. There were some washboard areas, but it wasn’t a hard or sketchy drive.

Once you’re at the site, you should do some exploring to get the lay of the land. The pools are not right next to each other. Scope out the site, determine which pools you want to be closest to, and then pick your campsite. And again, there are a number of sites, so shop around. The area is wide open without trees, making it relatively easy to get a good lay of the land without much effort.

Austin, NV

The hot springs are located near the town of Austin, NV. It’s a cute little town, but admittedly we haven’t visited yet. Putting it on next summer’s itinerary! Even without visiting here’s what I do know, someone in Austin has a sense of humor. The billboard on the way into town says that they’ve been “social distancing since 1862”, and being a natural at this social distancing thing, I can relate. <3