Hike-in Required
Yes
Water Temperature
Sensitive Habitat
No
Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

The Fifth Water Hot Springs southeast of Provo is great place to enjoy a beautiful canyon while relaxing in a bunch of nature-made hot tubs. Also known as Diamond Fork Hot Springs because of its location in Diamond Fork Canyon, a series of hot springs dot the Fifth Water Creek and create a great place where locals and tourist mingle. It's a beautiful area with tremendous fall colors that receives year-round visitors, and you get to bring your dogs!

From the trailhead you follow an obvious and easy trail. It has the occasional steep section, but overall it consists of flat terrain. After 2.5 miles the first set of hot springs appear in the river. You can tell you have arrived when the color of the river water changes to a light, milky blue. Several sets of hot springs are further up the trail, so keep walking if the first ones are too crowded.

There are many places here where you can easily get burned by scalding water, so always enter slowly and test areas out before your kids or dogs touch the water. Watch for the richly colored red rocks; these indicate the source of the geothermal vent and thus the hottest water. Finally, it's easy to become dehydrated very quickly in the hot springs, so be careful. Keeping these things in mind, Fifth Water Hot Springs is still a great place for a family outing or to hang out with your friends.

Logistics + Planning

Congestion

High

Parking Pass

Not Required

Pros

Great fall color. Dogs Allowed. Lots of different hot pots. Flat terrain on the hike.

Cons

Crowded. Risk of Burn. Rattlesnakes. Sulphur smells.

Features

Natural

Number of pools

8

Location

Comments

11/15/2017
The hot springs are not too comfortable, most are shallow and gravel bottom. Temperatures vary. It got very crowded, very fast. We thought going on a Wednesday would be a good idea. Wonder what the weekends are like? Despite this, it was absolutely beautiful. Worth the hike to view the hot springs. Please carry out your trash and follow hot spring etiquette.
08/13/2016
Also known locally as Diamond Fork Hot Springs, the trail can be treacherous in winter time. Beautiful spot. The best times to go are mid day, mid week during the school year to avoid crowds. Pro tip: Nudity is not allowed here and people HAVE been arrested for being naked in the springs, so keep your bathing suit on. It's also nice to take a trash bag and pack out other people's trash, as there are no garbage cans at the site and some people DO leave their trash here. The road can be closed during the winter due to heavy snow fall.
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