Tecopa Hot Tub

Tecopa is a small town near the southern end of Death Valley National Park known for its warm mud springs. The town has two hot springs resorts that offer visitors a chance to bathe and lather themselves with the exfoliating mud, as well as a free natural pool where visitors can cover themselves in mud. For those willing to take a short drive from the popular hot springs resort area, there is this free hot springs pool lying in a natural setting in the dry Mojave landscape.

The pool, sitting like a little oasis amidst an arid landscape, is a  concrete tub large enough for four to six people built into the ground with water flowing in from the nearby source. It sits beneath a large palm that distinguishes its location from its barren surroundings.

Water temperature is generally between 95 and 100 degrees; however, the temperature can be moody, and it fluctuates between warm and very hot.

Custom seems to be clothing-optional, and camping, though not permitted adjacent to the spring, is okay nearly anywhere else on the pubic land surrounding the spring. There are no facilities of any kind at the hot springs.

A note on driving Furnace Creek Road: the unpaved road is suitable for two-wheel drive vehicles and campers, but don't attempt to drive it after wet weather when the soft mineral dirt becomes extremely muddy and slick.

Also, there is nothing beyond very basic supplies in the hot springs area and the town of Tecopa located about 2 miles away. The notable exception is Tecopa's Death Valley Brewing, which sells beer brewed from their own natural water spring and is worth checking out.