Soaking in Hot Springs at Soldier Meadows

Home

Our Hiking Stories

Nevada

Main Menu

Join the Conversation!

Looking for others to hike with?

Announce it on the Ladies Hiking Facebook page.

(Become a fan to join in the conversation.)

Soaking in Hot Springs at Soldier Meadows

Written by Kellie Lee

Nevada hiker, outdoors woman and hot springs enthusiast, Kellie Lee shares a weekend of camping under the stars and hot springs soaking.

It was time to take a break, as we drove east out of town on a Friday afternoon I was finally feeling relaxed. My husband and I were heading to Soldier Meadows Hot Springs for a weekend of quiet and to recharge our minds, bodies and spirits.

I’ve been hiking out this direction before but never soaked in the hot springs . If you’re familiar with the Black Rock Desert, you will have no problem finding Soldier Meadows. I had heard about it numerous times; in fact, my husband, Erik, has been there several times himself.

I could not wait to sit in the warm, invigorating, and natural springs.

Now, Where are those Hot Springs?

As we pulled up to where we planned to camp for the evening, I didn’t see a spring in site -- just rolling hills and massive mountains outlining this beautiful meadow. I said to Erik, patiently, “Where are the hot springs?”

He told me not to worry, that they would unveil themselves. So we started out on a light walk down a path and into a small bowl in between two rolling hills and - sure enough - there was the spring tucked in a tight, hidden spot.

We walked a little more and explored the area for arrowheads, didn’t have much luck but as we came up and over the hills there were springs popping out of every little nook and cranny. I wanted to just jump into every single one of them, but I knew that once we got back to camp it would be much more rewarding to sit and relax after our stroll through the meadow.

Ah! The Rejuvenating Powers of a Hot Spring

And it was. SO rewarding!

We sat in the spring next to our camp and enjoyed the stars for a couple hours. We did that for two nights, and come Monday, I was ready to face the work world again, knowing I had a place I could sink off to on the weekend to remember what life is really all about.

Nevada is home to hundreds of hot springs, many of them short hikes in from a bed & breakfast or from the road or camping. A beautiful one, Three Bears, is picture here.