This was a fun find! Driving through Wyoming on my way back to Oregon I needed to charge up my battery bank, dump tanks, and take a nice, long hot shower (as opposed to military-style trailer shower) so pulled over in Rawlins and spent a night at Red Desert Rose Campground.
It’s a very basic campground, but the couple who ran it were super nice and told me about free Hobo Hot Springs just 40 minutes away. Score! They also let me know that Saratoga didn’t get the same wind gusts that whip up on I-80—the highway reader board had a 75 mph wind warning for the next day that could have sent me, Tiger, and The Mermaid Lounge a’tumbling. Not good!
Related post: Free RV Parking and Camping Near Hobo Hot Springs in Saratoga, WY
Beautiful location on the banks of the North Platte River
I didn’t show it in the video, but when you enter the parking area there is a small boat launch to the left on the river bank. When I was there a couple locals were fishing off to the side.
When you enter the pools you’ll see the gate in the photo below at the back that leads to the river. Jump in for a nice shocking cold plunge!
Watch out for the slippery green slime on the pool steps!
We all know to be careful walking around a pool area, but what you may not see or realize when you walk into the hot spring pools is the green slime on the steps. I’m lucky I had my hand on the railing and was being careful, because when I stepped down into the smaller pool I lost my footing and would have flipped backwards if I wasn’t holding onto the rail.
Yikes!
The hot springs are not chemically treated
Unlike the hot springs at Agua Caliente County Park in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the pools at Hobo Hot Springs are not chemically treated i.e. no cholorine etc. Hence the green slime, right? I didn’t mind a little algae, but even though most likely harmless, I wouldn’t submerge my head under the water.
And of course never go in any body of water if you have a sore or open would of any size. A local I chatted with did say the hot springs are cleaned out off and on, but not as much as he would like. 🙂
Video of free Hobo Hot Springs in Saratogo, WY
You get to take a first look with me as I walk from the parking lot to check out the hot spring pools. The small locker room was nice, and shower cold but perfect after being in the boiling hot water for a bit!
You’ll see in the video that they have a sign with the temperature of the pools, that of course can fluctuate for various reasons. The cold pool when I visited was “102 degrees”. Cold? That’s pretty hot in my book 🙂