Parking
Use the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center day-use area off State Route 123; the Hot Springs path begins by campground Loop B.
Overview
About Hot Springs Nature Trail
Why go
- An easy, shaded route combines unusual springs and a historic resort site.
Heads up
- The shallow spring pools are too small for bathing.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mount Rainier map
Full mapElevation1,949–2,037 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active Mount Rainier alerts
- ClosureWildfire closures in the northern parkGrand Park 2 and Wonderland Complex fire closures affect trails, backcountry camps, and Sunrise access; stay out of closed areas.Official details
- ClosureSR 165 bridge closed: no public access to Carbon River or Mowich LakeThe SR 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge is closed to vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians; there is no public access or alternate route to Carbon River or Mowich Lake.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Rainier Tour Guide
Your drive to Hot Springs Nature Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Rainier National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Mount Rainier audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Ohanapecosh: Old Forest and Silver Falls0:00 / 0:33
“Up ahead is Ohanapecosh, where huge firs, cedars and hemlocks shade the river. I'd stop here for the old forest and Silver Falls, where a footbridge brings you beside white water pouring through a rocky gorge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mount Rainier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Douglas-fir’s Thick Skin
- A Woodpecker's Rectangular Clue
- Laughingwater Creek: A Full Day to Three Lakes
- A Squirrel's Cone Pantry
- 77 audio storiesacross Mount Rainier’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mountain Goat, Black Bear, Wolverine, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 87 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Hot Springs Nature Trail
A short walk to the springsThis is an easy, gently hilly out-and-back through Ohanapecosh’s old-growth forest.
This is an easy, gently hilly out-and-back through Ohanapecosh’s old-growth forest. The mapped Hot Springs path runs about 0.3 mile one way from the campground-side access near the Visitor Center to a junction with Silver Falls Trail; turn back for roughly 0.6 mile round trip. Allow about half an hour if you stop at the spring and read the interpretive signs.
Springs and the old resortThe springs are small, shallow seeps with bubbling water and mineral-coated rock.
The springs are small, shallow seeps with bubbling water and mineral-coated rock. They’re too small for bathing, so come for the odd geology and the forest, not a soak. Interpretive signs tell how visitors once came to an early resort for water they believed had healing properties. A grassy meadow and boardwalk mark the former lodge site, now returned to a more natural state.
Under the treesDouglas-firs, western red cedars and western hemlocks shade the low-valley trail.
Douglas-firs, western red cedars and western hemlocks shade the low-valley trail. Ohanapecosh is named for a Taidnapam habitation site along the river; the name is thought to mean “standing at the edge.” The route meets Silver Falls Trail at its far end, so you can turn back here or continue only if you’ve planned a longer walk.
Access and rulesStart near the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center and campground Loop B.
Start near the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center and campground Loop B. Pets aren’t allowed on Mount Rainier trails.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Mount Rainier
466 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
383 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsWolverineMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
574 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
1,853 sightingsHoary MarmotMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Rainier. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
