Deep Creek Hot Springs
Deep Creek Hot Springs are located in the San Bernardino National Forest, east of Los Angeles. The shortest access is a 2.5 mile trail from Bowen Ranch. This area is part of the Mohave Desert. (The National Forest does have trees, but they're up in the mountains.)
Not only are the hot springs clothing-optional; the entire trail is clothing-optional.
At the end of the trail, you have to cross Deep Creek, which is really a branch of the Mohave River, to get to the hot springs on the other side. The depth of this crossing varies depending on recent rainfall, from less than knee-deep to chest-deep.
The Pacific Crest Trail also goes through the Deep Creek valley, so through-hikers go right past the hot springs. This is a nearby Pacific Crest Trail bridge across Deep Creek.
The hot springs form a series of pools leading down to the river.
The water is bathtub-warm, not scalding. That feels good!
After soaking in the hot spring, you can cool off in the river, which is much chillier. Or you can try your luck on a slackline that someone set up across the river. This guy is very skillful.
Most people fall off the slackline within the first few feet. A side note: have you noticed that in clothing-optional areas, men are much more willing to get naked than women? Both of the women in this photo are clothed; all the men are naked.
Another option is to climb the granite cliffs along the river and then cliff-dive into the water.
I edited this video of cliff divers to include only the naked guys (others had swimsuits). This stretch of Deep Creek is indeed deep, unlike the river crossing shown earlier. Wahoo!
2 comments:
Give most men the opportunity to be naked without risk and they'll take it. Women tend to be too body-conscious. If they don't look like the models in commercials, they don't want to be seen naked.
Nice location
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