After a rolling three miles, the trail drops steeply into Hot Springs Canyon. No Adventure Pass is needed at the Mutau Flat/Johnson Ridge Trail. Climbing up Johnston Ridge. 3 access trails to Sespe Hot Springs Johnston Ridge Trail Hiked the trail from the Sespe River up to the Hot Springs. The canyon walls rise steeply on either side. Re: Little Caliente Hot Spring Rick 17111. The grassy flat meadows are in about the same place in this photo as they were in the first; a little above center on the left. Made it through but it was pretty sketchy! Hike 9.5 miles to soak in our private oasis. Using trails when they are muddy is the leading cause of trail damage on the Ridge to Rivers system. Finding Sespe Hot Springs: The further hot springs is much more rewarding. Â, It's confusing as you cross the Stonehouse trail valley. Take the Johnson Ridge trail on the right (south), which crosses the sandy wash of Mutau Creek and climbs into pine forest. Hi Jack- Willet Hot Spring is around 9.5 miles from the Rose Valley trailhead. Wade cross the river (it's only ankle deep) and look for a trail that begins as a steep scramble up to the ridge top. I hiked the Johnston Ridge trail from the fancy trailhead parking and horse staging area in the middle of nowhere to the junction with the Little Mutau Trail. Explore! The Sespe River is one of the only undamed, undiverted waterways in all of Southern California. Happy Lake Ridge Trail. The springs were awesome. After 1.3 miles you will reach the Rose Lion Connector Trail (22W16) on the right. I enjoyed that spring very much. The hike is about 9 miles one-way. Bay Area Ridge Trail. The hottest part is 150 degrees and gets cooler as it meanders down stream. Since then, the NPS has removed all man-made structures from the area, and hikers can access these natural hot springs via a 2.5-mile trail. Overall the trail needs some maintenance but you won’t get lost. Pictures of my hikes A description of the hike to Sespe Gorge There are three different trails to access Sespe Hot Springs - the Sespe River Trail which is rated as a moderately difficult 16.8 mile hike one way with numerous river crossings, the Alder Creek Trail which is 7.5 miles one way and still rated as moderately difficult, or the … Nevada Hot Springs Paul P. 17117. As usual hot and dry, but the trail was wide enough all the way down.Â, I did Johnson Ridge, from trailhead to Hot Springs and back, Sept 17-18, 2016. Whoa! Tried to follow the creek downstream but the trail was far too overgrown for us in shorts without a machete. Hike to Trail Canyon Falls near Tujunga, California Hike to Waihe’e Ridge Trail near Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii Hike to Willett Hot Springs near Sespe Wilderness, Ojai, California At .6 miles further, there is another camp and .4 mile further is the Sespe River Trail … And at the hot springs there are quite a few bugs, including ticks. This route follows an exposed ridge 9.5 miles down to the hot springs, giving hikers a commanding view of the Sepse area, a downhill approach to the springs, and nearly half the distance. A similar resort operated on the Olympic Hot Springs until 1966, when the lease with the National Park Service (NPS) expired. It is downhill on the way in. good condition, except a few miles in around Mutau Flat, I got a On the other side of the road, there appears to be two ways to go (left of right) and there is no trail sign posted. Chief Peak Rd to Nordhoff Ridge and Howard T. Johnston Ridge Trailhead to Sespe Hot Springs. There is one confusing moment, however: When dropping south down from the trailhead, you cross the dirt road running east/west to Mutau Flat. Trail is not hard to follow.  A few narrow spots, but nothing unpassable. There's too many trails, cattle tracks, roads, fences, etc. We got a report today from a backpacker who hiked the lower Johnston Ridge Trail from Sespe up to the Hot Spring. Cross the Sespe River past Willet Hot Springs. Nevada Hot Springs Paul P. 17117. Little or no erosion. The Gaviota Hot Springs are less than a mile hike through a shaded trail. The trail up to Sespe Hot Springs is wide and flat. There may have been a little bit of brushiness.  2 trees down, but cleared several others. Hot Springs: Jerry Johnson Hot Springs has three hot springs sources. Loop from the Mutau Flat trailhead along the Johnson Ridge Trail to Hot Springs Canyon to Sespe Creek to Alder Creek to McDonald Camp to Little Mutau Camp along the Little Mutau Creek to Mutau Flat: 44 kms. It’s about 2.5 hours from LA and the last 40 minutes is down a bumpy dirt road. Hot Springs: Sespe Hot Springs is a rock walled natural hot springs pool. It has algae growing in it but there are places where people have cleared the algae and built up rocks to make a pool. Going uphill along the trail, I carried about a gallon of water and Some of the trees are doing very poorly. Wife and I hit the Sespe hot springs in mid-November of 2019. Two weekends ago (4/27) I hiked the White Ledge-Lower Sisquoc-Manzana loop. Estimated opening is mid 2020.. Big Sur has two hot springs which are open to the public; Sykes Hot Springs and the hot springs located at the Esalen Institute. The Trail to Sykes Hot Springs has been closed until further notice because of the Soberanes Fire. We started at the Piedra Blanca Trailhead and went east (on the Sespe Creek Trail), making our way through seemingly endless grassland plains. Prior to the June 1992 wilderness legislation, this was a popular motorcycle trail. Johnson ridge. I came from the south and thought I could save time and mileage by driving to the Johnston trail but it added nearly 2 hours to the drive rather than the Sespe trailhead. Via Johnston Ridge – The access trail is LONG, with a lot of up and downs, changing in elevation, thru pinyon pine forest and oaks, along dry dusty ridges, very exposed. Download gpx of this route. Lots of people milling about the Hot Springs now with Grade Valley Rd open. After 8.5 mile from the trailhead, a side trail leads into Hot Springs Creek. Fires in the Owens Valley Rick 17105. The hot springs are accessible on foot or by horseback only. Now it's a nice trail, with just the right amount of switch backs. It's a good for an overnight backpack destination, but pretty tough for a day hike. Best time to visit is in the fall!! Going up towards the source was also overgrown with waist high grasses but we just crossed the creek and followed it up off trail instead. Take the Pledge. 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