Our new spot for the next few weeks is by Lake Mead in Nevada. We were in the area for a short stay a few years ago and had fun. There are only so many places to go to stay warm in the winter and the temperatures here fit the bill. Our first hike was to the Ringbolt Hot Springs. We hiked this as a loop and it was 6.3 miles with around 1400′ of climbing.
Just past the Hoover Dam we turned off into the parking lot to start the hike. Our destination was the shoreline of the Colorado River and then Ringbolt Hot Springs. Ringbolt is a group of three geothermal springs in a slot canyon. The spring fed hot water flows out of the wall of the canyon and collects in the slot canyon via a system of sandbags. There are three pools with the one closest to the spring at around 110 degrees! Getting to these is the key.
We hiked down White Rock Canyon passing through deep walled volcanic slot canyon. These things really tower above you! It was still before 9am so it was chilly enough that I wore a long sleeve shirt for a bit. The canyon winds down through gravel and sand until it opens up a bit and ends at the Colorado River. The water here was magnificently clear and from above, a deep greenish blue making for a brilliant viewpoint.
After admiring the river we continued on up the ridge, did a bit of rock climbing to get up and over, and then dropped down into the hot springs canyon. We slogged through the water bogged sand and encountered “the ladder”. The sign at the trailhead said there was no ladder but the true story is there is no “official” ladder. Apparently something happened to the original Forest Service ladder and this one is unofficial. Either way, we climbed the 24 rung ladder up 20′ to the first hot spring. It’s a metal ladder and creaked a bit going up so I was nervous Derek would be bothered but he climbed up like a champ.
I should note here that we might be the only people in the world who aren’t really fans of hot springs. The though of sharing hot water with so many unwashed people brings out the germaphobe in me. Anyway, to continue on the loop we had to hike through each of the hot spring pools to continue on the trail. Luckily it was still early in the day and there weren’t many people so it wasn’t too awkward.
The trail back to the trailhead from this point was up the canyon with a couple more little rock scrambling areas. I think most people hike in and out to the hot springs this way instead of doing the loop, but they are definitely missing out. This canyon wasn’t as steep walled but still very interesting. The hike would be brutal on a hot day but with temps in the 70’s it was perfect.
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