Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area

We stayed here for a sat. Night when we were passing through the area. It’s been on my list for a while. Wanted to check out the hot springs. There’s two pools, they are only full from about 8-5. They are on an automatic timer and drain in the evening. The water was nice fairly warm but I do not know the temp. It is funny because the area all around is built for ATV and such so it’s just kinda a funny juxtaposition. We got a camp site but it appears you really could just park your vehicle/trailer almost anywhere besides the main road. There is a camp host but he mainly just seemed to be interested in keeping things clean. I feel like if you come on a weekday you probably would most likely have the place to yourself. There was motor noise but I know that going into the place. Everyone we chatted with was very nice. A large family gathering hooked us up with some damn good chicken tacos. And a dude in a geo tracker gave us a ride to and from the pools. Definitely would pop back through if I was in the area.

First note: if you use Google, it will not lead you to this location. It will lead you to the BLM office in Stafford. That was my first mistake. The second is if you look at Google or Gemini it will tell you it’s 28 miles of dirt road to get here. This road was paved about five years ago. The only way I could find this location was using an iOverlander 2. We have stayed for about five days. It’s very peaceful. I assume it gets busy on the weekends and the locals told me it’s crazy on holidays As everybody brings their motorcycles and four wheelers up here to ride. I don’t do any of the HOV, but the hot tub is great. The hot tubs are good at about an hour and a half after sunrise and when the sun starts going down or it’s cloudy they empty. So in January by 5 PM, they start to empty. When the sun comes up in the morning, they start to fill. 3$ covers camping and hot tub use.

Remote location with horrible roads to get there. From the North via Haekal road lots of potholes. However the road will be closed through June sometime for work. I hope that means it will be fixed. From Bowie / I-10 from the south, it's a bit closer but the washboard road is nearly the full distance. There are several campsites and a day use area that includes two hot tubs that are open from sunrise to sunset roughly. The water is drained daily. Water temp is 106°. This is a popular location for OHV use. All regulations are adhered to. It is a fee area $3 per day and there is a full time host.

What a surprise. You just never know out in the middle of nowhere what it will be like. We planned on not more than an hour, but were there 2 hours easy. Camp host made his rounds and I'm sure he is very diligent. You could tell because the place was well kept. Picnic areas, at least 10 camp spots, and the hot tubs. We were there noon on a Wednesday. Nobody else in the tubs. HOT water. I'm still hot 6 hours later! Felt real good though. 70 degrees in Dec, slight breeze. Perfect. And we brought a picnic. It's the middle of nowhere, so beware.

Thursday, November 17th, there were only about 6 campers in the area. We came for the hot springs. No one else around. Had it the springs all to ourselves. Very clean vault toilets to change clothes. Two hot pools. Water was perfect temps. All very clean. Natural hot springs, with no smell. Pools constantly fill and empty, so no chemicals are needed. The entry fee is $3 per vehicle/per day (half price with National Park Pass) cash, exact amount.