Goldstrike Hot Springs Trail Head

PSA: Bring enough water. Look at pics and vids so you know what to expect. There’s a reason they close this hike all summer long. Took Vegas Pauly C on this hike. He loved it but also said “Why hike 3 miles in and 3 miles out with half a mile of verticality each way?” He also said “You’re never going to take the general public on this hike.” That being said him and Mahi got right through it. She was scared to death 4x times but she was proud she knocked it out. Our kayak tour is just a simple 5 min hike to hot springs and the incredible Moss wall and second set of Hot Springs we exclusively take our guests to (time and light dependent) Our launches just 1/2 mile up river under the Hoover dam and this is our big first stop. I highly recommend going with a certified guide if you’re going to hike in. We end up giving water to people all the time who have little to zero shot out of there without it. There’s 7 rope climbs, one of them is over 30 feet high. We carry all the extra water you’d need and extra shoes on our guided hike. As INCREDIBLE as this hike is we see THREE more hikes just like it. We are the company that takes our guests to Infinity Hot Springs, Boyscout Canyon, Goldstrike, Sauna Cave, Mermaid Cave, and Emerald Cave all in the same day. We take you as far back to Boyscout Canyon as you can physically go. In pictures are our ADVENTURE CHILD guides.

A few comments almost talked me out of doing this trail. It's really not that hard! The hike from the parking lot to the Colorado River took about 1hr 15 mins. I did not have proper hiking shoes with me as we flew here for a holiday; I wore vans. Yes, proper boots would have been nice but were not at all mandatory. Gloves are NOT necessary, either. Even if I was given some, I wouldn't choose to wear them. The first half of the hike is a pretty basic gravel path. The second half gets fun with some rocks and ropes to assist you down. None of the ropes are very difficult. You obviously need some bare minimum upper body strength to support yourself, though. (Also, given the ropes and heat, it's not a good place to bring your dog). Near the bottom, the final 10 mins is following a wet creek bed, which requires some careful steps to avoid wet feet. I only saw two pools, one is quite large and the other is small. Neither was super warm, I'd guess high 90s or maybe 100F max. It's definitely warmer if you sit near the heat source. As a bonus a lot of the hike was in the shade due to being in a canyon for the majority of the hike. Total round trip time was about 2hr 40 mins. Left the parking lot at 1030am, back to the car just after 1pm. Logged 10.7km and 350m elevation gain.

Def do this hike with LOTS of water. The trail closes from May-Oct due to how hot it can get. We went in late March and it hit 90+° and the hike up to car was hard! The terrain is soft loose gravel (think cat litter) for the first part, then becomes really rocky and then you have to climb down 9 roped rocks before you hit the first hot spring and water falls. You are decending into the canyon, so be aware the trip back is all up. Warning: water at the springs is very warm/hot 🔥 But after a 2hr trek down it feels amazing. So pack plenty of water, food, and bathing suit. This was our most challenging hike to date, as we'd never done ropes on a hike before, also the heat made the return much more tiring. We took about 4hrs to go in-out. We did not go to the Colorado River at the very end, but chose to stop at the hot springs and eat lunch, relax and rest before having to hike back up it all. In our opinion up the rock ropes was easier than down. Just remember to let your legs do most of the work, instead of upper body/arms. Legs are larger muscles and tire less quickly. There are 9 ropes to repel down then back up. All in all, we rated this a top ten of all our hikes thus far! 😍

I’m 39, my husband is 40. We did this hike with our 5 kids yesterday ages 6-15. It was amazing. The exact trail I was looking for. Gave every one of my kids a challenge, everyone got scrapes and bruises—minor—but then every single one of them came out feeling triumphant. It requires problem-solving, patience, and they had to work through fear and uncertainty, and best yet—they had to work together! It took us 5 hours. I wasn’t originally planning on joining in on the hike and didn’t bring proper footwear. My shoes were completely worn smooth on the bottom, and I wouldn’t have made it through the obstacles without help, so I recommend good grippy shoes. My 6 year old frustrates easily and is afraid of heights. I didn’t expect him to make it but by the end he was ahead of us scaling ropes by himself! Incredible experience. And saw fun lizards and a mountain goat scramble down one side and up the other!! We brought 4 liters and ran out towards the end, I wish we had brought more. We were exhausted at the end—the last 45 minutes back to the parking lot on the gravelly dusty trail in the heat after completing all the obstacles was a bit brutal.

This trail was absolutely amazing! It’s long though and only worth it if you get to the end. Round trip it was about 9miles (14,5km) according to my whoop. The hike is a bit tough involving some rope climbing (6-7 times) and uneven surfaces. I recommend wearing non slippery shoes and gloves (mountin bike gloves or garden gloves). Don’t forget bathing suit and towel for the hot springs in the end. They are warm enough to go for a swim even in December!