Goldmyer Hot Springs Guide

Goldmyer Hot Springs is the closest hot springs to downtown Seattle and in my opinion the best hot springs destination in Washington Sate. Making it well worth the 11 or so mile hike. The hot springs natural geothermic water flows from a horizontal mine shaft. The water is contained within 3 different pools including the shaft that vary in temperature with the hottest being the mine shaft which is about 111 degrees Fahrenheit. Goldmyer Hot Springs lottery system allows for 20 people per day to be drawn to visit the property with the option to camp overnight.

Reservations

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Click here to review the lottery details and make a reservation. The month specific dynamic link to the form is at the bottom of linked page.

Lottery applications open up 2 months in advance. What this means is if you want to go in March for example you must submit a lottery application in by January 31^st.

So let’s say you wanted to make a reservation in March, your timeline would be as follows:

January – Submit your lottery application online for up to (3) dates.

February – Receive phone call confirmation of lottery win. If you don’t receive a call within the first 3 weeks of the month that means you did not get selected. Also note that they make calls based on chronological order of reservations made. In this scenario if you made your reservation for the end of March you would be one of the last ones to receive a call if you were drawn.

March – Make your trip to Goldmyer Hot Springs.

Packing

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• Towel – Not supplied so make sure you bring one.

• Bathing Suit – These are actually optional as bathing nude is allowed here and fairly common.
• Layers– Proper hiking layers depending on what time of year you choose to visit the hot springs. On our last trip to the hot springs snow was not forecasted and as you can see from the photo above it was quite snowy! I was very happy to have warm layers including mittens, beanie, down jacket, and a merino wool top.

• Food – Make sure you bring enough food to sustain you for the entire day as no food is sold on property. Also please note that food is not to be consumed at the actual hot springs.
• Water – There is a river beside the hot springs you can filter water as needed. However I always opt to carry in mine own drinking water to Goldmyer.

• Rain Gear – When there’s a chance of rain I recommend a rain jacket, rain pants, and a rain fly designed for you backpack.

• Headlamp– Whether or not you plan on being out past dark absolutely make sure you have a headlamp just in case.

Garmin inReach– You will lose service before you get to the Dingford Creek Trailhead so I highly urge you or someone in your party to have some type of satellite communication device.

• Chainsaw– The property is not responsible in the event that you become trapped at the property due to fallen trees and urge you to bring items for a self rescue just in case.
• Chains – Depending on the time of the year these could save you a few miles of walking.

Directions

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If you’re using GPS navigation (e.g. Google Maps) you can search for “Garfield Ledges Trailhead” and this will get you to the end of the paved road past the Mailbox Trail parking lot. You’ll turn right at the Garfield Ledges parking lot past the restroom there and continue down the 6 rough miles to get to the parking lot which is located at Dingford Creek Trailhead which is also the start of the 11.1 mile Goldmyer Hot Springs Trail. Please allow for roughly 45 mins in good conditions to navigate this last 6 mile section of road.

The non-profit that owns Goldmyer Hot Springs, Northwest Wilderness Programs, currently recommends a vehicle with at least 9-10″ of clearance for those last 6 miles. We’ve been able to make the journey in a 2020 RAV4 with 8″ of clearance but had to chose our routes at the (4) separate washout locations wisely. Because we had a full car we had all passengers exit the vehile when the road became questionable so we could ensure as much clearance as possible. This road will become impassable occasionally in the winter months and will add 12-14 miles round trip to your hike if you chose to still make the journey.

Make sure to check out the Goldmyer Access Report updated at least every Wednesday evening. They will relay the current road and trail conditions to include vehicle clearance recommendations.

Rules

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• Clothing optional in hot springs
• No pets
• No smoking
• No alcohol (except in campgrounds for overnight campers)
• No eating in the hot springs or gazebo
• No soap in the hot springs
• No camp fires
• No drones
• No commercial photography
• No groups larger than 8 (including separate groups who know each other)
• Ring the bell when you enter and leave