California's hot springs split cleanly into two kinds: developed resorts you book, and undeveloped soaks at the end of a dirt road. They want completely different preparation, and the list below tells you which is which by whether anyone has written the drive down yet.
Visiting California? Undeveloped springs reward a little homework: read the access notes and the season before you build a day around one, and have a second choice — springs close, wash out, and fill up on weekends.
California's statute is Penal Code § 314, and the exposure has to be made “willfully and lewdly”, so it is the lewd quality of the act, not the nakedness, that the section is aimed at.
It is not drafted to reach ordinary, non-sexual nudity.
That is not the same as “it's legal here.” Counties and cities legislate separately, and whoever manages the ground, whether that is State Parks, the Forest Service, BLM, a county or a private owner, sets its own rules on top. Check the land manager for the spot you're actually going to.
Nanitch is a map, not a law firm, and none of this is legal advice. Rules change and enforcement is local, so if it matters, check with the agency that manages the land before you go. Statute last read August 2026.
Confirmed or written up (3)
These have a page here because somebody has been to them: curated by Nanitch, confirmed by a member, or written up with real access notes.
Deep Creek Hot SpringsCustomary / tolerated · San Bernardino NF, near Apple Valley · Oct to May
San Bernardino NF. ~2 mi hike in (Bradford Ridge or the longer PCT approach) to riverside pools. Clothing-optional by custom. Day-use; adventure pass.
A clothing-optional retreat near Sierraville with natural hot pools (Temple Dome, Meditation Pool) in a high mountain meadow. Day passes and lodging; membership at the door.
Also on the map (44)
Named hot springs imported from OpenStreetMap that nobody has confirmed yet. They are on the map and in the app, and they get a page here the moment someone reports back from one, not before. Listing every one of them:
Alkali Hot Springs
Big Caliente Hot Spring
Buckeye Hot Springs
Campbell Hot Springs
Champagne Baths
Children's Tub
Crab Cooker Hot Spring
Dirty Socks Hot Spring
Drakesbad Hot Springs
East Fork Carson River Hot Springs
Fales Hot Spring
Five Palms
Franklin Hot Springs
free natural hot pool
Hilltop Hot Spring
Holtville Hot Spring
Hot Creek Geological Site
Hot springs of Slab city
Iva Bell Hot Springs
Kabuki Springs & Spa · San Francisco
Keough Hot Ditch
Kern Hot Spring
Little Caliente Spring
Little Creek Hot Springs
Marble Hot Springs
Miracle Hot Springs
Montecito Hot Springs
Remington Hot Springs
Rock Tub Hot Spring
Shepherd Hot Springs
Spa Palace
Steep Ravine Hot Spring
Sulphur Springs
Sunrise Pool
Sykes Hot Spring
Tecopa Natural Hot Springs
Terminal Geyser
Travertine Hot Spring
Upper Warm Spring
Volcano Pool
Warm Springs
Warner Hot Spring
Wild Willy's Hot Springs
Wizard Pool
A further 27 hot springs in California are on the map with no name of their own, because OpenStreetMap records them only as “hot spring”. They are on the map; there is nothing to call them by here.