Twin Lakes and Buckeye Hot Spring

Twin Lakes Road runs south and west and south and west and southwest out of Bridgeport, California, to, duh, Twin Lakes. It's a beautiful place.

The first of the fraternal twin lakes

On the way is the turnoff for Buckeye Hot Spring. Yes, two hot springs in one day.

The unpaved road is in excellent condition. The hike down to the spring is another matter. The parking area is about a hundred feet above Buckeye Creek. The trails down are steep. They scrabble over boulders, rocks and loose dirt. Bring hiking poles or at least a walking stick if you're not a mountain goat.

Again, someone else's photos

I have mixed feelings about this hot spring. The location is extremely attractive, once you climb down to it. It's by the creek. There's a nifty rock overhang. But the pools are shallow. I prefer my hot springs at least a couple of feet deep. Made of stacked stones and mud, the pools need to be rebuilt after the spring runoff washes things away. So the size, shape, number and depth of the pools vary season to season. If there are more than a few people there at the same time, there might not be room to get horizontal in the water. Then there's the climb back to the parking lot.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 3. No urge to return. But I wouldn't know that if I hadn't checked it out myself.