Lund Hot Springs Creek

🏊Swimming at Lund Hot Springs Creek

The main spring pool holds clear, teal/turquoise water around 85°F, described by visitors as reminiscent of Caribbean water clarity. Some sections are shallow enough for soaking while other areas are deep enough that visitors must swim rather than stand, so supervision is advised for non-swimmers. The bottom can be silty, and multiple accounts recommend water shoes.

📍How to get to this swimming hole

From Lund, NV, head south on NV-318 roughly 32 miles to the Hot Creek Spring Road turnoff (about Nye County mile marker 20.9), then follow the graded dirt road roughly 8 miles into the Wayne E. Kirch Wildlife Management Area to the trailhead parking area near Dave Deacon Campground.

Parking: Gravel/dirt trailhead parking area at the end of the access road, described as spacious with a well-maintained pit toilet; most standard 2WD vehicles can reach it, though the washboard road may be uncomfortable for low-clearance cars.

💬What regulars say

Candid first-hand visitor accounts consistently flag: the water is genuinely clear and warm (~85F) with a Caribbean-like teal color; the pool has both shallow soaking areas and deeper sections where you must swim, so groups with non-swimmers should stay close; the silty bottom makes water shoes worthwhile; and the 8-mile washboard dirt access road is the main deterrent, keeping crowds low even though the trailhead lot itself is spacious and free.

📜Backstory

The land was part of a private ranching operation (including the Adams-McGill Company) dating to the 1870s before conversion to public wildlife management land in 1959. The Hot Creek Refugium was officially designated in 1966 as critical habitat for the Moorman-White River springfish, and the site has also been designated a National Natural Landmark.