Umpqua Hot Springs — Attraction in Cottage Grove

Visited at 8:45am on a Tuesday. This is a strange review for me because I didn't actually make it to the springs. I had been visiting national parks all up the west coast and wanted to be as intelligent as possible about visiting Umpqua Springs. I chose to get up early on a weekday in hopes of missing the crowd. That definitely did not work. When I got there the turn off area was completely full including an RV and two vans. All turn offs within an 8th from the trail to the springs were also full... This is before 9am on a weekday and not a holiday people. Additionally this is a restricted use area which means you will need a rec pass displayed on your vehicle to avoid a ticket. Hindsight I almost think a weekend visit might have been better because while I believe the crowd size would have been the same (couldn't have been more, it was packed) at least there might have been a few more "non-hippy" variety of visitors. I knew what to expect people wise at a hotspring in the middle of no where known for nudity and pot but my SUV would have been the newest thing parked on the whole road by at least 10 years (if there would have been somewhere to park). I'd love to see a review by a local "veteran" visitor advising us on best times to visit, I really thought I was on to something with the...

Beware of sharp objects in parking lot!!! Arrived around noon on a Sunday in early August - the parking lot was 3/4 full. Got out of the car and our rear tire was hissing with a big hole in it. We decided to hit the hot springs, then change the tire when we came back. Upon returning, one of the front tires was flat too! Now we have two flat tires, and one spare. There is zero cell service except a tiny Verizon signal up by the tubs (we have T Mobile). Chased down a couple Rangers who happened to be there and asked if they could radio the base to call AAA for us. They were kind enough to do so, but our AAA was unresponsive. Other than this, the Rangers said they can’t get involved in visitor affairs. We borrowed someones phone and tried calling tow services, but the only one that agreed to tow us couldn’t be there until the next day, and due to Covid we wouldn’t be able to ride along in the tow truck, leaving us stranded with no food, water or shelter. Long story short, we got a ride from a concerned citizen back to town with our two tires, got them repaired and he drove us back! A literal Godsend.

Other than that fiasco, and the scary pit toilets (steer clear), the hot springs were...

This was the worst experience I have ever had in my travels. The first pool you see had an oil slick across the top, and looks like it’s filled with thick brown sludge. Then you cross a miniature spring of orangey water, which isn’t even warm. Then there is larger pools of brown and green slimey pools to the left and right - the right with a wooden awning. We didn’t go in these, maybe they were warmer. Below the right there was 3-6 smaller ones, depending if you would call them pools. Some only went to your knees. We made our way into one for mere minutes, it was warm - like a bathtub before you exit. There was brown sludge on the bottom, and green slime covering all the rocks. There was glass shattered among the rocks on the walkway, and multiple piles of poop. There was feces right below our spot at one of the pools. people had dogs running around with and without leashes, beers in glass and cans, and a heavy usage of marijuana, and cigarettes.

Don’t waste your time, or money. We ended up needing to spend money on a hotel shower to cleanse our bodies after 5 minutes of regret. And a laundromat to get rid of the disgusting, from every piece of fabric that touched our...