Meadow Hot Spring — Attraction in Fillmore

Ok considering this place is free, and natural hot springs, it’s amazing. There are three hot springs, with varying temperatures. Two of the cooler ones have fish, and the medium heated one has a LOT of algae. The coolest one is the largest one with a dock and lots of fish. The hottest one, which is the deepest has no fish and little algae, however it is usually the most crowded. Last time I was there, April 5 there were a lot of people at the hottest one, my complaint about this is that there are a lot of parents who bring their children and do not supervise them. One of my friends had to pull the same kid out two times because he was entering the bobbing stage of drowning. Both times he brought the kid back to the father and suggested he watch his kid, which he continued not to do. There was another group of parents with around ten kids, the parents were all drinking and not paying attention to their kids. The kids were treating it like a theme park jumping and splashing everyone. I understand it’s a free space, however people do tend to come here for relaxation and to emerge in nature, so splashing loud kids and obnoxiously loud drunk parents are not the best. Another issue I have with these drunk parents and kids, is that they ALWAYS leave garbage. They will leave beer cans, bottle caps, Cheeto bags, etc. It’s very disrespectful to the land, and the people who own it and are allowing people to use it. This is on private property and the owners are gracious enough to let the public use it, so I think in turn you can at least take your garbage. These are natural hot springs rather than sulfur so they don’t stink which is a plus. There are multiple parking lots, and some un drivable roads so you do have to trek a little bit to the springs depending on whether it has rained recently or not, or what type of car you have. It is accessible by regular vehicles if you park and walk to them, rather than pulling up right next to them. Conclusively, this is a beautiful amazing free space, with amazing views. If you are looking for a more relaxed less crowded time, I suggest you go midday during the week. And PLEASE be respectful of the land and the owners who are allowing you on their property, pick...

I think the spring itself is super cool, and if you're looking for a party then either we hit it at a bad time or this is where you want to be.

There was a motor home and several campers in the parking lot. I don't really care where people camp, as long as they're responsible but it sets a certain tone.

The way to the springs from the parking lot isn't very bad, but people have driven right up to the spring and there's a lot of potholes. The water that feeds the springs has seeped up from the ground (which isn't uncommon in my limited experience) and filled the potholes. People have found random pieces of lumber to provide dry crossings, but honestly the water is pretty lukewarm and where I ended up going in wasn't muddy. If you go barefoot, the ground was cold (because it was April and it's cooler outside) and if you're not accustomed to walking barefoot outdoors the ground can be a little bit pebbley but I did fine for an only barefoot indoors person.

It didn't look like locals at the hot springs (not that I'm local, but my mom grew up in the area and I spent a lot of my childhood in the area) which was fine. I know in my toe the locals don't hang out at places like that very often because of tourists. But people had cases of beer (which I have nothing against drinking and I also drink, but a whole case, again, sets a certain tone). There was also a generator providing power to a sound system that was being set up. Again, I don't mind people having a good time. But that wasn't what I came for so I left so others could enjoy their party.

I would really like to be able to have the "quiet" experience because there were a lot of cool birds! And perhaps next time I'll check it out in the morning or midday, hopefully during a weekday, but the people camping make me a little more hesitant about finding a "quiet" time to be there.

Apart from that, the hot springs didn't really have an overwhelming smell and the water in puddles around it was warm so the water in the spring must...

Meadow Hot Springs is a very special place. The springs aren't particularly hot, but the water is gorgeous and the setting is very nice.

Unfortunately, this place is being utterly destroyed by overuse. The entire area around the three springs is littered with glass bottles, plastic bags, toilet paper, and used condoms.

The meadow is shredded by deep muddy ruts that make it difficult to walk between the springs, let alone drive.

While we were there, a car drove halfway off the dirt road and high-centered on a large boulder, blocking traffic. The hottest spring had people eating barbecue in the water, and we decided to move to the second spring when one couple started having sex with our kids a few feet away.

We went at dinnertime on a weekday, but I highly doubt there's any good time to soak here, maybe early on a cold morning, when the derelicts that camp out here are all still sleeping it off.

We hit six hot springs on our family road trip, and while memorable this was the most disappointing. I really hope the landowner closes down free access and puts up some game cameras. It's a disservice to this rare resource to just let...