Grover Hot Springs State Park

Grover Hot Springs State Park

Tucked into Hot Springs Valley on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, Grover Hot Springs State Park pairs an alpine meadow soak with a full state park campground. Six natural hot springs feed the park’s mineral pool, and a separate cool swimming pool sits alongside it – so you can alternate hot and cold with granite peaks topping 10,000 feet all around.

Soak Stats

The Pools

The hot pool is filled with mineral water from the park’s six hot springs, and its green tint is part of the charm – the park explains that mineral deposits on the pool bottom react with the sanitizing bromine and reflect yellow-green light. Next to it, the cool swimming pool is the classic hot-spring contrast move on a summer afternoon. Tickets for the pool complex are sold at the park only, first come, first served, and the complex keeps limited days (currently Friday-Monday), so arrive early on weekends.

Camping and the Park

The summer campground has 76 family sites among the pines (about $35/night, reserve through ReserveCalifornia up to six months ahead). In mid-October the summer campground closes and camping shifts to the picnic area near the entrance for the winter – 25 first-come sites at a lower nightly fee, with an 18-foot length limit. There are no hookups or a dump station. Beyond the soak, the park offers picnic areas along Hot Springs Creek, an ADA-accessible meadow boardwalk, hiking from an easy stroll to the waterfall and Burnside Lake trails, and fishing streams. Black bears are active – every campsite has a metal food locker, and using it day and night is required.

Good to Know

• At 5,900 feet, weather swings hard: summer days run 75–95°F with nights in the low 40s, and winter brings snow and below-zero cold snaps. Pack layers year-round.
• The park is four miles west of Markleeville at the end of Hot Springs Road.
• Showers in the summer campground run on tokens ($1 for five minutes); the winter campground has no showers.
• Dogs must stay leashed and can’t be left unattended — and they’re not allowed in the pool complex.