Located 5 minutes from the Hoover Dam, the Ringbolt Hot Springs in White Hills, Arizona was a unique six mile hike through slot canyons along the Colorado River and up small waterfalls before taking you to four beautiful hot springs!

I was lucky enough to be able to join Lacy from Wildjoy Experiences and her friends/family on this adventurous weekend trip!

Before the Hike

This blog post is a continuation of my road trip to Route 66, as this was day 2 of our trip!

After waking up in our cute little AirBnB, we started out the morning by walking around downtown Kingman to grab breakfast. It was a little bit chilly outside since it was January, but the brisk air helped to wake us up. As we strolled through town, we found a giant mural which featured the seals of local tribes! After stopping for some pictures of the mural, we came upon a coffee shop called Beale Street Brews Coffee Shop & Roasting Co. that was right across the street from the Route 66 mural I talked about in my last blog post. Here, I ordered their Caramello Latte (since it sounded like my name) and their jalapeño bagel breakfast sandwich with eggs and bacon. This was just what I needed to fuel me up for the long hike ahead of me!

The Ringbolt Hot Springs was a quick one-hour car ride from Kingman, Arizona. During the ride over, we all alternated queuing songs that would hype us up for the hike. By the time we arrived, adrenaline was flowing through me and I was ready for the next 6 miles!

Parking

If you go to the Ringbolt Hot Springs, you probably won’t be able to find the address in your maps by typing in “Ringbolt Hot Springs”, so type in “Arizona Hot Springs” and the results should populate with an address in White Hills, Arizona. This will take you to its parking lot! I will list the exact coordinates of the parking lot at the bottom of this post.

When we arrived at the parking lot, we were prepared to pay a $25 parking fee, however there wasn’t anyone to collect the fee. If you go, I would bring $25 cash just in case because we may have gone on a day where they weren’t collecting!

Hiking to the Ringbolt Hot Springs

There are two trails you can take to reach the Ringbolt Hot Springs. There is the Arizona Hot Springs Trail and the White Rock Canyon Trail. We decided to take the White Rock Canyon Trail on the way to the springs, and took the Arizona Hot Springs Trail out of the springs back to our car. All in all, the hike is just over 6 miles no matter which trails you decide to take. This hike took us about four hours, which included hanging out in the hot springs for a bit and stopping to take pictures along the way.

The White Rock Canyon Trail lead us through slot canyons, along the gorgeous emerald green Colorado River, and had us climb up rocks and little waterfalls, and finally up a 20 foot ladder before reaching the hot springs. I really enjoyed hiking through the slot canyons because I felt so tiny compared to the giant canyons surrounding us. It was also fun (yet a little scary) imagining what would happen if it were to start down-pouring on us because we’d have to rock climb up the walls to be safe!

Once we reached the Colorado River, we took a small break to have some water and snacks before we reached the springs. Here, we skipped some rocks and admired the ducks swimming on the sparkling emerald green river. Once we were back on our feet, we only had a little bit more to go before finally reaching the hot springs! All that was left was climbing through the canyons and up a few waterfalls!

I recommend taking this trail as you hike towards the springs because it will be easier to climb up the ladder as opposed to climbing down the ladder if you were to exit the springs taking this trail. The ladder is placed over a small waterfall and secured by a slack rope. As you climb up or down the ladder, the small waterfall will spray you in the face! Scroll through the slide show for a picture of the ladder!

At the Ringbolt Hot Springs

About two hours into our hike, we finally reached the hot springs! As we hurdled ourselves over the cliff at the top of the ladder, we were greeted by the coolest of the hot springs. As we kept walking, the hot springs gradually became warmer! On average, the temperatures of these hot springs are 92 degrees, 100 degrees, and 108 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wading in the hot springs was such a relaxing way to take a break mid hike! However, make sure you are staying hydrated and don’t sit in the pools for too long because the heat will dehydrate you. We unfortunately witnessed a man being evacuated by other hikers and paramedics since he was found passed out in one of the pools.

The Hike Back

The Arizona Hot Springs Trail is more exposed and a lot steeper than the White Rock Canyon Trail. I would say this trail was easier to walk on since we were walking on a path compared to the wash we were walking in on the White Canyon Trail. However, this trail was more difficult because we were hiking back up the canyons.

Personally, I enjoyed both trails equally. I loved that they both offered different views of the slot canyons and the area. I also enjoy a challenging hike so the Arizona Hot Springs Trail definitely met that itch!

No matter which trail you decide to take into the canyons, come prepared with lots of snacks and extra water! It’s always better to be over prepared than under prepared, and you may be able to help another person out.

Also, the trails that lead to the springs are closed from May 15th through September 30th due to the heat so plan around this!

After our hike, we made our way back to Phoenix! Along the way, we stopped at In-N-Out in Kingman to hold us over until we got back. What can I say, I can’t go hiking without grabbing In-N-Out afterwards!

This hike is definitely one of my favorites, right next to the Bob Bear Trail I hiked with the Wildjoy team last August! If you’re ever in Arizona, I 100% recommend making the road trip to Kingman and Oatman and then hiking this trail the next day. This was an amazing adventure that I am so happy I was apart of! For more detailed information about this hike, head to https://wildjoy.com/ringbolt-hotsprings/.

Location

Ringbolt Hot Springs Parking Lot: 38.980, -114.697, or type in “Arizona Hot Springs” into your maps

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Have you visited any hot springs before? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments!