Wildlife Sighted:
Wild Horses, Pronghorn (Antelope), Rabbits
(plenty of them!), Bobcats, Cougars, Deer, Owls (spotted 2 of them),
Coyotes, Bats and Foxes (oh my) - don't even think of driving out to
this one at night, all of the animals listed above are all over the road
after dusk [there are also Thunder Eggs in this area]
Seasonal Notes
Accessible all year.
Camping Notes
BLM camping right next to the hot
springs and in the surrounding area.
Willow Creek Hot Springs Trip Reports
05.08.12 -
05.12.12
Trip report and pictures on HSG
03.03.08
I miss this place. Looking back though my records, I couldn't
believe it had been 3 years since my last visit. The northwest has
too many incredible places. My return visit to Willow Creek Hot
Spring was on a blustery day, very windy and chilly. The soak was
stellar, whew! Thank goodness, because I didn't bring any firewood!
On my way
to the hot springs I came across two herds of wild horses. I was
awestruck. The only other time I experienced such a thing was 6
years ago, just a few miles west of my present location. Wild
horses! Can you even imagine!
Please
note, the entire BLM area surrounding the hot springs and pit toilet
were extremely muddy! There was one small area near the entrance
wide enough for a couple vehicles that was just barley dry enough to
park.
Rating A
03.14.05
Excellent! Our Monday all-day-long visit to Willow Creek was a great
example of what hot springing is all about. When we arrived early in
the am two fishermen were enjoying their last soak before heading
into Idaho for some good fishing at Mann Lake. One of the fishermen
was a friendly fella from San Francisco, making his way through the
desert and forest via bright yellow Volkswagen van. The soaking was
awesome, however the rocks in the pool were slick which resulted in
a couple minor injuries that occurred while entering and exiting the
pool. I wasn't happy to notice an increase in trash despite how
light it was. Other than the trash increase, it looks like this area
isn't suffering from additional usage related abuse.
Rating A
03.26.03
The BLM camping area around the HS was FULL! Wow! There were a couple sets
of people that looked like they had set up stake for months judging by the
amount of equipment on premises. This in addition to 6 other groups of
people... maybe there was some sort of convention going on. We took a
quick soak, chatted, then blasted off to find somewhere less crowded.
Rating B+
10.18.02
Willow Creek is the 2nd
nicest HS I have visited in SE Oregon. The first being Alvord
HS. This HS is located in a BLM managed area and is chiefly visited
by the RV crowd because of it's location. You can park your vehicle
practically right next to the pool. Perfect temperature and nice depth
were what really made this HS a prime soak. Prepare yourself for a long,
dusty, bumpy, long ride as this is located in the middle of nowhere....
perfect!
Rating A
Average Rating:
A-
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