In late October, 2001 I made 2 visits to Deep Creek Hot Springs in the San
Bernadino Mountains. The first 'hike' in was on the most common route, the trail
from the Bowen Ranch. This trail is usually accessed by paying a $4 per person
fee at the ranch, parking your car, then following the well-marked trail down
to the springs. There are also a few places to part outside the ranch, thus
avoiding the toll. These are well described in several messages on the Deep
Creek web site and message board.
The hike down is fairly easy. For the most part the trail is wide and unencumbered.
There are a few places where you could make a wrong turn, but usually you can
just look down and follow the footprints; the trail is pretty well traveled.
The hike up is more strenuous since you need to get back the 900 or so feet
lost on the way down. This also reflects on the time spent getting in and out.
The 1.8 mile journey will take most people about 45 minutes on the way down
and close to double that on the way out. Be sure to save some water for the
return journey. I also like to keep some water in my car (preferably in a cooler)
so that I can be sure of a fresh drink when I'm done.
The .gpx file for this hike contains the track log for the hike as well as
for the drive to Bowen Ranch from the nearest intersection, Ocotillo Way. This
drive is 6.5 miles of dirt road that sometimes felt as slippery as a ice covered
road.
My second hike in followed the Bradford Ridge Trail, which reaches the Pacific
Crest Trail and the springs from the south. If you are coming to the springs
from the south this can be attractive since the drive to the Bowen Ranch from
Hwy 15 can take the better part of an hour, an hour that is surely more enjoyably
spent in the outdoors. The information on this trail was originally found in
a message
posted by Wizard on the Deep Creek message board. If you are going to try this
trail out the instructions he provided are excellent; I look at the information
here as the icing on the cake.
The Bradford Ridge Trail can be reached by parking at Hwy 173 at the Kinley
Creek bridge. I reached this spot from the east, driving north of Hwy 18 out
of San Bernadino, then through the towns of Twin Peaks and Blue Jay to get to
Hwy 173. There are a few places to stop in these towns to load up on supplies
if needed. Hwy 173 is unpaved for the last several miles but is fairly flat,
straight, and well maintained. To reach this spot from the southwest, exit to
Hwy 138 from Hwy 15, then go east until you reach Hwy 173. Drive east on 173
until you reach the Kinley Creek bridge, about 4.6 miles from the end of the
pavement. This part of 173 is more adventurous than the drive in from the east.
There are several places to park around the Kinley Creek bridge.
As Wizard describes, the first couple of hundred feet of the trail are not
well marked. While walking in from the road I passed several other trails that
go off to the east or west. If you head in a southerly direction you'll meet
up with a wider trail, referred to as a "jeep trail" on the Topozone
map I found. This trail is also visible on satellite photos of the area.
While I don't think I'd take any vehicle I owned on this trail it was certainly
fine for hiking. It is a relatively easy, rolling 3 mile hike to the point where
it meets up with the Pacific Crest Trail, a short distance east of the springs.
The only challenge is the gap between the jeep trail and the PCT, which is around
a 400 foot drop into the Deep Creek Canyon down a steep face. Going down is
pretty easy without getting into too much trouble. The hillside is slippery,
but by zig zagging across you can get down to the PCT without much difficulty.
If the hill ended at the PCT it would be fun to slide down, but the brief ledge
for the PCT would not be enough to stop you continuing down to the bottom of
the canyon :-). Once you reach the PCT you have a 1/2 mile easy hike west to
the springs.
The late afternoon sun lit up the hills along side Hwy 18 on the drive back down into San Bernadino.
After relaxing in the springs for a few hours and (hopefully) leaving with
a smile on your face, the smile will quickly disappear when you get back to
the hillside that you easily hiked down. As this was my first time taking this
trail I walked a bit farther east along the PCT to look for an easier route
up. I didn't find one so I just started my way up. I'm pretty sure that the
route I took up was harder than the route down. While not 100% accurate, my
GPS recorded an extra 150 ft of elevation on the return journey. It was a heart-pumping
climb. I think it is best to start the ascent as far to the west as possible;
my ascent was from the east of the ridge.
After tackling the ascent the rest of the way back was uneventful, following
the same trail used on the inbound journey. When I reached my car I pumped my
water bottle up in the air to celebrate the journey.
The vital statistics above are for the return trip for both hikes (via Bowen
/ via Bradford Ridge Trail).
Trailmaps
This topo map shows the two routes I described to Deep Creek.
This next image shows the same tracks on a satellite photo of the Deep Creek
Hot Springs area. At the left edge of the photo you can just about see the trailhead
for the 3rd route to the springs, the Pacific Crest Trail from the spillway.
This chart shows the elevation change for the return hike from Deep Creek to
the Bradford Ridge Trail trailhead.
In late October, 2001 I made 2 visits to Deep Creek Hot Springs in the San Bernadino Mountains. The first 'hike' in was on the most common route, the trail from the Bowen Ranch. This trail is usually accessed by paying a $4 per person fee at the ranch, parking your car, then following the well-marked trail down to the springs. There are also a few places to part outside the ranch, thus avoiding the toll. These are well described in several messages on the Deep Creek web site and message board.
The hike down is fairly easy. For the most part the trail is wide and unencumbered. There are a few places where you could make a wrong turn, but usually you can just look down and follow the footprints; the trail is pretty well traveled. The hike up is more strenuous since you need to get back the 900 or so feet lost on the way down. This also reflects on the time spent getting in and out. The 1.8 mile journey will take most people about 45 minutes on the way down and close to double that on the way out. Be sure to save some water for the return journey. I also like to keep some water in my car (preferably in a cooler) so that I can be sure of a fresh drink when I'm done.
The .gpx file for this hike contains the track log for the hike as well as for the drive to Bowen Ranch from the nearest intersection, Ocotillo Way. This drive is 6.5 miles of dirt road that sometimes felt as slippery as a ice covered road.
My second hike in followed the Bradford Ridge Trail, which reaches the Pacific Crest Trail and the springs from the south. If you are coming to the springs from the south this can be attractive since the drive to the Bowen Ranch from Hwy 15 can take the better part of an hour, an hour that is surely more enjoyably spent in the outdoors. The information on this trail was originally found in a message posted by Wizard on the Deep Creek message board. If you are going to try this trail out the instructions he provided are excellent; I look at the information here as the icing on the cake.
The Bradford Ridge Trail can be reached by parking at Hwy 173 at the Kinley Creek bridge. I reached this spot from the east, driving north of Hwy 18 out of San Bernadino, then through the towns of Twin Peaks and Blue Jay to get to Hwy 173. There are a few places to stop in these towns to load up on supplies if needed. Hwy 173 is unpaved for the last several miles but is fairly flat, straight, and well maintained. To reach this spot from the southwest, exit to Hwy 138 from Hwy 15, then go east until you reach Hwy 173. Drive east on 173 until you reach the Kinley Creek bridge, about 4.6 miles from the end of the pavement. This part of 173 is more adventurous than the drive in from the east. There are several places to park around the Kinley Creek bridge.
As Wizard describes, the first couple of hundred feet of the trail are not well marked. While walking in from the road I passed several other trails that go off to the east or west. If you head in a southerly direction you'll meet up with a wider trail, referred to as a "jeep trail" on the Topozone map I found. This trail is also visible on satellite photos of the area. While I don't think I'd take any vehicle I owned on this trail it was certainly fine for hiking. It is a relatively easy, rolling 3 mile hike to the point where it meets up with the Pacific Crest Trail, a short distance east of the springs. The only challenge is the gap between the jeep trail and the PCT, which is around a 400 foot drop into the Deep Creek Canyon down a steep face. Going down is pretty easy without getting into too much trouble. The hillside is slippery, but by zig zagging across you can get down to the PCT without much difficulty. If the hill ended at the PCT it would be fun to slide down, but the brief ledge for the PCT would not be enough to stop you continuing down to the bottom of the canyon :-). Once you reach the PCT you have a 1/2 mile easy hike west to the springs.
The late afternoon sun lit up the hills along side Hwy 18 on the drive back down into San Bernadino.
After relaxing in the springs for a few hours and (hopefully) leaving with a smile on your face, the smile will quickly disappear when you get back to the hillside that you easily hiked down. As this was my first time taking this trail I walked a bit farther east along the PCT to look for an easier route up. I didn't find one so I just started my way up. I'm pretty sure that the route I took up was harder than the route down. While not 100% accurate, my GPS recorded an extra 150 ft of elevation on the return journey. It was a heart-pumping climb. I think it is best to start the ascent as far to the west as possible; my ascent was from the east of the ridge.
After tackling the ascent the rest of the way back was uneventful, following the same trail used on the inbound journey. When I reached my car I pumped my water bottle up in the air to celebrate the journey.
The vital statistics above are for the return trip for both hikes (via Bowen / via Bradford Ridge Trail).
Trailmaps
This topo map shows the two routes I described to Deep Creek.
This next image shows the same tracks on a satellite photo of the Deep Creek Hot Springs area. At the left edge of the photo you can just about see the trailhead for the 3rd route to the springs, the Pacific Crest Trail from the spillway.
This chart shows the elevation change for the return hike from Deep Creek to the Bradford Ridge Trail trailhead.