It's like Stairway to Heaven for people who love travel, art, nature, music, and getting outside for sweet adventures. Not much is better than an epic roadtrip and we've got just the ticket to get you ready.
Top 5 Hits for Family Adventures
- Swim and soak at the hot springs
- Burnside Lake Trail, 3 mile round trip hike to the waterfall along Hot Springs Creek. (11 mile hike to the lake)
- Rock scramble on the rocks near the falls
- Walk through the ADA accessible boardwalk, Transition Trail, to see the meadow
- Cool off, play and take a dip in the creek on the North creek or South creek overlook trails by the campground bridge.
Pro Tips
- Difficulty: Easy
- Time Needed: Day trip
- Cost: $10 Adults, $5 kids for hot springs, Parking free with swimming, Parking $8 if you dont swim or CA State parks Pass.
- The boardwalk/ transition trail merges with the waterfall trail and gives you views of the meadow (Take the boardwalk)
- If you have paid for pool admission, day use parking is included
- Dogs are allowed on a 6ft leash for hiking, they are not allowed at the hot springs pools
- You must get online and reserve a 90-minute timeslot, and pay the hot springs entrance fee. If a thunderstorm show up and they see lightning in the distance, the pool will close for 30 min
- Two trailheads to get to the waterfall. The shortest trail starts at the hot springs pool parking lot called the hot springs cutoff trail, the main trail starts at the overflow parking lot at the north end of Quaking Aspen CampgroundÂ
- Bathrooms are in the campground and near the entrance
- Bring all your meals and snacks into the park with you. Nearby Markleeville is small and has limited dining, which may close early or is only open on the weekends.
- Do not leave windows cracked when food is in your car, bears can rip cracked windows open to get your food.
No matter how cold the weather is outside, Grover Hot Springs always maintains a toasty temperature of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It isn’t humans keeping the springs warm--it’s magma. That’s because this area rests on a fault line. Fault lines are cracks in the earth’s surface, and this one is caused because the plate that makes up the North American continent is constantly colliding with the Pacific plate. These collisions cause pressure, which forces the heavier Pacific plate underneath the American plate (a process called subduction), turning it into magma. The cracks in the Earth formed by this process are called faults. Grover Hot Springs is heated by one of these faults, using a process called convection. This section’s Learning Topic will teach you all about convection, so you can learn how it’s possible to take advantage of the power of magma as you enjoy a relaxing soak at the Grover Hot Springs.
Before human intervention, Grover Hot Springs did not look like a swimming pool. Instead, it was a series of springs and seeps of warm water that rose into the marshes in the area. White, crumbly deposits of limestone caked the rims of the springs. In the late 1800s, settlers shaped the pools, combining hot and cold springs to reach an enjoyable temperature.