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Alaska, 1 public soaking site

Hot Springs in Alaska

Alaska's agency listed soak is a pair of Forest Service hot tubs up the Stikine River from Wrangell, reached by boat.

1
Sites listed for soaking
run by USDA Forest Service
Set by site
Fees
each one quoted from the agency page
108
Thermal springs on NOAA’s list
hottest listed feature 310 F
September 22, 2026
Agency pages read
each quote links the page it came from
Site by site

Public hot springs in Alaska

One hot spring in Alaska is listed for soaking by the agency that runs it. Each card below carries that agency’s own fee, season, access and rules, quoted and linked, as the page read on September 22, 2026. A fee line that says nothing about cost is written as a question for the managing office rather than as free.

Chief Shakes Hot Springs Site

Bathhouse

USDA Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, Wrangell Ranger District, Stikine-LeConte Wilderness

FeeCheck fees with Tongass National Forest, Wrangell Ranger District, Stikine-LeConte Wilderness
AccessBy boat up the Stikine River, about 28 miles from Wrangell, then a 0.3 mile trail off Hot Springs Slough; below a 16 foot river level you must walk along the slough.
  • Day use only; no overnight accommodations.
  • Expect crowds on summer weekends, holidays and sunny days.
Facility includes an enclosed and an open-air redwood hot tub, dressing rooms, and benches.
Tongass National Forest | Chief Shakes Hot Springs Site, USDA Forest Service, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
No overnight accommodations.
USDA Forest Service on Chief Shakes Hot Springs Site. Read it at the source
Expect crowds on weekends, holidays, and sunny days throughout the summer.
USDA Forest Service on Chief Shakes Hot Springs Site. Read it at the source
The white stucco front of the Lamar Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row, with the blue striped awnings of the Buckstaff Bathhouse beyond
The Lamar and Buckstaff bathhouses on Bathhouse Row, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. The park's thermal water is soaked indoors, in the bathhouses on the row. “Bathhouse Row, Lamar, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas”, SaraDGarland, CC BY-SA 4.0
How many springs

Thermal springs counted in Alaska

NOAA’s Thermal Springs List for the United States counts 108 thermal features in Alaska, the hottest listed at 310 F, out of 1661 across 23 states. The count is a measure of geology: Natural surface hydrothermal features (springs, pools, mud pots, mud volcanoes, geysers, fumaroles and steam vents) at 20 C (68 F) or warmer; temperatures are the maximum reported surface reading. Most sit on remote ground, on land with no public access, or too hot to approach, which is why the soaking list above is the shorter one. The hottest reading can belong to a fumarole or a steam vent rather than a pool.

Thermal Springs List for the United States, compiled by George W. Berry, Paul J. Grim and Joy A. Ikelman, NOAA Key to Geophysical Records Documentation No. 12, 1980; published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (formerly the National Geophysical Data Center). Data file read September 22, 2026: the thermal springs list and its documentation. Every state’s count is on the national table.

The water

What the CDC and the Park Service say about soaking

Two hazards come up in every agency’s own words: what lives in warm water, and how hot the ground and the water can be. Both are quoted below as the agencies write them, and they apply at every site above.

Always keep your head above water in hot springs and other naturally hot (geothermal) water.
CDC, Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Naegleria fowleri lives in soil and warm freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds, and hot springs around the world.
CDC, Naegleria fowleri Infections, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Hold your nose shut or use a nose clip if you jump or dive into the water.
CDC, Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Avoid digging in, or stirring up, sediment in shallow fresh water. Naegleria fowleri amebas are more likely to live in sediment at the bottom of lakes, ponds, and rivers.
CDC, Preventing Brain Infection When Swimming, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
All thermal waters contain organisms that may cause illness, including skin rash, gastrointestinal illness (vomiting and diarrhea), or other infections that can be life-threatening.
National Park Service, swimming in Yellowstone, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Burns from thermal features are a common cause of serious injury and death in the park. The ground surrounding these features may look solid, but it can be just a thin crust with super-heated water below.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Even thermal runoff can be extremely hot and cause burns.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Toxic gases may accumulate to dangerous levels in some hydrothermal areas. If you begin to feel sick while exploring a geyser basin, leave the area immediately.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Pets are not allowed in thermal areas or on boardwalks, even if they're on a leash or carried in arms, strollers, or backpacks.
National Park Service, Yellowstone safety, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Alaska hot springs questions

Hot springs in other states

Alaska snowpackHow deep the snow is on Alaska's mountains, for the trails and roads into the springs.First snow in AlaskaWhen the first snow usually falls in Alaska, the start of the season for a warm soak.Hot springs by statePublic soaking sites in every state, Hot Springs National Park and Yellowstone, and NOAA's thermal springs counts.

Compiled September 22, 2026 from USDA Forest Service pages, one per site, each linked beside its quote and read on September 22, 2026. Site types above: bathhouse. Fees, seasons and access change between seasons, a spring can be closed by flood, fire or repair at short notice, and a soak is at the soaker’s own risk, so the managing office is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national hot springs guide.